A 'Forrest Gump' Sequel Was in the Works Until 9/11 Happened
A sequel 1994 Best Picture Oscar winner "Forrest Gump" was in the works — and then 9/11 happened.
"Forrest Gump" won six Academy Awards and became a pop culture phenomenon for its tale of a slow-witted but good-hearted man (Tom Hanks) who witnesses and influences many key moments in history.
The movie was based on Winston Groom’s 1986 novel of the same name. Groom wrote a sequel in 1995 called "Gump & Co.," which followed Forrest through the 1980s. The proposed movie follow-up would have been loosely adapted from it.
Screenwriter Eric Roth, who won one of those Oscars, turned in a draft for the sequel on September 10, 2001.
“Literally, I turned it in the day before 9/11,” Roth told Yahoo Entertainment. “And Tom and I and [director Robert Zemeckis] got together on 9/11 to sort of commiserate about how life was in America and how tragic it was. And we looked at each other and said, ‘This movie has no meaning anymore, in that sense.’”
Roth revealed some plot details for the planned sequel, which would've explored what happened to Forrest Jr. (Haley Joel Osment). In the film, it's strongly implied that his mother Jenny (Robin Wright) dies after contracting HIV/AIDS.
“It was gonna start with his little boy having AIDS,” Roth explained. “And people wouldn’t go to class with him in Florida. We had a funny sequence where they were [desegregation] busing in Florida at the same time, so people were angry about either the busing, or [their] kids having to go to school with the kid who had AIDS. So there was a big conflict.”
The planned sequel would've followed Forrest into the 1990s, as well, and seen him involved in events like the infamous 1994 car chase involving O.J. Simpson.
“I had him in the back of O.J.’s Bronco,” Roth said. "He would look up occasionally, but they didn’t see him in the rearview mirror, and then he’d pop down."
He continued, “I had him as a ballroom dancer who was really good, he could do the [rotation] ballroom dancing. And then eventually, just as sort of a charity kind of thing, he danced with Princess Diana.”