History WhatCouldHaveBeen / Literature

** The POVSequel ''Midnight Sun'', which tells the first book's story from [[PerspectiveFlip Edward's viewpoint]], was supposed to come out shortly after ''Breaking Dawn''. After the first twelve chapters of the manuscript were leaked on the internet, Stephenie Meyer quit writing the book and would not pick it up again for a decade. The book was finally published in 2020.

[[caption-width-right:286:'''Top''': The [[MissingEpisode rare]] 1989 prototype of the first book '''Bottom''': The final version of the first book.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/CaptainUnderpants https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cappantsv.png]]]]

** One interview by Pratchett reveals a potential plot after ''Literature/FeetfClay'':

* Creator/LarryNiven was planning to write a book for the ''Literature/KnownSpace'' verse that would have given a definitive end for that universe taking the whole thing "down in flames". Before he'd gotten past a rough outline he came up with the idea for ''Literature/{{Ringworld}}'' and decided to do that instead. ''Ringworld'' and the books that followed have invalidated much of the original plans Niven had for the down in flames storyline but he did take some of the ideas and worked them into the second half of ''Literature/Protector''. The outline and Niven's comments about how it ended up getting discarded can be read [[http://www.larryniven.org/stories/downinflames.shtml here.]]

* Creator/LarryNiven was planning to write a book for the ''Literature/KnownSpace'' verse that would have given a definitive end for that universe taking the whole thing "down in flames". Before he'd gotten past a rough outline he came up with the idea for ''Literature/{{Ringworld}}'' and decided to do that instead. ''Ringworld'' and the books that followed have invalidated much of the original plans Niven had for the down in flames storyline but a modified version may eventually be written. The outline and Niven's comments about how it ended up getting discarded can be read [[http://www.larryniven.org/stories/downinflames.shtml here.]]

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' was originally only going to have one sequel called ''Forever Dawn''. The basic storyline is the same as what would become the fourth book, ''Breaking Dawn''. Edward and Bella [[spoiler: get married, she gets pregnant on the honeymoon, and Bella has to be turned into a vampire to survive the birth of their daughter Renesmee. Jacob isn't present at the birth, but he imprints on Renesmee a few weeks later.]] The biggest change is that the love triangle of Bella, Edward, and Jacob never develops because the events of ''New Moon'' and ''Eclipse'' never happen. In short, Edward never leaves and Bella and Jacob don't become close. The lack of the two middle books also leaves [[spoiler: Victoria and Laurent alive]]. Laurent does a HeelFaceTurn and Victoria gets one of her minions to tell [[TheMafia the Volturi]] about [[spoiler: Renesmee.]] Victoria is later the only one killed at the final standoff, courtesy of the mostly-unnamed werewolves. The ending is still pretty much the same HappilyEverAfter as it is in the final version.

*** Dav Pilkey (author of the ''Literature/CaptainUnderpants'' books) was going to make an anthology book that parodied various children's books. He made a outline of a ''Literature/CuriousGeorge'' parody called [[http://web.archive.org/web/20080213013223/http://www.pilkey.com/furious_george_intro.php "Furious George",]] before he cancelled the project due to the harsh subject matter.

** T''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'':

* Jeff Green 's novel ''The Cudgel of Xanthor'' would have detailed the development process of the ''Xanthor'' FictionalVideoGame series mentioned in the magazines ''Computer Gaming World'' and ''Games For Windows: The Official Magazine'', while chronicling the life of the character Xanthor in a fantasy world.

** The ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' trilogy was originally two unrelated works- one called "Mistborn Prime", which introduced the titular magic-using assassins, and "Final Empire Prime", which introduced the AfterTheEnd setting ruled by a PhysicalGod EvilOverlord. Not really liking either one, he took what he liked from both and made something new. Also, the trilogy's protagonist was originally supposed to be a guy, but Sanderson had a hard time getting a grip on the character- until he turned "him" into [[ActionGirl a girl,]] and suddenly Vin really gelled for the first time.

* Literature/GoToSleepAJeffTheKillerRewrite'': A different ending idea had Jeff running into [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]] after he kills his family, but the idea was discarded for being too "proxy-esque".

* ''Literature/DragonlanceTheNewAdventures'': There were originally intended to be ten Dragon Codices, one for each color of dragon. However, the final 3 (Blue, White, and Copper) were never published due to the economic recession in 2008. Rebecca Shelley, one of the authors writing the codices under the HousePseudonym R.D. Henham, eventually [[SalvagedStory reused the basic plots]] in her own ''[[https://www.goodreads.com/questions/576671-i-wonder-i-noticed-a-metallic-chromatic Dragonheart]]'' novels.

** Meyer released some scenes/chapters that had been cut from the first book. One involves Bella being uncoordinated herself in Gym (which was rewritten from Edward's POV in ''Midnight Sun''). Another had them stop to go shopping during the flight from James (apparently cut for slowing down the pacing), while a third had them gamble in Vegas during the BoringReturnTrip.

* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:
** Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy:
*** Originally Zahn wanted the character that became Joruus C'baoth to be an insane clone of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the clone he unleashes on Luke at the end of ''The Last Command'' to be a clone of Darth Vader. Lucasarts vetoed both of these.
*** Also vetoed was the original name he proposed for the Noghri: the Sith. Which explains the Vader connections--Zahn, like many fans, was speculating just what Vader's title 'Dark Lord of the Sith' actually meant. At the time, evil Force-users were simply called "Dark Jedi" in the Expanded Universe. The Noghri's bulging eyes and protruding jaws were also supposed to be the inspiration for the design of Vader's mask.
*** Some sources claim that, at one point, there were plans to have Shannon [=McRandle=] (the model who poses for Mara Jade on trading cards and book covers) make a brief cameo in Jabba's throne room in the Special Edition of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', since it's established in this trilogy that Mara was hiding out there waiting to kill Luke. Nothing ever came of this, but the rumor persisted for a long time, even after the Special Edition's release.
** Zahn and Stackpole wrote [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Reenlistment_of_Baron_Fel "The Reenlistment of Baron Fel",]] which started as a six-comic miniseries and was revamped into a four-part story. It's about AcePilot [[ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron Soontir Fel,]] once of the Empire before [[DefectorFromDecadence defecting]] to the New Republic, getting abducted by Thrawn and joining the Empire of the Hand. They ''finished'' both versions, and both of them have both versions. But they haven't been bought and published. They are just sitting on those hard drives. Waiting. This is incredibly frustrating.
** One scrapped book from Robert J. Sawyer titled ''FanFic/AlienExodus'' would have depicted humans coming to the ''Star Wars'' galaxy through time and space from a troubled future Earth - in fact, the humans were to have been refugees from an Earth around the dawn of the society seen in of ''Film/THX1138''. They had to fight against bad guys and eventually ended up on Coruscant, apparently giving rise to the theory of humans originating there. The story would additionally have delved into the beginnings of the Solo and Skywalker bloodlines, with the latter originating with the first human Force user.
** Kevin J. Anderson's ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'' had many changes during its development:
*** He had originally planned the series as a direct sequel to ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', before Lucasfilm casually mentioned the upcoming ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'' series which changed ''everything'' in between and prompted major rewrites (such as Coruscant being a recovering war zone rather than a ShiningCity). He was also concerned that this made Daala's attack on Mon Calamari feel too repetitive and anticlimactic, as Mon Calamari had already suffered a much bigger invasion in ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire''. There are still traces of this problem in the published books, such as characters behaving as though the events of the Thrawn series are more recent than they're supposed to be.
*** Anderson had planned to kill off Mon Mothma via the subplot with her getting poisoned, but Lucasfilm vetoed this idea. She was kept alive until just before the ''New Jedi Order'' series begins.
*** Admiral Daala would've been killed off in the second book, ''Dark Apprentice'', but after reader feedback that Anderson compared in intensity to the character of Annie Wilkes in ''Literature/{{Misery}}'', this was scrapped. He ended up being happy with this decision, as Daala's character became a major staple throughout the rest of the books, especially in the ''Literature/FateOfTheJedi'' series.
** The proposed miniseries ''Spectre of Thrawn'', between the two ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' books. Cowritten, again, by Zahn and Stackpole! And it never happened.
** ''Literature/YoungJediKnights'':
*** The original product listings for books 13 and 14 named them as "Return to Cloud City" and "Return to Kessel" instead of "Trouble on Cloud City" and "Crisis at Crystal Reef".
*** Kevin J. Anderson originally intended to use Skorr, [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack "the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell"]] (who was featured in a story arc from the daily ''Star Wars'' comic strip running from 1979 to 1984) as the main villain of the third arc of the series, but created the similar character of Czethros instead after he remembered that Skorr had been killed off at the end of the storyline that had featured him.
** ''Literature/NewJediOrder'':
*** Believe it or not, ''Luke Skywalker'' was the character originally [[SacrificialLion slated to die]] in ''Vector Prime'' to show that the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Yuuzhan Vong]] meant business, but Lucasfilm put a moratorium on visibly killing him, and Chewbacca was ultimately chosen after the writers thought that killing Han Solo or Leia Organa wouldn't have the same effect (some fans have also joked that Chewie was picked because, since he couldn't have written dialogue, he was the most awkward character to write!). James Luceno later considered to kill off Han in ''The Unifying Force'', but desisted.
*** While George Lucas approved the majority of the series' outline, he [[http://web.archive.org/web/20110711141325/http://starwars.com/eu/lit/novel/f20001224/index.html vetoed]] at the possibility of the Yuuzhan Vong being Force-users on the basis that dark siders would inevitably betray each other and make the formation of a society impossible. Rumors said that they were intended to be revealed as the Sith, as ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' had yet to be released when the series was being planned.
*** The cancelled second book in the planned ''Dark Tide'' trilogy, ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_New_Jedi_Order:_Dark_Tide:_Siege The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide: Siege]]''.
*** The ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Knightfall_Trilogy Knightfall]]'' trilogy: ''Knightfall I: Jedi Storm'', ''Knightfall II: Jedi Blood'', and ''Knightfall III: Jedi Fire''. Some elements appeared in ''The Edge of Victory'' and ''Star by Star''.
*** As revealed in ''The Essential Reader's Companion'', Boba Fett was meant to appear in ''Hero's Trial'', but was written out due to concerns about the book being overstuffed with characters.
*** Early plans had Jacen and Anakin in swapped roles - Jacen died and Anakin was captured by the Yuuzhan Vong. It's pretty obvious that the ''Edge of Victory'' duology was setting this up, as several Anakin-based storylines started, only to be abruptly ended by his death in the following ''Star by Star.'' Anakin's death came from on high - George Lucas had an ExecutiveVeto that said that Anakin's trajectory too closely mirrored his namesake grandfather, and to avoid confusion, the brothers' roles were reversed.
*** For the series' conclusion, the planning team floated up the possibility of wiping out the Yuuzhan Vong entirely in ''The Unifying Force'', but they ultimately considered that a merciful option was more interesting and had the Vong exiled away.
** ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce'': The ending to the series is very straightforward, with Jaina [[spoiler: killing Caedus in one-on-one combat.]] Dennings' original idea was ''much'' weirder. [[spoiler: Jacen's flow-walking would eventually cause him to [[FreakyFridayFlip switch bodies]] with his brother, a disguised Jacen fulfilling Anakin's sacrifice in the past and Anakin being resuscitated by Jaina in the present.]] Nothing came of this suggestion.
** ''Literature/RedHarvest'': The first draft of the novel had a character named Middish Sunblade, who was removed for being perceived as being "too whiny".
** ''Literature/DarthPlagueis''
*** Creator/GeorgeLucas was [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170227134552/http://www.swactionnews.com/episode.htm?id=280 pretty involved]] in the early iterations of the project, choosing Darth Plagueis to be a member of the Muun species and deciding that Plagueis should wear a transpirator mask after having an accident at some point of his life. When the novel was revived, Lucas didn't rejoin the project, but his decisions were kept.
*** An early version of the story developed during the novel's initial development before being temporarily shelved featured Darth Plagueis and Qui-Gon Jinn in a race for immortality, both unaware that they were sabotaging each other's efforts and pursuing the same goal, with the novel concluding by having Qui-Gon successfully contacting the Whills (whom he mentioned in a DeletedScene of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''). When the novel was unshelved, Lucasfilm executive Howard Roffman [[https://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/7/6/e/76e6df247c89a053/Jedi_Journals_Microcast__December_2011.mp3?c_id=4126905&cs_id=4126905&expiration=1565638836&hwt=be71ea15160815d06fcdf1b79a9b3e07 suggested]] Luceno to give a greater focus on Palpatine to improve the story. In retrospective, James Luceno told the ''Star Wars Insider'' magazine that his original outline was "all over the place, way too long and trying too hard to resolve every loose end".
*** An early draft of the novel had Darth Plagueis discovering Emperor Palpatine's first name but never actually use it as a way of playing to Palpatine's huge ego. While the idea was dropped and Palpatine's first name was never revealed in the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' continuity, Luceno eventually went to reveal Palpatine's first name "Sheev" (which was created by George Lucas himself) in ''Literature/StarWarsTarkin'', his next novel following ''Darth Plagueis'' and part of the new Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse.
*** Reportedly, Luceno was [[https://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/7/6/e/76e6df247c89a053/Jedi_Journals_Microcast__December_2011.mp3?c_id=4126905&cs_id=4126905&expiration=1565639134&hwt=36d78377f520e2920de0572aa11bed33 originally]] reluctant to cast a Bith as a Sith Lord (Darth Tenebrous), but eventually concluded: "What the heck?" One wonders what other species could have filled that role.
*** Respect to the book's climax, Luceno previously wrote that Darth Plagueis had trascended his need of sleep in ''Literature/DarkLordTheRiseOfDarthVader'' although ''Revenge of the Sith'' stated that he was killed on his sleep, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170227134552/http://www.swactionnews.com/episode.htm?id=280 hoping]] to establish a {{Retcon}} on Plagueis' death to make it more exciting and less anticlimatic, possibly in a lightsaber duel. However, he was told in no uncertain terms that Plagueis obligatory had to absolutely die on his sleep and that there would be no retcons, leading Luceno to ask if he could [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160729171712/https://roqoodepot.com/2012/09/07/cvi-interview-with-james-luceno/ establish instead]] that Plagueis was still alive during ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', a request he was granted.
*** A follow-up to ''Darth Plagueis'' [[https://web.archive.org/web/20141117105409/http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/3158684 was planned]] by Luceno at some point, featuring an story starring Emperor Palpatine between ''Film/ANewHope'' and ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', but Luceno desisted on writing it after resolving to pitch ''Tarkin'' instead, and Luceno realized that he could still write about Palpatine on while focusing the story on Grand Moff Tarkin. Despite this, Luceno has stated that he's [[https://web.archive.org/web/20180327114419/http://archive.alternativenation.net/interview-author-james-luceno-talks-star-wars-tarkin-teases-palpatine-novel/ still interested]] in writing a novel about Palpatine someday, but even if it ever materializes, it would no longer have any connections to ''Darth Plagueis''.
** ''Literature/StarWarsKenobi'': The story was originally supposed to be a comic, but turned out to be too long for that medium.
** EU fans are still annoyed about not getting the planned ''Sword of the Jedi'' trilogy due to the Disney buyout. It would have focused on Jaina Solo Fel and would probably have been a big step in the older characters of Han, Leia and Luke passing the proverbial torch to the next generation (something that the New Jedi Order series had been teasing all the way through, up to and including a "graduation" scene for the Young Jedi Knights characters, only to reverse course and go back to the continuing adventures of Luke, Han and Leia in the subsequent Dark Nest trilogy).

** As of 12 March 2015 due to a severe case of AuthorExistenceFailure Sir Terrence Prachett will be unable to complete the oft mentioned ''Scouting for Trolls'' or ''Raising Taxes''.

* ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'' epilogue mentions a sequel called ''Buttercup's Baby'' that was having trouble getting published due to "legal issues with S. Morgenstern's (an alias of the real author William Goldman) estate." It was meant to be fake, but a sample chapter does exist which readers could get if they wrote in to the address enclosed in the book. Later editions simply published the sample chapter, and people began clamoring for the full sequel. Goldman never expected ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'' to be so popular, so he hadn't written anything beyond the sample. He has stated that he wants to write the full book, but [[DevelopmentHell he's having trouble coming up with ideas for it.]] Goldman sadly passed away in November 2018, so it's doubtful [[AuthorExistenceFailure the sequel will ever be completed.]]

** His masterpiece ''Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov'' was intended to be only the first arc of a much larger story, but unfortunately Dostoevsky [[AuthorExistenceFailure died before he could complete any more of it.]]

* ''Literature/ConfessionsOfGeorgiaNicolson'': A new series about Georgia, introducing her as a young adult after her happy ending with Dave "The Laugh" at the end of the books, was due to have begun in 2017 and the first book was advertised for pre-order on several websites. It was then withdrawn from sale, and due to AuthorExistenceFailure, it's now unknown whether the book will be published (and either way, there won't be a series.).

* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': It's likely that [[http://redwall.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:LordTBT/News:Is_There_A_Redwall_23%3F_An_Old_Mystery_Deciphered a 23rd book]] was in the works at the time of Brian Jacques's [[AuthorExistenceFailure death]]: there had been a contest to create a character to appear in the books. The winning character was Reisa Kartwell, a haremaid cartographer from Salamandastron. The winner was sent an illustration of the character. As this character did not appear in ''The Rogue Crew'' (the only book to come out after the contest), it's assumed that this character was meant to be in the next book after that.

** Also, there was gonna be a book called ''Midnight Sun'', which would tell the first book from [[PerspectiveFlip Edward's viewpoint]], but it was scrapped after the first twelve chapters of the manuscript were leaked on the internet. However, Meyer has said she may get around to finishing it eventually.

* The enormously popular "Literature/MillenniumTrilogy" of ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'', ''The Girl Who Played with Fire'', and ''The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest'' were written by Swedish journalist/activist Stieg Larsson in his off-hours as a way to relax. He only decided to try and get them published after finishing the final draft of ''Hornet's Nest'', then promptly dropped dead of a heart attack. His girlfriend Eva Gabrielsson is in possession of Larsson's computer, which has at least three-fourths of a fourth novel and is rumored to have detailed synopses on the fifth and sixth books as well, though what may come of this is anyone's guess.

* In the original draft of Collodi's ''Pinocchio'', the protagonist died, hanged by the Cat and the Fox. When this version of the novel wasn't approved, the author made Pinocchio survive and added several chapters, changing completely the story's tone. If you didn't read the book, [[spoiler:he still gets hanged, but it's only halfway in the story]].