Trivia / The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia

• Box Office Bomb: Budget, $17 million. Box office, $5 million in Germany, but allegedly not even 5 figures in the States, where it screened in limited release, was ripped to shreds, and eventually came Direct to Video without Warner's involvement (Disney/Miramax distributed it instead).
• Dawson Casting: The "high school students" in III are in their mid-20s - or older. Similarly, Julie Cox is cast as the "Childlike" Empress (who in the book is The Ageless but looks around 10) despite being 21 by the time the film came out, which is noticeable in that she was actually taller than Jason James Richter, who plays Bastian the film.
  • Lampshaded when the janitor asks the Nasties how many times they're going to repeat the twelfth grade.
• Franchise Killer: This film, which, unlike the first two films, used almost no elements from the novel, did it to the NeverEnding Story movie franchise. Its failures both critically and commercially were the final nails in the book cover.
• The Other Darrin: After the only character in the second movie played by the same actor as in the first movie was Mr. Coreander (Thomas Hill), the third movie recasts everybody again, even him.
• Playing Against Type: Jack Black, who is typically known for playing somewhat bumbling yet lovable misfits, is the Big Bad in this film.
• What Could Have Been: Atreyu was actually supposed to appear as a major character, ending up in Las Vegas as a result of Bastian's wish overload. This was most likely cut considering how the incredibly stereotypical Native American accent the writers gave him probably would not have sat well with a lot of people.

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