| 1 | Various Intellectual Properties and Franchises will have discussions on adaptations, sequels and spin-offs, often just to try and keep the license. But a curious thing can happen when during development a work starts off as part of a franchise or IP but ends up being reworked into something else or entirely divergent from where it began. It may be that the license expired, the popularity of the work was seen as on the decline, the sales pitch ended up rejected or the original creative team had deviated so much from the source material it was seen as so InNameOnly they might as well change the name too. Mostly, they wanted to keep the script and existing production work that was done while having the SerialNumbersFiledOff. If you look at it sideways you might see where its origins came from, but all definitive signs of its heritage are completely erased. If the creators are lucky enough, the new property can end up being so successful that it ends up becoming its own popular series that may never have materialized had it remained tied to its license; indeed, some of the most iconic and long-running franchises of all time, such as ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'', originated from failed plans for a licensed work. |
| 2 | |
| 3 | A contrast to DolledUpInstallment, where a work started unrelated and was then boosted afterwards with an established name. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Take into consideration key definition points: |
| 6 | * The work has to be slotted within a particular title, franchise or "sub" franchise, before turning down a different path. Whether it counts as CanonDiscontinuity or an AlternateUniverse to a "prime" canon is not the issue of consideration. If an author writes a novel about ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes'' in a [[RecycledInSpace dystopian future]], it's still a Sherlock Holmes novel. The novel would have to be rewritten to remove all Sherlock Holmes character and mythos from the narrative. |
| 7 | * The trope is not about anything as simple as titles, it is centered around core story beats with an eye towards what they can change and [[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope get around a copyright lawyer]]. If the work is called "Sherlock Holmes Without a Problem," and is later renamed to simply "Without a Problem" but still stars Sherlock Holmes, it's still a Sherlock Holmes story. |
| 8 | * The trope has to fundamentally part ways with the work it started from. While a MidDevelopmentGenreShift can result in a notably different final product, it may have just been a natural evolution of the story as it came together. If an author starts out writing a Sherlock Holmes book and winds up become more of a romantic comedy instead of a {{whodunnit}}, it's still a Sherlock Holmes story. But writing a Sherlock Holmes story and it turns into a James Bond book, it has become a different beast altogether. Yes, this ''can'' overlap with DolledUpInstallment, and often does. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | This can get complicated with CanonWelding and conflicting WordOfGod statements. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Subtrope of WhatCouldHaveBeen. Compare SerialNumbersFiledOff, SpiritualSuccessor, AscendedFanfic. Sometimes overlaps with MarketBasedTitle, and may feature SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute characters. A SubTrope of DerivativeDifferentiation. |
| 13 | ---- |
| 14 | !!Examples: |
| 15 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 18 | * ''Armored Police Metal Jack'' was going to be a sequel to the live-action tokusatsu show ''Series/DennouKeisatsuCybercop'', but due to certain difficulties in the show's production, it was made into an anime series instead and had no ties to the tokusatsu series. |
| 19 | * The original ''Franchise/DuelMasters'' manga was originally about Shobu and his friends having wacky antics while playing their favorite card game... ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. Yeah, the series was originally directly licensed by Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast themselves. However, the deal did not quite go as planned, leading the creators to develop their own original card game to replace ''Magic'', and said new card game became the centerpiece of the ''Anime/DuelMasters'' anime, games, and so on that followed the manga. Still, it is quite surreal to go back to the original and see things like Shobu rocking a Sliver deck. |
| 20 | * ''Anime/EagleRiders'' was actually a mash-up of ''Gatchaman II'' and ''Gatchaman F''. Because [[Creator/SabanEntertainment Saban]] did not own the rights to either of the previous ''[[Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman Gatchaman]]'' adaptations (''Anime/BattleOfThePlanets'' and ''[[Anime/GForceGuardiansOfSpace G-Force]]'') they had to pitch their dub as an unrelated series. |
| 21 | * ''Anime/GearFighterDendoh'' is partially based on ''Saint of Braves Baan Gaan'', the proposed ninth installment of the ''Anime/BraveSeries'' and a sequel to both ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'' and ''Anime/{{Betterman}}''. |
| 22 | * ''Manga/LittleGhostQTaro'': The video game ''Chubby Cherub'' was originally a game based on the manga. Few changes were made to the game aside from replacing Q-Taro with a cherub. |
| 23 | * ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' is a strange case. It's well known that this dub is a mash-up of ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', ''Anime/SuperDimensionCavalrySouthernCross'', and ''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada'', but the rewrites mean that ''Robotech's'' version of events are unconnected to the events of its originators (though you could still watch a sequel like ''Macross 7'' and understand what's going on), and in fact ''Robotech'' wound up having its own canon with events that play out completely differently. |
| 24 | [[/folder]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 27 | * Creator/JohnByrne's ''2112'' was originally a pilot of sorts for the project that eventually became the ''ComicBook/Marvel2099'' line. When he parted ways with Marvel, he simply excised the Marvel-exclusive parts of the story and published what was left as a graphic novel. |
| 28 | * Creator/{{Moebius}}'s ''Airtight Garage'' originally had Jerry Cornelius from ''Literature/TheCorneliusChronicles'' as a protagonist but Cornelius was renamed "Lewis Carnelian" in reprints after his original author, Creator/MichaelMoorcock complained about him being out of character. |
| 29 | * In the 1970s, ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'' was canceled at issue #56, ending on a {{Cliffhanger}}. Writer Steve Skeates later created a similar hero named Prince Targo for ''Eerie'' magazine and used his plot for what would have been ''Aquaman'' #57 for one of Targo's adventures. He later did a direct sequel to ''Aquaman'' #56 in the pages of ''ComicBook/SubMariner'' over at Marvel, with the set-up involving a BroadStrokes recap of #56 and a LawyerFriendlyCameo from Aquaman himself. |
| 30 | * ''ComicBook/AstroCity: The Dark Age'' started life as a sequel to Kurt Busiek's ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}'' series. It was originally to be called ''Cops & Robbers'', and then ''Crime & Punishment''. When Marvel ended up not going ahead, Kurt retooled the story to take place in Astro City rather than the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. |
| 31 | * ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'s costume began as an unused design Alex Ross had come up with for a modern take on ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}. |
| 32 | * ''Breach'' was originally going to be a ''Comicbook/CaptainAtom'' reboot. |
| 33 | * Creator/JackKirby's character ''Captain Glory'' began as an unused ComicBook/CaptainAmerica design Marvel had asked him to create in the event that the company lost ownership of the character. |
| 34 | * ''ComicBook/ContestOfChampions1982'' was originally written and drawn as a tie-in to the 1980 [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames Summer Olympics]], following a similar tie-in that featured ComicBook/SpiderMan and Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk at the Winter Games. Unexpectedly, UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter decided to boycott the Summer Games that year, resulting in the crossover being shelved. It was eventually revived two years later, with the plot heavily {{ReTool}}ed to omit all references to the Olympics. |
| 35 | * Creator/DwayneMcDuffie's ''ComicBook/{{Deathlok}}'' series was originally supposed to be a licensed ''Franchise/RoboCop'' comic book. |
| 36 | * ''ComicBook/{{DEMO}}'' was spawned from unused ideas Creator/BrianWood came up with for ''ComicBook/{{NYX}}'' back when he was going to be the writer for that book, as well as stuff he wasn't allowed to do when he was writing ''Comicbook/GenerationX''. |
| 37 | * Creator/RobLiefeld's ''Fighting American'' series started off as a way for the artist to reuse some unfinished artwork and plots from his short-lived tenure on the ComicBook/HeroesReborn ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' series. This resulted in the Fighting American becoming even ''more'' of an {{Expy}} of Cap, which in turn led to Marvel taking legal action against Liefeld. |
| 38 | * Duncan, the main protagonist of ''ComicBook/{{Firebreather}}'', originated in a pitch for a Marvel series called ''The Crew'', which would have starred a ComicBook/YoungAvengers-like group of teen heroes. When that plan fell through, the character was simply {{Retool}}ed for use at Creator/ImageComics. Had he been published at Marvel, the Firebreather would have been the son of Fin Fang Foom. |
| 39 | * Creator/HarlanEllison's "Five Dooms to Save Tomorrow" was originally written as a ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} and Hawkgirl'' story but was rejected by Creator/DCComics for being "too sophisticated." Following this, a truncated synopsis of the story was published in an issue of the fanzine ''Comic Art'', with Hawkman and Hawkgirl swapped out for a pair of thinly veiled {{Expies}} called Falcon and Greywing. This version of "Five Dooms" was eventually read by Marvel editor Roy Thomas, who liked it so much that he contacted Ellison to see about publishing the story as an issue of ''ComicBook/TheAvengers''. After Thomas adapted the synopsis and made the necessary character changes, "Five Dooms to Save Tomorrow" finally saw an official publication as ''The Avengers'' #101. |
| 40 | * ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'' was originally pitched as ''Fury Force'', starring the son of ComicBook/NickFury leading a ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} team against Baron Zemo and ComicBook/{{Hydra}}. When Creator/LarryHama has been picked to write comics based on the ''Franchise/GIJoe'' license, he used what he had from that pitch as a basis. |
| 41 | * Creator/RobLiefeld created a character for the ComicBook/New52 ''ComicBook/Grifter2011'' series named Niko, who was originally supposed to have been Cheshire from the ''Teen Titans''. The name was changed, but her Asian ethnicity and green costume were kept. |
| 42 | * Many of the characters and plots from ''ComicBook/Hardware1993'' were originally part of a ComicBook/LukeCage series Creator/DwayneMcDuffie had unsuccessfully pitched to Marvel Comics. |
| 43 | * Willoughby Kipling of ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'' and Creator/AmbroseBierce in ''ComicBook/StanleyAndHisMonster'' were both meant to be [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]], but Creator/DCComics wouldn't allow it, the former due to not wanting Constantine's realism to be undermined by interacting with superheroes and the latter due to not wanting the Vertigo-associated characters to appear in kid-friendly titles. |
| 44 | * Creator/FrankMiller's graphic novel ''ComicBook/HolyTerror'' was originally going to be a ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' story in which Batman fights Islamic terrorists, but Miller decided that it would work better with an original character. Or, alternatively, Creator/DCComics read his proposal and told him there was no way they were going to let him do this with their most valuable property. |
| 45 | * Goldrush, a one-shot character from Creator/GeoffJohns' ''Comicbook/{{Justice League|Of America}}'' run, was originally supposed to be the [[MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] heroine Lady Luck. |
| 46 | * ''ComicBook/{{Kamandi}}'' was created after DC tried and failed to get the license to publish a ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' comic book. |
| 47 | * ''ComicBook/KravensLastHunt:'' Based on a storyline involving ComicBook/WonderMan and the Grim Reaper that J. M. [=DeMatteis=] submitted to Marvel and was rejected. He then reworked it into a ComicBook/{{Batman}} vs. ComicBook/TheJoker project that got nixed because ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' was already in production. Next [=DeMatteis=] developed the "return from the grave" story into one about Batman and Hugo Strange, but that also was rejected by DC. Finally, he reworked and expanded the story for Marvel into the epic we know today featuring ComicBook/SpiderMan, his wife Mary Jane, Kraven the Hunter, and Vermin, which was published in 1987. |
| 48 | * John Wagner and Alan Grant's ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'' story, ''Bob The Galactic Bum'' was reprinted in ''[[ComicBook/TwoThousandAD The Judge Dredd Megazine]]'' and for copyright reasons, Lobo had to be replaced with a female Bounty Hunter called "Asbo". |
| 49 | * Creator/AlejandroJodorowsky turned his unproduced script for ''[[Film/JodorowskysDune Dune]]'' into ''ComicBook/TheMetabarons'': elements such as the Hooker-Nuns Shabda-Oud are a clear {{Expy}} for the Bene Gesserit, with the same kind of genetic agenda. |
| 50 | * ''Comicbook/TheOrder2007'' was supposed to be a revival of ''ComicBook/Champions1975'', a Marvel team book that starred ComicBook/BlackWidow, ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules, [[ComicBook/XMen the Angel, Iceman]] and ComicBook/GhostRider. Unfortunately, Marvel had lost the trademark to the name "Champions", so the series had to be named something else. |
| 51 | * Creator/PeterDavid originally created the characters ComicBook/SachsAndViolens for his landmark run on ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk''. Concerns about the content led to David instead giving the characters their own limited series at Epic Comics, and later using them in ''Comicbook/{{Fallen Angel|2003}}''. |
| 52 | * Creator/NeilGaiman originally pitched ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' to Creator/GeorgeRRMartin as part of the ''Literature/{{Wildcards}}'' universe. Martin passed because of Gaiman's lack of writing credits, and the idea was eventually revived at Creator/VertigoComics. |
| 53 | * The Creator/{{Vertigo|Comics}} series ''Scarab'' was conceived as a DarkerAndEdgier take on ''ComicBook/DoctorFate''. |
| 54 | * ''ComicBook/ShangChi'' exists because Jim Starlin and Steve Englehart wanted to do a licensed ''Series/KungFu1972'' comic book, but had to replace Kwai Chang with an original character after learning that the show was made by Warner Brothers, the parent company of DC, Marvel’s biggest rival. The character of Shang-Chi himself has since been divorced from his origin as the son of Literature/FuManchu, after Marvel lost the license to adapt the novels. His evil genius father has been retconned to be an original character named Zheng Zu. |
| 55 | * Creator/GrantMorrison originally envisioned ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers'' as a ''ComicBook/{{Justice League|Of America}}'' SpinOff focusing on some of Franchise/TheDCU's lesser-known heroes. |
| 56 | * The short-lived DC series ''Takion'' was originally pitched as a revamp of the Will Payton version of ''ComicBook/StarmanDCComics'', who'd seemingly died at the end of the ''Darkness Within'' crossover. |
| 57 | * ''ComicBook/TomorrowStories'' was intended to have a Cobweb "story" which consisted of Cobweb narrating a comic biography of the real-world rocket scientist and occultist Jack Parsons. DC refused to print it because it described the alleged involvement of Creator/LRonHubbard in ritual magic and questionable financial dealings in the years before he founded the Church of Scientology, which they feared would get them in trouble with the Scientologists. The item was eventually printed in a Top Shelf anthology called Top Shelf Asks The Big Questions, with the Cobweb transparently renamed as La Toile, a French translation that had already been used in the main series as the alias of an earlier Cobweb who lived in France. However, the incident heavily contributed to Creator/AlanMoore's second break with DC. In addition, Moore's wife and Cobweb co-creator Melinda Gebbie stopped drawing the comic. |
| 58 | * ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' was originally going to be a reboot of DC's Secret Society of Supervillains, but was converted into a stand-alone work when Creator/{{Mark Millar}} decided he wanted to go {{Darker and Edgier}}. |
| 59 | * ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}:'' Originally written by Creator/AlanMoore to make use of Creator/CharltonComics's superheroes after DC Comics acquired the rights to them, but because they wanted to incorporate said heroes into the mainstream DC Universe, the characters were [[SerialNumbersFiledOff changed into original characters in a reality of their own]], e. g. Comicbook/CaptainAtom to Doctor Manhattan, ComicBook/TheQuestion to Rorschach, ComicBook/BlueBeetle to Nite-Owl, ComicBook/PhantomLady to Silk Spectre, ComicBook/{{Peacemaker}} to The Comedian, etc. |
| 60 | * Storm and Nightcrawler from ''ComicBook/XMen'' were recycled from a pitch Dave Cockrum had for a ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' SpinOff called ''The Outsiders''. Nightcrawler ended up being the same, while Storm was created as a CompositeCharacter of a few different unused characters: Trio (cape and headdress), Quetzal (long flowing hair), and Typhoon (weather powers), as well as a prototype X-Men character, called Black Cat (costume and basic physical appearance). Silkie from ''The Futurians'' was also conceived as a member of the X-Men before rights issues got in the way. |
| 61 | * ''ComicBook/YoungbloodImageComics'' was originally a proposed ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' spin-off, explaining Shaft's "[[{{Expy}} coincidental similarities]]" to ComicBook/GreenArrow's sidekick Arsenal. In addition to Shaft being an obvious Arsenal stand-in, Diehard was supposed to have been a S.T.A.R. Labs android, and Vogue would have been a new version of the Harlequin. Additionally, the characters Brahma, Photon, Combat, and Cougar were recycled from a rejected ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'' pitch Liefeld created with Jim Valentino during the 90's. |
| 62 | [[/folder]] |
| 63 | |
| 64 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 65 | * ''WesternAnimation/HappilyNEverAfter'' was originally going to be a BigDamnMovie of the fairy tale TV series ''WesternAnimation/SimsalaGrimm''. But a year after it was greenlit, the show's production company backed out, and the characters of Yoyo and Doc Croc were rewritten as [[{{Expy}} Expies]] Mambo and Munk. |
| 66 | * Creator/RalphBakshi wanted to direct an animated ''Film/{{Grease}}'' movie which would have ended with Danny killing himself. He went on to direct a {{Deconstruction}} called ''WesternAnimation/HeyGoodLookin'' about similar greaser characters, one of whom kills himself. |
| 67 | * ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' was going to be a film adaptation of the comic book Rex Havoc but became completely rewritten during pre-production. |
| 68 | * ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' got some of the way through production with the intent that the little girl would be none other than Penny from ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'', post-being adopted by rich parents. This was changed due to Disney not being ''quite'' ready to make direct sequels of any stripe to their past theatrical features ([[WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder yet]]). In the finished film, the girl's name was changed from Penny to ''J''enny, she's eight years old instead of six, and she has auburn hair in a ponytail instead of blonde hair in pigtails, but she is otherwise a perfect twin of Penny. |
| 69 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' was originally going to be sort of a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'', with Cruella [=DeVil=] as the villain, but they decided to replace Cruella with an original villain, Madame Medusa. |
| 70 | [[/folder]] |
| 71 | |
| 72 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 73 | * Creator/ZackSnyder |
| 74 | ** ''Film/ArmyOfTheDead'' was originally conceived as a sequel to Snyder's own ''Film/{{Dawn of the Dead|2004}}'' from 2004. It is now its own franchise starter. |
| 75 | ** ''Film/RebelMoon'', a ScienceFantasy SpaceOpera, was once pitched as a ''Franchise/StarWars'' movie during the acquisition of Creator/{{Lucasfilm}} by Creator/{{Disney}}. This is also a peculiar, full-circle example, as it wasn't conceived to be nor started off as one [[labelnote:note]]being an original story he developed for decades, inspired by ''Film/SevenSamurai'', but set in space [[/labelnote]] and it wouldn't have featured any legendary icons or locations from the franchise, had Lucasfilm accepted the pitch, since Zack Snyder wanted it to still be its own unique entity regardless. |
| 76 | * ''Film/BeyondTheValleyOfTheDolls'' was supposed to be a sequel to the ''Literature/ValleyOfTheDolls'' film adaptation until Creator/RussMeyer and Creator/RogerEbert were brought on board to direct and write, respectively, turning the film into a spoof of the first one instead. |
| 77 | * ''Film/{{Colombiana}}'' starring Creator/ZoeSaldana was originally written by Creator/LucBesson as ''Mathilda'', a sequel to ''Film/TheProfessional'' which would have followed an older Mathilda Lando getting revenge on the men who had wronged her after the death of her mentor Leon Montana. [[CanonWelding It was also intended to be set in the same universe]] as ''Film/{{Nikita}}'', but because Besson left Gaumont (the production company behind the film) after the failure of 1999's ''Film/TheMessengerTheStoryOfJoanOfArc'', coupled with him unable to get Creator/NataliePortman interested, it became a standalone film. |
| 78 | * ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'': |
| 79 | ** The original American dub of ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain'' tries to modify itself into a standalone movie retitled ''Gigantis, the Fire Monster'' with heavily modified footage, soundtrack, and dialogue. Originally, it was going to be a full remake with the same effects known as ''The Volcano Monsters'' but the studio responsible went bankrupt before filming started. |
| 80 | ** The American dub for ''Film/WarOfTheGargantuas'' similarly omits mention of the fact it's a sequel to ''Film/FrankensteinConquersTheWorld'' by removing all mention of Frankenstein from the original dialogue. Which, admittedly, wasn't that hard since the connection was [[ContinuitySnarl rather tenuous]] to begin with. |
| 81 | ** ''Film/EbirahHorrorOfTheDeep'' was originally written as a Franchise/KingKong film, but it was scrapped after Creator/RankinBassProductions thought it was too different from ''WesternAnimation/TheKingKongShow'', which it was supposed to adapt. So a new script was written and made into ''Film/KingKongEscapes'', while Toho retooled the initial script by replacing Kong with Godzilla, hence his rather Kong-like [[BeastAndBeauty fascination with the film's human heroine]]. Some posters for the movie [[CoversAlwaysLie clearly never got the memo]] and continue to advertise it as a King Kong movie. |
| 82 | ** The Japanese film ''Film/{{Gunhed}}'' originally began life as a proposed sequel to ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'', submitted as part of a sequel writing contest, ultimately losing out to the film which became ''Film/{{Godzilla vs Biollante}}''. When ''Gunhed'' became a standalone film, it lost many of its original elements, aside from the removal of Godzilla himself. |
| 83 | * The Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme movie ''Film/{{Cyborg 1989}}'' was originally going to be a sequel to ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' (though as TroubledProduction shows, the story is complicated). It also utilized props, sets, and costumes from a ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' movie that was almost made before Cannon lost the rights. |
| 84 | * ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' was itself written to be a ''ComicBook/NewGods'' film, which is why it imports its cast to Earth, something that was never an element of the franchise, but makes total sense if it's Orion fighting Darkseid. |
| 85 | * ''Film/TheBlacksheepAffair'' was originally written as a sequel to ''Film/HighRisk'', with Creator/JetLi reprising his character (now working as a bodyguard in the fictional country of Lavernia) but when Li declined to return, a new character played by Creator/VincentZhao (a.k.a discount Jet Li) is written into an original storyline. |
| 86 | * ''Film/DoctorMordrid'' was originally written as a ''Comicbook/DoctorStrange'' movie, but the script was changed after the rights expired and returned to Marvel. |
| 87 | * ''Film/DieHard'' is based on the novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever'', which is a sequel to the novel ''The Detective''. The first novel had already been adapted into a film starring Music/FrankSinatra more than a decade before ''Nothing Lasts Forever'' was published, and the main character of the sequel is an old man around Sinatra's age at the time, but the filmmakers of ''Die Hard'' deliberately rewrote the story as a standalone film and made the main character younger. Nevertheless, they were contractually obligated to offer Sinatra the lead role first – Sinatra, who was 70 years old by then, unsurprisingly turned it down. The story was also briefly considered to be used for a ''Film/{{Commando}}'' sequel. |
| 88 | * ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' started life as ''Film/LethalWeapon4'', making it a Divorced Installment ''and'' a DolledUpInstallment. |
| 89 | * ''Film/TearsOfTheSun'' started life as ''Die Hard 4'', but became stand-alone when it was decided it was too different from the other movies. Bruce Willis said John [=McClane=] should die at the end of ''Die Hard 4''. |
| 90 | * ''Film/TheCollector2009'' started as a ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' prequel. |
| 91 | * ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' was originally written as ''Film/{{Grease}} 3'' (which explains a lot), with Sharpay being Rizzo's daughter. |
| 92 | * ''Film/SnowDay'' was originally written as a [[Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete Pete & Pete]] movie, but Nickelodeon took so long to approve the script that by the time they gave the go-ahead to start filming, the actors who played Pete and Pete themselves (Michael Maronna and Danny Tamberelli) were too old for their roles (and as well a good part of the kids cast), resulting in the change of characters. |
| 93 | * ''Train'' (essentially ''Film/{{Hostel}}'', [[RecycledInSpace on a]] [[ThrillerOnTheExpress train]]) was initially going to be a remake of ''Film/TerrorTrain''. |
| 94 | * ''Camp Fear'' was originally slated to be a sequel to ''Film/CheerleaderCamp''. |
| 95 | * The {{Hong Kong|Films}} movie ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dd5vDftTrI The Avenging Fist]]'' started out as a LiveActionAdaptation of ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''. A lot of the source material's influence remains, though. |
| 96 | * ''[[Film/Chaos2005DeFalco Chaos]]'' was going to be a remake of ''Film/TheLastHouseOnTheLeft'', though the change was so last minute that both films are still extremely similar. |
| 97 | * ''Ghosts of Goldfield'' was originally going to be the fourth ''Film/UrbanLegend'' film, but was released independently of the series at the last minute. |
| 98 | * The 1997 made-for-TV Disney film ''Film/TowerOfTerror'' removes all ''Franchise/TheTwilightZone''-based elements from [[Ride/TheTwilightZoneTowerOfTerror the source ride]]. |
| 99 | * ''Film/KullTheConqueror'' was originally going to be the third ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' movie, but Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger was unavailable at the time. Amusingly, this is the reverse situation of the first Conan story, see under literature for that one. |
| 100 | * ''Film/RedSonja'': Lord Kalidor was supposed to be Conan from ''Conan the Barbarian'', but the film did not have the rights to this name. It was later stated that it ''was'' Conan, just under one of his traveling names. |
| 101 | * ''Film/{{Eurotrip}}'' was originally supposed to be a sequel to ''Film/RoadTrip'' before it was realized that other than the concept, had little to do with the previous film. ''Road Trip'' would later get an InNameOnly sequel in the form of ''Road Trip: Beer Pong'' (which is more of an American college version of ''Film/{{Beerfest}}''). |
| 102 | %%It's still a prequel to Alien* ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' was originally planned as a prequel to the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' series until Ridley Scott decided to rewrite it as a stand-alone story (it's still set in the ''Alien'' universe, but has very few ties to the actual storyline). However, the ''Alien'' connection is so obvious that it's nearly impossible to not think of it as a prequel, to the point that the sequel was even titled ''Film/AlienCovenant''. |
| 103 | * ''Film/MinorityReport'' initially started life as a sequel to fellow Creator/PhilipKDick adaptation ''Film/{{Total Recall|1990}}'', with Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger reprising his role as Douglas Quaid. However, the project was reformatted into a more straightforward adaptation of Dick's short story after Creator/CarolcoPictures went bankrupt. |
| 104 | * ''Film/MrSmithGoesToWashington'' was supposed to be a sequel to ''Film/MrDeedsGoesToTown'', but when Creator/GaryCooper was unavailable, Creator/FrankCapra rewrote the film as a vehicle for Creator/JamesStewart. |
| 105 | * When Creator/VinceOffer started making another SketchComedy AnthologyFilm, he announced it as ''Underground Comedy 2010'' to be a sequel to his 1999 film '' The Underground Comedy Movie''. When it actually got released in 2013, it was titled ''Film/InAPPropriateComedy''. |
| 106 | * The 1955 film serial ''The Adventures of Captain Africa'' was intended as a sequel to the 1943 serial ''Film/{{The Phantom|1943}}'', but Columbia lost the film rights to the Phantom and had to substitute an "original" masked jungle hero. |
| 107 | * ''Mysterious Doctor Satan'' from Creator/RepublicPictures was written as a Comicbook/{{Superman}} serial, but the whole project had to be altered when it turned out that the character's film rights were actually at [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons Fleischer Studios]]. A quick round of rewrites turned Superman into a new hero called Copperhead, Comicbook/LoisLane into Lois Scott, and the villain into the titular Doctor Satan. |
| 108 | * ''Film/District9'' was originally going to be a ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' movie before it became apparent that the final production budget would be in excess of $250 million; Universal had paid $5 million for the option alone, and that was only after Microsoft had asked for $10 million and 15% of the gross; they settled for 10%. 20th Century Fox even came on board as a partner, but eventually, the production was canceled because Creator/PeterJackson and executive producer Peter Schlessel refused to cut their percentage points in the gross, reducing the profit margin for the studios even further. Jackson allocated $40 million to Creator/NeillBlomkamp both as a way of a goodwill gesture, and to salvage all the work that had already been done. Many of the props used in the film were repurposed from their original intended use. |
| 109 | * ''Film/VantagePoint'' was a discarded script for a ''Series/TwentyFour'' movie. |
| 110 | * The first ''Film/{{Final Destination|1}}'' was originally written as a spec script for an episode of ''Series/TheXFiles''. |
| 111 | * The script for ''Film/SuperheroMovie'' was originally intended for ''Film/ScaryMovie 4'', until they realized it had no horror movie references, and so it was made into a superhero spoof. |
| 112 | * ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' started life as a sequel to ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossTheEighthDimension''. |
| 113 | * ''Film/GhostsOfMars'' was originally a third [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork Snake Plissken]] film called ''Escape from Mars'', but after ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' flopped, it became a standalone film. |
| 114 | * ''Film/FoxyBrown'' was originally a sequel to ''Film/{{Coffy}}''. |
| 115 | * Creator/QuentinTarantino' originally envisioned ''Film/TheHatefulEight'' as a ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' TieInNovel (called, apparently, ''Django: White Hell''), until he realized the disadvantages of having the main character the audience already knew was the good guy, and was also [[PlotArmour not likely to die in his own sequel.]]. |
| 116 | * ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' was born out of Creator/JohnBoorman's failed attempt to adapt ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. |
| 117 | * When Creator/SamRaimi was unable to obtain the rights to ''Radio/TheShadow'', he made ''Film/{{Darkman}}'' instead. |
| 118 | * Creator/GeorgeLucas wanted to make a ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'' movie, but he couldn't get the rights, so he made ''Franchise/StarWars''. Ironically, ''Star Wars'' became so popular that an actual ''Film/FlashGordon1980'' movie would get made a few years later. |
| 119 | * ''Film/Speed2CruiseControl'' was an unused script for ''Film/DieHard'' 3. |
| 120 | * ''Film/FastFive'' started life as ''The Brazilian Job'', a sequel to ''Film/TheItalianJob2003''. |
| 121 | * ''Film/PrinceOfDarkness'' was originally written as the fourth ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' film (when the series was to be unrelated Halloween anthology films like ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'') but was rewritten as a stand-alone film when the producers decided to resurrect Michael Myers, a story arc Creator/JohnCarpenter felt he had concluded with ''Film/HalloweenII1981''. |
| 122 | * ''Film/Halloween1978'' was originally a sequel to ''Film/BlackChristmas1974''. |
| 123 | * Creator/JohnWoo's ''Film/BulletInTheHead'' was meant to be a prequel to ''Film/ABetterTomorrow''. When he fell out with producer Tsui Hark, he made a standalone film, while Hark made the prequel ''A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon''. |
| 124 | * ''Film/{{Nighthawks}}'' was originally ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'' III with Creator/GeneHackman reprising his role opposite new sidekick Creator/RichardPryor. When Hackman said no, it became a standalone thriller. |
| 125 | * ''Film/TheNightHouse'' was originally conceived as a ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' reboot told from the perspective of Julia from [[Film/{{Hellraiser}} the original movie]]. The film was to follow Julia's descent into occultism as she grieved the loss of her lover Frank, which was reworked into a standalone story after Creator/DimensionFilms passed on the pitch. |
| 126 | * ''Film/{{Solace}}'' was originally a sequel to ''Film/Se7en'' called ''[=Ei8ht=]'' focusing on Detective Somerset as a psychic who helps the FBI find a known serial killer. |
| 127 | * ''Film/TheKissOfTheVampire'' was meant to be the third in Film/HammerHorror's Literature/{{Dracula}} series. It was an attempt to make a Dracula film without Creator/ChristopherLee. |
| 128 | * ''Film/KnockedUp'' was originally a sequel to ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin'', with Creator/SethRogen and co. reprising their roles as the Smart Tech team. |
| 129 | * ''Film/AvengingForce'' was originally written as a sequel to ''Film/InvasionUSA1985'' with Creator/ChuckNorris returning to the role of Matt Hunter. When he was uninterested, the role was rewritten to be younger and was given to Michael Dudikoff instead and it became a standalone film. |
| 130 | * Creator/WilliamWyler originally conceived ''Film/HowToStealAMillion'' as a follow-up to ''Film/RomanHoliday'', another film he made with Creator/AudreyHepburn. |
| 131 | * ''Film/TheSicilian'' was based on a book that was a SpinOff from ''Film/TheGodfather'' focusing on Michael Corleone's exile in Sicily, but all references had to be removed for copyright reasons. |
| 132 | * Very nearly happened to ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs''. Orion Pictures had the film rights to Creator/ThomasHarris' novel, but ''Literature/RedDragon'' - to which ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' was a sequel - had already been brought to the screen a few years prior, as ''Film/{{Manhunter}}''. This meant that ''Manhunter'''s producer, Creator/DinoDeLaurentiis, still owned the film rights to all characters who had appeared in his film, including Hannibal Lecter himself. Assuming they wouldn't be able to get the character rights, the Orion team planned to simply rename them (Hannibal himself would have become Dr. Gideon Quinn), but since ''Manhunter'' had been a commercial disappointment, De Laurentiis wasn't feeling very possessive of the rights, and allowed them to use the original names free of charge. |
| 133 | * ''Film/TheClimax'' was originally intended to be a sequel to ''Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943'', and was filmed on the same sets as that movie. However, it was ultimately changed to be a standalone story featuring all new characters. |
| 134 | * ''Neighborhood Watch'' (also known as ''Deadly End'') was recycled from an early draft for a script to ''Film/DrGiggles.'' |
| 135 | * The book ''Film/{{Zathura}}'' was based on a sequel to ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'' where the board game turned itself into a space game because the new kids who found it had no interest in jungles. |
| 136 | * Creator/JackieChan's ''Film/MrNiceGuy'' was initially planned to be the fifth film of the ''Film/PoliceStory'' series before being rewritten as a standalone film. |
| 137 | * ''Film/{{The Invisible Man|2020}}'' was originally envisioned as part of the Film/DarkUniverse until ''Film/{{The Mummy|2017}}'' bombed at the box office. |
| 138 | * ''Film/TheOogielovesInTheBigBalloonAdventure'' was originally envisioned as a film adaptation of ''Series/{{Teletubbies}}''. |
| 139 | * ''Film/DraculaVsFrankenstein'' was originally planned as a sequel to ''Film/SatansSadists'', with Russ Tamblyn and other "bikers" reprising their parts from that film. However, not long after filming began, it was decided to turn it into a horror film instead of a biker picture and much of the footage with Tamblyn and other actors from the first film was cut out. They were unable to cut them completely out of the movie, though, which is why Tamblyn and his biker gang seem to be wandering in and out of the film, with no connection to the storyline and with not much to do. |
| 140 | * ''Film/DeathSentence'' was originally based on [[Literature/DeathWish the book]] ''Film/DeathWish'' is based on -- yet it has nothing to do with the films spawned from the first book, including going complete AdaptationNameChange on the main character (Paul Benjamin" in the books, "Paul Kersey" in the ''Death Wish'' films, and "Nick Hume" in ''Death Sentence''). |
| 141 | * The 1971 movie ''Film/{{Friends|1971}}'' originated from a screenplay that Creator/LewisGilbert had initially intended to adapt from ''Literature/TheBlueLagoon''. Gilbert had planned to produce the film in the mid-1960s with Walter Mirisch. However, when Gilbert was unable to obtain the rights from Creator/HenryDeVereStacpoole's estate, he decided to transform his idea into an entirely new and original story. |
| 142 | * Creator/GuillermoDelToro originally wrote ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'' as a script for a potential remake of ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'', and part of what would eventually become the Film/DarkUniverse. Once Creator/{{Universal}} turned down his script, Del Toro completely rewrote his script as an original story. |
| 143 | * ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' was originally conceived as a prequel to the Creator/MichaelBay-directed ''[[Film/TransformersFilmSeries Transformers]]'' [[Film/TransformersFilmSeries film pentalogy]]. However, the disappointing box office returns for ''[[Film/TransformersTheLastKnight The Last Knight]]'' led it to be redeveloped into a standalone film (though the producers [[FlipFlopOfGod did make conflicting statements]], even up until the film's release, whether they shared the same canon or not). Once ''Bumblebee'' became a smashing success, Hasbro decided that it would serve as the start of a new ''Transformers'' continuity, thus completely severing its connections with the Bay films. |
| 144 | * ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'' was originally supposed to be a fourth film in the Film/DollarsTrilogy, but when Creator/ClintEastwood declined to return as The Man With No Name, Creator/CharlesBronson was instead cast as a [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute new character]], The Man With The Harmonica. This wasn't too big a deal, since the Dollars Trilogy was more of a ThematicSeries than a cohesive story anyway. |
| 145 | * ''Film/MulhollandDrive'' began development as a spin-off of ''Series/TwinPeaks'', focusing on the character of Audrey Horne trying to make it in Hollywood. At some point it mutated into a whole new property, with Audrey replaced with a new character played by Creator/NaomiWatts. It was also supposed to be the pilot for a TV series, but after none of the networks were interested, it was re-edited and partially reshot into a standalone film. |
| 146 | * The Columbia short film ''Pardon My Terror'' starring Schilling & Lane was originally going to star Creator/TheThreeStooges, but right before filming was supposed to begin, Curly suffered a massive stroke, leading him unable to perform. Schilling & Lane were brought in place of the Stooges and the script had to be reworked to suit them. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 150 | * ''Literature/TheseOldShades'' was originally intended to be a sequel to Creator/GeorgetteHeyer's first novel ''Literature/TheBlackMoth''. |
| 151 | * ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'' is a Divorced Installment ''and'' a DolledUpInstallment -- originally an abandoned ''Series/DoctorWho'' story proposal called "Doctor Who and the Krikketmen", it was first considered as the plot for one of the many unsuccessful proposals for a ''Doctor Who'' [[TheMovie feature film]], and then divorced from ''Who'' and dolled up as the second season of the ''Guide'' TV series. When that got canceled in pre-production, it finally became the third ''Guide'' novel. |
| 152 | * Similarly, ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency'' was originally "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada Shada]]", a ''Series/DoctorWho'' script by Adams that was never completed due to a BBC strike (and has since seen other adaptations). The plot also contains elements of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]" (also by Adams), a serial that ''was'' filmed. |
| 153 | * At the time of his death, Adams was considering transforming ''Literature/TheSalmonOfDoubt'', which in the existing draft is a Literature/DirkGently novel, into a ''Hitchhiker's'' novel. |
| 154 | * The first Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian story, "Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword", is a rewrite of a rejected Literature/{{Kull}} story, "By This Axe, I Rule". Many passages are word for word identical. |
| 155 | * Project Itoh's novel ''Literature/GenocidalOrgan'' was based on a ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'' fan-fiction he wrote. |
| 156 | * The Creator/JTEdson novel ''Blonde Genius'' was originally written as a screen treatment for a ''Film/StTrinians'' movie. |
| 157 | * Creator/MercedesLackey's short story "Fiddler Fair" was originally written to fit the world of Ithkar for a shared-universe anthology, before being rewritten into the springboard for the ''Literature/BardicVoices'' series. |
| 158 | * John Grant's 1994 licensed ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' novel ''The Hundredfold Problem'' was republished in 2003 with all references to the Mega-City One 'verse removed. Judges Dredd and Callisto were replaced by Dave Knuckle and Petulia [=McTavish=]. |
| 159 | * The ''Franchise/DoctorWho'' novel, ''The Burning Heart'' was supposed to be a crossover with ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' but after the failure of the [[Film/JudgeDredd 1995 movie]], Dredd was replaced with Adjudicator Joseph Craator. |
| 160 | * Creator/ThomasLigotti, along with his friend, Brandon Trenz, wrote a spec script called "Crampton" for the ''Series/TheXFiles'', which they later reworked and published as an original story. |
| 161 | * Creator/RLStine wrote a stand-alone book called ''The Adventures of Shrinkman,'' which he has confirmed was originally supposed to be a ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' book called ''[[https://www.lostmediawiki.com/Goosebumps_Series_2000_%22The_Incredible_Shrinking_Fifth_Grader%22_(found_unreleased_Goosebumps_book;_2000) The Incredible Shrinking Fifth-Grader]].'' |
| 162 | * ''Popcorn Love'' by KL Hughes is an AscendedFanfic that started as a ''Series/OnceUponATime'' TransplantedCharacterFic with [[{{Mundanization}} no magic whatsoever]], pairing Emma and Regina. When it was revised, they became Allison Sawyer and Elena Vega, respectively. |
| 163 | * ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' started as a ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' fanfic before it was changed to an original story. |
| 164 | * ''The Hot Rock'' originally began life as a draft for a novel in author Donald E. Westlake's ''Literature/{{Parker}}'' series. Westlake can up with the idea of a story in which Parker had to repeatedly steal the same object. However, the story didn't work with Parker's personality (the pragmatic Parker would have just walked away from the caper), so he abandoned it. However, the idea would not let go of him, and he returned to the manuscript and created a new protagonist for whom the plot did work: the BornUnlucky John Dortmunder. Thus was born the ''Literature/{{Dortmunder}}'' series. |
| 165 | * Alien Chronicles and its sequels; were originally conceived as part of a trilogy of novels written by the Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer named Alien Exodus, which narrated the origin of the Star Wars species. However, it was decided that the story would be in its own universe without Star Wars characters or species, leading Deborah Chester to finalize the project. |
| 166 | * The ''Literature/BerniceSummerfield'' series began as a spinoff of Virgin Books' ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures''. When Virgin lost the Doctor Who license in 1997, Benny continued on her own, no longer able to meet or make direct references to the Doctor himself. Eventually, the rights moved to Creator/BigFinish, which later also acquired a ''Doctor Who'' licence, enabling them to be reunited in the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audios. |
| 167 | * The ''Literature/FactionParadox'' novel ''Erasing Sherlock'' has a complex history. It was first a prize-winning manuscript, which the author then had difficulty in finding a publisher for due to its uncertain genre. It was finally published by Mad Norwegian after being [[DolledUpInstallment slightly rewritten]] to make it a ''Faction Paradox'' novel. However, the author later released a self-published version with all ''Doctor Who'' and ''Faction Paradox'' references removed to make it a stand-alone novel again. |
| 168 | [[/folder]] |
| 169 | |
| 170 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 171 | * The third ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' show, ''Series/BattleFeverJ'', was originally planned to star a Japanese counterpart of Marvel's ComicBook/CaptainAmerica character named "Captain Japan", following up on the success of Creator/{{Toei|Company}}'s live-action ''[[Series/SpiderManJapan Spider-Man]]'' series. |
| 172 | * ''Series/TheFollowing'' was based on a discarded screenplay for ''Film/{{Scream 3}}''. Both the series and the movie franchise are produced by Kevin Williamson. |
| 173 | * ''Series/TheLAComplex'' was split off from the ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'' franchise, presumably so it could be sold to US networks outside the Viacom group. |
| 174 | * ''Series/{{Helstrom}}'': Originally planned to be part of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, and the first installment of a ''Journey Into Fear'' sub-franchise along with a ''Ghost Rider'' series (starring the same actor who played Ghost Rider in ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'') that it would have crossed over with, the changing of the guard at Marvel Television caused this series to instead be a completely standalone Creator/MarvelComics adaptation with no official connections to the MCU. The continuity that the series is set in was unofficially dubbed [=Earth-TRN836=], rather than the MCU's Earth-199999. |
| 175 | * ''Series/{{K9}}'' was the only Franchise/{{Whoniverse}} spinoff show not to ever directly reference or be referenced by ''Series/DoctorWho'' and the other TV series in the franchise, as it was licensed by Bob Baker, the co-creator of the character K9 who owned the rights to him, with no involvement or permission from the BBC, who hold the rights to the Doctor. |
| 176 | * ''Series/StrangerThings'' came about because the studio passed on the Duffer Brothers' treatment for ''Film/It2017''. Coincidentally, both projects would feature Creator/FinnWolfhard. |
| 177 | * Creator/RowanAtkinson's ''Comic Relief'' sketch, ''Spider-Plant Man'' was originally conceived as a fifth season of ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' where Blackadder and Baldrick would have been ''[[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Batman and Robin]]''-style superheroes. |
| 178 | * Creator/RobBrydon's gameshow, ''The Guess List'' was meant to be called ''[[Series/MrsBrownsBoys Mrs. Brown's]] Celebrities''. A pilot episode was recorded but Brendan O'Carroll turned down a full series because he thought it would water down the ''Mrs. Brown'' brand. |
| 179 | * ''Series/WhatsHappening'' began life as a TV adaptation of ''Film/CooleyHigh'' before being {{ReTool}}ed into its own thing. |
| 180 | * ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' co-creator George Markenstein treated the series as a sequel to ''Series/DangerMan'', believing that Number Six was John Drake. Creator/PatrickMcGoohan disagreed. |
| 181 | * [[WhatCouldHaveBeen One idea]] that Creator/JJAbrams had for ''Series/{{Felicity}}'' was a PlotTwist in which it turned out that Felicity Porter was a UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} agent. While it was obviously never used for the show, he did turn the idea of "college student moonlights as a secret agent" into a different TV series, ''Series/{{Alias}}''. ([[HilariousInHindsight Funnily enough]], Creator/KeriRussell, who played Felicity, would eventually get to play a spy on ''Series/TheAmericans'', albeit a [[UsefulNotes/MoscowCentre KGB]] agent instead of CIA.) |
| 182 | * ''Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' was developed as a spin-off of ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' and planned to air on The CW, before it moved to Netflix and became its own thing. Still, before the series ended, the creators admitted to planning a crossover with ''Riverdale'' in the could-have-been fifth season and indeed, the crossover eventually happened in the latter's sixth season. |
| 183 | * ''Series/{{Doom Patrol|2019}}'' is a weird one. The fact that it stars most of the same actors reprising their roles from ''Series/{{Titans|2018}}''[[note]]The sole exception is the Chief, who is now played by Creator/TimothyDalton.[[/note]] and airs on [[Creator/DCUniverse the same]] [[Creator/HBOMax streaming platforms]] should have been enough indication that it ''was'' originally planned to be a spinoff of ''Titans''. Ultimately, it took place in a separate continuity and the creators have alluded to it being set in an alternate universe (which was kinda confirmed in ''Series/{{Crisis on Infinite Earths|2019}}'', where clips from ''Titans'' and ''Doom Patrol'' were shown with two different universe numbers in a montage of various Earths). |
| 184 | * ''Series/{{Krypton}}'' was originally planned to be a prequel to ''Film/ManOfSteel'', taking place 200 years before the film, thus it would've served as the first Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse TV series but it was revised during production when Creator/GeoffJohns took over as chairman of DC Films and thus it became a completely standalone Creator/DCComics adaptation with no official connections to the DCEU. |
| 185 | * ''Series/ToumeiShoujoEa'' was originally written as a scenario for the direct sequel to ''VisualNovel/{{Machi}}'', but the game’s commercial failure put a damper on any sequels, barring the spiritual successor ''VisualNovel/FourTwoEightShibuyaScramble''. |
| 186 | * According to one of its actors, ''Series/MightyMed'', a Creator/DisneyXD KidCom about two teenagers who work in a secret superhero hospital, was originally developed as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the show's original logo denoting the hospital as being a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. |
| 187 | * As revealed in the season two finale, ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' is set in a universe independent to that of the Series/{{Arrowverse}}, despite sharing many actors playing the same characters and clearly still being part of the Arrowverse's established multiverse. The showrunners claimed that they had planned for the series to be separate from the Arrowverse since early on in the development of the first season (though not from the very beginning), which explains the various [[ContinuitySnarl story]] and [[SameCharacterButDifferent character inconsistencies]] between the two universes' versions of Superman and Lois. |
| 188 | * ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' was originally conceived as a SpinOff of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' (even being called the "Untitled ''Office'' Spin-off" by Creator/GregDaniels and Creator/MichaelSchur at first), but that idea was quickly scrapped early on in the production process and the series was made into its own independent entity. There was still at least another attempt to connect them where the Dunder-Mifflin copier would break, be fixed and refurbished, and then shipped to the Pawnee Parks and Rec department, though that never materialized either. |
| 189 | * ''Series/SpaceOdyssey'' was intended as another installment of the ''Franchise/WalkingWith'' series titled "Walking with Spacemen", but this connection was dropped once it was released. |
| 190 | * The Australian university drama ''[=headLand=]'' was originally planned as a ''Series/HomeAndAway'' spin off (under the WorkingTitle ''Away From Home''), but when British Creator/Channel5 (which shows ''Home and Away'' in the UK) weren't interested in co-funding it, it became its own thing. |
| 191 | * Although ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' was always meant to adapt/use footage from ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell taking a better part of a decade to get off the ground]] lead them to change ''which'' series was used. The initial pilot was made from ''Series/ChoudenshiBioman'' footage and original scenes in 1986, called both ''Bio-Man'' and ''Galaxy Rangers''. Both the successful version of the pilot and the series proper in 1993 used footage from the newer ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger''. The latter pilot recycled the original ''Bio-Man'' footage, hence sharing names for the ''Power Ranger'' cast. |
| 192 | [[/folder]] |
| 193 | |
| 194 | %%[[folder:Music]]%% |
| 195 | %%* Music/{{Eminem}} originally intended to make a sequel to ''Relapse'', called ''Relapse 2'', and leaked material intended for it shows it would largely have been in the same style as the original ''Relapse'' (with use of [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent accents]], ultra-bombastic Music/DrDre beats, and {{Horrorcore}} subject matter, with him playing his HeroicComedicSociopath Slim Shady character on most of the album). However, mixed fan reception to ''Relapse'' freaked him out enough that he reworked the album into ''Recovery'', a much more optimistic and [[RadioFriendliness radio-friendly]] album filled with inspiring and somber content in a RapRock style, a reboot for his image from a [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy do-rag-wearing comedy hip-hopper]] to a white-trash leather-jacketed rocker who keeps authentic to his roots, a new HarshVocals delivery, only a handful of Shady appearances, and HurricaneOfPuns showcases of his technical skill as an emcee. Traces of the ''Relapse'' style can be heard on some tracks on the album, particularly the opener "Cold Wind Blows", where Eminem sings the chorus doing a 'girl' voice with an English accent, and the verses are a BloodyHilarious, hyperoffensive Shady bloodbath.%%If it still involves the Slim Shady character, it's not really a divorced installment%% |
| 196 | %%[[/folder]]%% |
| 197 | |
| 198 | [[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 199 | * Wrestling/ProWrestlingZero1 is named for the fact it was started in 2001. The original concept of the promotion was called "Pro Wrestling Zero", as it was conceived at least a year earlier, and was intended to be an extension of Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling dedicated to a purer strong-style product and commanded by Wrestling/ShinyaHashimoto. However, with bookers Wrestling/AntonioInoki and Wrestling/RikiChoshu shutting down the idea, and especially after Inoki mistreated Hashimoto's career to build Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa's, Shinya left the company and started the company as an independent promotion, capitalizing on it to rebuild his career. |
| 200 | * Pro Wrestling El Dorado was born under the Wrestling/{{Toryumon}} flag, very much like its predecessor Dragondoor, but before its debut show, they declared the promotion as independent from Toryumon or any of its marks. |
| 201 | * Perros Del Mal Producciones was drawn up as an idea to make a Perros Del Mal angle in Wrestling/{{CMLL}} more believable to audiences by having the PowerStable run their own promotion. Disputes lead to PDM starting up a year late and having nothing to do with CMLL. |
| 202 | [[/folder]] |
| 203 | |
| 204 | [[folder:Sports]] |
| 205 | * Anaheim, California's NHL hockey team, the Ducks, were once known as [[Film/TheMightyDucks the Mighty Ducks]] of Anaheim, wearing uniforms that matched those from the second film and owned by Disney themselves. In 2005, Disney sold the team, thus changing its name and removing the movie iconography from its brand. That said, their mascot, Wild Wing, still wears the mask from the classic logo. |
| 206 | * For many years, the mascot of the University of Oregon Ducks teams was none other than WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck, thanks to a unique trademark agreement originated by Walt Disney himself. By 2010, the University had grown tired of the highly restrictive guidelines placed on the character and modified the agreement so that the costumed mascot appearing at sports games and local events is merely, "the Oregon Duck", no longer considered to be Donald. [[https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Oregon_Duck?file=The_Oregon_Duck.gif The cartoon version]] still looks exactly like him, though, and is still covered by the agreement. |
| 207 | [[/folder]] |
| 208 | |
| 209 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 210 | * ''Nanty Narking'' is a board game designed by Martin Wallace and published by Phalanx set in VictorianLondon, in which each player takes the role of a historical or fictional character, and moves around a map of the city, each trying to achieve a seperate win condition based on the goals of their character. It's basically a PublicDomainCharacter relocation of the ''Franchise/{{Discworld}}: Ankh-Morpork'' game Wallace designed for Treefrog Games. |
| 211 | [[/folder]] |
| 212 | |
| 213 | [[folder:Theme Parks]] |
| 214 | * Nara Dreamland was an entire theme park that resulted from this. The owners had obtained a license from Walt Disney to make it into a [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disneyland]] in Nara, Japan, but partway through construction, the deal suddenly fell through. It was decided to just remove the Disney elements and make it into its own park. Alas, being a Disneyland knockoff was its downfall. Twenty-one years later, an ''actual'' Japanese Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, was opened, and it became the world's third most-visited theme park, after Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom. However, the park continued to limp on (mainly thanks to distance; Tokyo and Nara are 4 hours apart by train) until 2001, when both Tokyo [=DisneySea=] and [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal Studios]] Japan opened within months of each other, the latter of which is located less than an hour away from Nara Dreamland and basically ate up whatever's left of the park's visitors. Sales hit rock bottom, maintenance issues abounded due to the lack of visitors, and the park was abandoned in 2006. |
| 215 | [[/folder]] |
| 216 | |
| 217 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 218 | * The ''ComicBook/SpiderMan: Techno Wars'' and ''ComicBook/XMen: Mutant Armor'' lines began as a way to recycle {{ReTool}}ed Iron Man action figures leftover from his short-lived [[WesternAnimation/IronManTheAnimatedSeries animated series]]. |
| 219 | * The Mutant figures from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' were retooled prototypes from the canceled ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' line. |
| 220 | * ''Beastformers'' were a SpinOff of the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' ''[[Anime/TransformersHeadmasters Headmasters]]'' line in Japan. When Creator/{{Hasbro}} imported the line as ''Battle Beasts'', they dropped any connection to the Transformers. |
| 221 | * The ''Team America'' series from Ideal Toys was created as a way to salvage their earlier line of UsefulNotes/EvelKnievel products after Knievel was arrested on battery charges. A tie-in comic book series was even published by Creator/MarvelComics as a way to promote the toys. |
| 222 | * At one point, ''Toys/HeroFactory'' was meant to be revealed as a sequel to ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' rather than a SpiritualSuccessor. Concept creator Christian Faber detailed multiple ideas for this connection in an expansive but ultimately discarded UniverseBible. Both franchises were also planned to be tied to older Franchise/{{LEGO}} series like ''Toys/LegoSpace'' and ''Toys/{{Aquazone}}''. Though vague hints for this reveal were laid out in early ''Hero Factory'' media, the franchises remained unconnected. After this, Faber also pitched ''Toys/{{Bionicle 2015}}'' as a sequel/prequel to the original series that involved TimeTravel, which likewise got rejected in favor of a full ContinuityReboot. As before, [[OrphanedReference some artifacts]] of Faber's original idea remained in the final product. |
| 223 | [[/folder]] |
| 224 | |
| 225 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 226 | * ''VideoGame/ANNOMutationem'' was originally developed to be set in the ''Website/SCPFoundation'' universe. It was later reworked into an original intellectual property in order to avoid potential issues with the SCP IP, while maintaining some elements from the original buildout. |
| 227 | * ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' was going to be an ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' game, but the creators pulled out of negotiations because they wanted total creative freedom. Later came full circle when the first [[GameMod total conversion mod]] for the game was based on ''Aliens''. |
| 228 | * In an example mixing both this trope ''and'' a DolledUpInstallment, the Game Boy game ''Film/{{Home Alone 2|LostInNewYork}}: Kevin's Dream'' was retooled into an adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/BobbysWorld'' before finally being cancelled outright. |
| 229 | * The Platform/TurboGrafx16 platformer ''VideoGame/KeithCourageInAlphaZones'' was originally one of many games based on then-popular anime series ''[[Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru]]''. The story went from being about a kid pulled into a spirit realm to battle demons, to being about an adult who is part of a military organization that fights aliens. However, the game's title screen still shows a Creator/{{Sunrise}} copyright, perhaps because only the ExcusePlot was actually altered. |
| 230 | * ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': |
| 231 | ** The [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil1 first game]] was originally conceived as a [[VideoGameRemake remake]] of Creator/{{Capcom}}'s horror game ''VideoGame/SweetHome1989'', itself an adaptation of [[Film/SweetHome1989 the film of the same name]], but since they didn't have the license to that film anymore, they turned it into an original title instead. This would make the original ''Resident Evil'' double as a SpiritualSuccessor of ''Sweet Home'' the movie, as well. Tokuro Fujiwara, the director of ''Sweet Home'' the video game, worked as a producer on ''Resident Evil'' and envisioned it as a SpiritualSuccessor. |
| 232 | ** One of the most successful examples came from Capcom's attempt to create a sequel to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', which spawned not only ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', but three other potential versions of that game (out of four) which saw release as their own games. |
| 233 | *** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' is the most well-known. It originally starred a new protagonist named Tony who had superhuman abilities (explained here, in traditional ''RE'' fashion, with biotechnology instead of demons), and the dev team's research trips to the UK and Spain to study medieval castles wound up influencing the settings of both games. It was turned into an original game after the team realized that it was straining credibility to have an action-packed hack-and-slash as the next entry in what was then still a pure SurvivalHorror franchise. Dante, the protagonist of ''DMC'', uses the alias "Tony Redgrave" as a DevelopmentGag in later games, while several of the monsters in the ''DMC'' franchise bear a distinct influence from the ''RE'' series' [[EvilIsVisceral visceral baddies]]. |
| 234 | *** ''VideoGame/OnimushaWarlords'' also began life as ''Sengoku Biohazard'', a ''Resident Evil'' game [[RecycledInSpace set in the Sengoku period]] where the player would use {{ninja}} weapons to battle monsters in a house filled with booby traps. It also helped inspire the ''Devil May Cry'' combat system, with pre-release versions of ''Onimusha'' allowing the player to knock enemies into the air, [[GoodBadBugs then juggle them by continuing to attack]]; while this was fixed in ''Warlords'', it would be incorporated into ''DMC'' to give that series its [[StylishAction distinctive style]]. |
| 235 | *** Finally, ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilGunSurvivor Resident Evil: Dead Aim]]'' was based on one of the final rejected proposals for ''[=RE4=]'', and thus bears quite a bit of resemblance to it due to being an actual ''Resident Evil'' game, in particular the duo of hero Bruce [=McGivern=] and flip-flopping sidekick/nemesis Fong Ling [[{{Expy}} being similar to]] Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong. |
| 236 | * The ''VideoGame/WonderBoy'' games were developed by [[Creator/WestoneBitEntertainment Westone]] and published by Creator/{{Sega}}. While Sega owned the ''Wonder Boy'' trademark, Westone retained all other copyrights, and so Creator/HudsonSoft decided to modify each game when they got the license to work on ports for non-Sega platforms. The only exception was ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIIMonsterLair'', which remained unchanged when it was ported to the [=TurboGrafx-CD=], though "Wonder Boy III" was dropped from the title in the US. |
| 237 | ** ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterLand'' had a [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] version by Creator/{{Jaleco}} titled ''Saiyūki World''. This version inspired its own sequel (''Saiyūki World II''), which was localized for the NES under the name of ''Whomp 'Em'' and had its ''Journey to the West'' motif replaced with a Native American one. |
| 238 | ** ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap'' was remade as ''Dragon's Curse'' for the [=TurboGrafx-16=]. The PC Engine version of said game was curiously enough released under the name of ''[[RecycledTitle Adventure Island]]'', the same name that Hudson's own ''Takahashi-Meijin no Boukenjima'' series is known as outside Japan. |
| 239 | ** ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterWorld'' became ''The Dynastic Hero'' on the [=TurboGrafx-CD=] and had all the original characters replaced with bug people. |
| 240 | ** Outside the ''Wonder Boy'' series, Hudson Soft also ported the Sega/Westone arcade BeatEmUp ''Riot City'' to the [=TurboGrafx-CD=] under the name of ''Riot Zone'' (or ''Crest of Wolf'' in Japan) with different player characters, while ''Blood Gear'' (a mecha-themed action game) was originally planned as a sequel to ''Aurail''. |
| 241 | * ''VideoGame/DecapAttack'' was originally a tie-in to the anime ''Magical Hat'' in its Japanese version. The localization team didn't feel like paying the licensing fees for an obscure and unimported anime series, so the graphics and story were redone from scratch. |
| 242 | * Several games released by Bandai for the NES were anime {{Licensed Game}}s in Japan that were released overseas in the disguised form: |
| 243 | ** ''Dragon Power'' was originally a ''Franchise/DragonBall'' game. At the time, ''Dragon Ball'' was not well-known in the United States (although the game was also translated to French with the ''Dragon Ball'' license intact). Bandai tried to change it into a more generic ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' game, which, while still not being well known in America, unlike ''Dragon Ball'', is public domain. They didn't do a very good job at it, incidentally; Bulma, Oolong, and Yamcha, among other characters, all kept their original designs. |
| 244 | ** ''Chubby Cherub'' was originally a game based on the anime ''Manga/LittleGhostQTaro''. Few changes were made to the game aside from replacing Q-Taro with a cherub. |
| 245 | ** ''Ninja Kid'' (not to be confused with the UPL UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame) was a similar alteration of ''Manga/GeGeGeNoKitaro: Youkai Dai Makyou''. |
| 246 | * ''Black Belt'', a side-scrolling [[BeatEmUp beat-'em-up]] for the Platform/SegaMasterSystem, is a localization of a ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' game for the Mark III in which the graphics were altered to remove all traces of the original license. Kenshiro was renamed Riki and his blue vest and jeans outfit was replaced by a white karate gi, while all of the other characters and backgrounds were modified as well, changing the game's locations from post-apocalyptic deserts and towns to modern-day temples and cities. The Japanese [[Platform/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]] sequel, ''Hokuto no Ken: Shin Seikimatsu Kyūseishu Densetsu'', was released overseas as ''Last Battle: Legend of the Final Hero'', but the changes made during the localization were lazier by comparison to the first game. All the sprites were recolored and the names were changed, but the character designs remained almost identical and the seemingly nonsensical script (which consisted mainly of out-of-context dialogue transcribed verbatim from the manga) was a word-to-word translation of the original, aside from a few minor changes. Gore was also removed for the overseas release. |
| 247 | * Sega made two video games based on ''Kujaku-Oh'' (''Manga/PeacockKing'', also known as ''Spirit Warrior''): one for the Master System, based on the anime series, and a sequel in number only for the Mega Drive, based on the second OVA. The Master System original came out in America as ''Spellcaster'' and the Genesis sequel came out as ''Mystic Defender'', in both cases having all the ''Peacock King'' elements replaced with wholly new storylines and characters (the BigBad of the Genesis game was originally DemonKingNobunaga, for instance). |
| 248 | * ''Street Combat'' for the [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super NES]] was originally a ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' game in which you played as either male or female Ranma and battled the rest of the anime cast. The U.S. version turned Ranma into a mulleted soldier named Steven (female Ranma was Steven in street clothes, while male Ranma was Steven in PoweredArmor), and the Ranma cast with all sorts of things (Kodachi, for example, became a ''clown''). This was averted with the sequel, which was brought to the U.S. as ''Ranma ½: Hard Battle''. |
| 249 | * ''VideoGame/ThunderForce IV'' for the Sega Genesis was released in America was ''Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar.'' Not only the spelling of this was odd, as two previous games in the series had been released internationally under the ''Thunder Force'' title, and ''Thunder Force IV'' came out under its actual title in Europe. |
| 250 | * One of the original concepts for ''VideoGame/FightingForce'' was to make it a 3D sequel to the ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'' series (and indeed, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySus04u7sRo leaked Saturn prototype]] has much more overt similarities to SOR, such as Hawk looking like Axel), but Sega pulled the deal after disagreements with the developers over what platforms the game would be released on, and it became its own thing. |
| 251 | * The WorkingTitle of ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' was ''Franchise/StreetFighter '89''. According to producer Yoshiki Okamoto, he was originally commissioned to work on a sequel to the first ''Videogame/{{Street Fighter|I}}'', but he wanted to make a side-scrolling [[BeatEmUp beat-'em-up]] after being inspired by the success of ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon''. When it was obvious that the resulting product looked nothing like the original ''Street Fighter'', the game was renamed ''Final Fight''. Despite this, many of the characters from ''Final Fight'' later crossed their way into the ''Street Fighter'' series and other Capcom fighting games (including a spin-off of its own titled ''Final Fight Revenge''). |
| 252 | * An inversion: Natsume's side-scrolling action game ''VideoGame/{{Shatterhand}}'' for the NES was first released in Japan as a LicensedGame for the Famicom based on the ''Series/MetalHeroes'' series ''Series/TokkyuuShireiSolbrain''. However, the ''Solbrain'' version, despite being released first, is actually the modified version, not ''Shatterhand''. Angel, a subsidiary of Bandai, agreed to cover the publishing costs for Natsume under the condition that they could modify the game to promote one of Toei's superheroes. |
| 253 | * ''VideoGame/RedFaction'' was originally conceived as the [[{{Vaporware}} cancelled]] ''VideoGame/{{Descent}} 4''. Some elements were carried over, such as the textures, the protagonist's name (Parker) and [[UnexpectedGameplayChange the jet fighter combat level]]. |
| 254 | * ''VideoGame/JourneyToSilius'' started development as a game based on ''Film/TheTerminator'', but was reworked into a stand-alone title when Sunsoft's license expired. |
| 255 | * Creator/{{Sunsoft}} also started work on a ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' game for the NES (following its success with the ''VideoGame/{{Batman|Sunsoft}}'' games), but was later re-tooled into a CaptainErsatz called ''VideoGame/{{Sunman}}'' for some reason or other (it did release a ''Superman'' game for the Super NES and Sega Genesis). It ultimately ended up not being released in any form. |
| 256 | * ''Power Punch II'' was originally developed as a sequel to ''[[VideoGame/PunchOut Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!]]'', with the original title ''Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch''. A beta version of ''Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch'' has since leaked out. And no, just in case you were wondering, there is no ''Power Punch I''. |
| 257 | * ''[[VideoGame/DesertStrike Nuclear Strike]]'' had a trailer for a new installment called ''Future Strike'', which ended up being turned into the unrelated game ''Future Cop LAPD''. |
| 258 | * The sequel to ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed: Shift'' dropped the ''NFS'' from the title and was titled ''Shift 2: Unleashed'' (not to be confused with the other ''VideoGame/{{Shift}} 2''. |
| 259 | * The first ''VideoGame/BattleTanx'' started out as a Platform/{{Nintendo 64}} port of ''[=BattleSport=]''. |
| 260 | * ''VideoGame/AgentUnderFire'' was originally a [=PS2=] version of ''VideoGame/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', before it was turned into an original Bond story. |
| 261 | * ''VideoGame/KunioKun'': |
| 262 | ** ''Renegade'', ''VideoGame/SuperDodgeBall'', ''VideoGame/RiverCityRansom'' (aka ''Street Gangs''), ''Nintendo World Cup'', and ''Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge'' were all localizations of different games in the Japanese ''Kunio-kun'' series that were westernized (or in the case of ''Nintendo World Cup'', globalized) in order to make them more marketable overseas. The Platform/NeoGeo version of ''Super Dodge Ball'', along with the Platform/NintendoDS games localized by Aksys Games, are the only games in the series where Kunio and Riki retained their Japanese identities in the overseas versions. |
| 263 | ** The original ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'' was planned as a sequel to the original ''Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun'' (aka ''Renegade''). The change in title, setting, and characters was precisely done to appeal to the western market from the get-go without the need of making a separate overseas version. |
| 264 | ** The Super Famicom game ''Super Mad Champ'' was originally planned as a Kunio bike-racing game. Developer Almanic was the same team that worked on ''VideoGame/RiverCityGirlsZero'' for Technos. |
| 265 | * The NES game ''Destiny of an Emperor'', along with the arcade games ''Dynasty Wars'' and ''Warriors of Fate'', were all games by Creator/{{Capcom}} based on Hiroshi Motomiya's manga series ''Tenchi o Kurau'', which was loosely based on the Chinese novel ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms''. While the former two kept the characters and plot mostly intact [[PublicDomainCharacter which isn't really hard to do]], ''Warriors of Fate'' removes even that and replaces everyone's names with Mongolian names. |
| 266 | * ''VideoGame/BattalionWars'' is a borderline example. The WorkingTitle was ''Advance Wars: Under Fire'', but Nintendo decided to change the name due to the fact that it was a very different game from the original ''Advance Wars'' and it wouldn't have made much sense to release a game [[SuperTitle64Advance named after]] the Platform/GameBoyAdvance on the [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] (it's still part of the overall ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Wars]]'' series, though). In Japan, the game was released as ''Totsugeki! Famicom Wars''. |
| 267 | * ''Lunar Knights'' for the Nintendo DS is actually the overseas version of the fourth ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' game (''Boktai DS''). The first two games sold poorly outside Japan due to their solar sensing gimmick and as a result, the third game didn't get an international release and Konami took out the solar sensor in the fourth game. The localization team attempted everything to distance the fourth game from the franchise by changing the title and renaming the main characters Django and Sabata into Aaron and Lucian. |
| 268 | * ''VideoGame/MegaMan1'' was originally meant to be a licensed game based on ''Manga/AstroBoy'', but Creator/{{Capcom}} lost the license, so they reworked it into an original title featuring Astro Boy expies like Mega Man (Astro Boy), Roll (Uran/Astro Girl), Dr. Light (Dr. Ochanomizu) or Dr. Wily (Dr. Tenma). |
| 269 | * The NES game ''Tecmo World Cup Soccer'' is actually a ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa''-themed soccer sim with Westernized character designs, likely changed because ''Captain Tsubasa'' is not licensed in the United States. |
| 270 | * ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' was initially going to be a ''Film/UniversalSoldier'' video game, but ended up as an original property when a deal couldn't be reached. This can be seen in Johnny Cage, a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme with a GroinAttack move inspired by a scene from ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}''. |
| 271 | * ''VideoGame/ProjectSnowblind'' was originally going to be ''VideoGame/DeusEx: Clan Wars''. It was changed to be a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Deus Ex'' when that game's own sequel ''[[VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar Invisible War]]'' sold poorly. |
| 272 | * A persistent rumor has it that ''Lady Stalker'' was originally going to be a ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' GaidenGame based around Alena from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'', but was quickly made into an unrelated game when the license was lost partway through development. The rumor has strong supporting evidence, including the party being near carbon-copies of the party from Alena's chapter in ''DQIV''; a series of tomato enemies that are suspiciously similar to the ''Dragon Quest'' slimes in appearance and near-identical in mechanics, right down to having a "rotten tomato" that can inflict poison equivalent to the Babble/Bubble Slime; and some items being identical between the two games, ''down to their price''. |
| 273 | * The [=PS2=] shooter ''Dragon Rage'' was planned to be a ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' spinoff. |
| 274 | * After the development of ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'', 3D Realms planned to make another side-scrolling Duke Nukem titled ''Duke Nukem Forever'' (no, not [[VideoGame/DukeNukemForever that one]]). The project was canceled and sold to another developer, which finished and released it as ''Alien Rampage''. |
| 275 | * The [[Platform/AtariJaguar Jaguar]] shooter ''Hover Strike'' was originally meant to be a remake of ''VideoGame/{{BattleZone|1980}}''. |
| 276 | * ''Beetle Adventure Racing'' for the N64 started development as a ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' game and used the same engine as the NFS games of the time. |
| 277 | * The Platform/Commodore64 game ''Astérix and the Magic Cauldron'' was released in the United States as ''Ardok the Barbarian'', likely because ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' was not popular enough there to be worth licensing. |
| 278 | * ''Tower of Doom'' for the Platform/{{Intellivision}} was to have been the third ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] Cartridge'' for the system (and the Platform/Atari2600 as well), but it was released without the license after Mattel abandoned the game and the console midway through development; most gamers couldn't tell the difference, of course. (The later Capcom UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragons: Tower of Doom'' is completely unrelated.) The two earlier [=AD&D=] games would have the license stripped out for emulated {{Compilation Rerelease}}s, appearing under their {{Working Title}}s ''Adventure'' and ''Minotaur''. |
| 279 | * The unreleased NES game ''Time Diver Eon Man'' by Creator/{{Taito}} started development as a sequel to ''VideoGame/WrathOfTheBlackManta''. |
| 280 | * The original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' was reportedly a ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' game initially, but changed because Creator/{{Nintendo}} couldn't get the license. After their success with ''Donkey Kong'', they would make a ''VideoGame/{{Popeye}}'' game, but their original IP would go on to become [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros gaming's most iconic franchise]]. |
| 281 | * ''Secret Weapons Over Normandy'' was apparently born out of a canceled ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' spin-off called ''Fighter Command''. |
| 282 | * ''VideoGame/MagicalDoropie'' (released in the US as ''The Krion Conquest'') was originally going to be based on [[Anime/TheWizardOfOz the 1982 anime adaptation]] of ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' before the rights fell through. |
| 283 | * ''Heavenly Guardian'' for the Platform/PlayStation2 and Platform/{{Wii}} was originally announced in Japan as ''Kiki Kai World''. Apparently, the ''VideoGame/KikiKaiKai'' characters were replaced with original ones because the developer somehow lost the license. |
| 284 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fallout|1}}'''s game system was originally meant as a computer adaptation of ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' called ''Vault 13: A GURPS Post-Nuclear Adventure'' before disagreements with Steven Jackson caused Black Isle to terminate their license and create their own SPECIAL system. |
| 285 | ** And before that, it was intended to be a sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland}}'' before rights issues got in the way. |
| 286 | * ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTriad'' was to have been a sequel to ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D''; its working title was "''Wolfenstein 3D Part II: Rise of the Triad''". |
| 287 | * ''VideoGame/RageOfTheDragons'', a Platform/NeoGeo fighting game by Evoga and Noise Factory, was originally intended to be a sequel to the Platform/NeoGeo version of ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'', but the developers were unable to get a hold of the rights. Thus, all the characters were turned into [[CaptainErsatz ersatzes]] of the ''Double Dragon'' cast: the Lee brothers became the ''Lewis'' brothers, while Abobo became ''Abubo''. |
| 288 | * After Creator/{{Rare}} was bought out by Microsoft, ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' characters were removed from two of their upcoming games for the Game Boy Advance: ''Diddy Kong Pilot'' became ''Banjo-Pilot'', and ''Donkey Kong Coconut Crackers'' became ''It's Mr. Pants''. |
| 289 | * ''[[WesternAnimation/TheJetsons The Jetsons: Invasion of the Planet Pirates]]'' for the SNES was retooled for its Japanese release as ''Yōkai Buster: Ruka no Daibōken'', starring the mascot character of ''Marukatsu Super Famicom'' magazine. |
| 290 | * ''VideoGame/PaxCorpus'', a 1997 [=PlayStation=] action game by Creator/CryoInteractive, was retooled from a canceled ''WesternAnimation/AeonFlux'' game. |
| 291 | * Zig-zagged with ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs2012'': started out as an original game, was later incorporated into the ''[[VideoGame/TrueCrimeStreetsOfLA True Crime]]'' franchise by Activision who later canceled it, then it was revived by Creator/SquareEnix who turned it into an original game again. |
| 292 | * ''VideoGame/WiiSports'' was going to be a ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' sports game and the Miis were just going to be placeholders. People liked the Miis though so they were kept in the final version. A ''VideoGame/MarioSportsMix'' did get made later, despite this. |
| 293 | * ''VideoGame/StarGladiator'' was originally going to be a licensed ''Franchise/StarWars'' fighting game developed by Creator/{{Capcom}} and Creator/{{LucasArts}}. [=LucasArts=] instead opted to make their own fighting game, ''VideoGame/StarWarsMastersOfTerasKasi'', which was released to decidedly mixed reception. Elements of the original source material can still be seen in ''Star Gladiator'', as Hayato's Plasma Sword is essentially a lightsaber, Gamof bears a very strong resemblance to Chewbacca, June has a [[LukeIAmYourFather seemingly-dead father who turns out to be working for the villain]], and Bilstein is a rather blatant Darth Vader {{Expy}}. |
| 294 | * ''Videogame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' was originally supposed to be a licensed fighting game starring the Franchise/UniversalHorror monsters. This influence can still be seen in many of the characters, as Demitri Maximoff is an obvious stand-in for Film/{{Dracula|1931}}, Jon Talbain for Film/{{The Wolfman|1941}}, Rikuo for the Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon, Victor von Gerdenheim for Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'s Monster, and so on. |
| 295 | * ''Videogame/HumanKillingMachine'' was born out of a failed pitch by Tiertex for an official sequel to their home computer port of ''Videogame/{{Street Fighter|1}}''. Even though Creator/{{Capcom}} declined, that didn't stop Tiertex from touting ''HKM'' as a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Street Fighter'' in interviews and some promotional material. Kwon, the protagonist of the new game, even bore a superficial resemblance to Ryu. |
| 296 | * The GBA-exclusive {{FPS}}, ''VideoGame/IceNine'' (and one of the first of it's kind) was originally a tie-in game to the movie ''Film/TheRecruit'' before becoming an independent title on it's own. |
| 297 | * According to Kenji Obata, ''Videogame/IkariWarriors'' was originally developed as a licensed adaptation of ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'' (which was known as ''Rambo: Ikari no Dasshutsu'' in Japan). When Creator/{{SNK}} was unable to secure the rights, the project was instead released as a standalone game with the title shortened to ''Ikari''. Elements of this still made it into the finished game, such as the fact that two protagonists, Ralf and Clark, are very clear Rambo [[{{Expy}} Expies]]. Though the characters would later undergo DivergentCharacterEvolution in the ''[[Videogame/TheKingOfFighters King of Fighters]]'' series, Ralf never quite lost the obvious Creator/SylvesterStallone influence. |
| 298 | * ''VideoGame/Pikmin2001'' was planned to be a ''Mario'' game at one point in its development, its idea being in part born thanks to the ''Super Mario 128'' tech demo for the Platform/NintendoGameCube. |
| 299 | * ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'', like all Nintendo games, was born as a gameplay concept. Amongst the possibilities given to its developers when trying to develop a game around this was to make it a ''Mario'' spin-off game. They weren't fond of this suggestion and continued throwing ideas at the wall, eventually making it a new IP with the shapeshifting Inklings as the protagonists. |
| 300 | * ''VideoGame/CaptainToadTreasureTracker'' was originally envisioned as a ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' puzzle title starring Link, thanks in part to one of the main elements in the game being not having the ability to jump obstacles, which at first appeared to be out of place for a ''Mario'' title. |
| 301 | * Obscure Mega Drive/Genesis shooter ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKnGldM_C0k CrossFire]]'' was originally released in Japan as ''Super Airwolf'', based on the ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'' TV series and intended to be a sequel to Kyugo's 1987 arcade {{licensed game}}. The Western localization edited the theme song to a [[SuspiciouslySimilarSong suspiciously similar version]] and the rest of the references to the show were removed. |
| 302 | * ''VideoGame/{{Trapt}}'' suffers this twice over. Not only is it a game that would have been previously localized as a ''VideoGame/{{Deception}}'' game, but by Japanese reckoning, it's the first genuine NumberedSequel, being ''Kagero 2.'' It was instead marketed and released as a standalone title, and since it was a NonLinearSequel in the first place, this removes all franchise ties. |
| 303 | * ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' began development as ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', only to be divorced from that series and renamed ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' before becoming a ''Mana'' game. |
| 304 | * ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' was apparently planned to be either ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' or ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' during its development, but it was retooled into an original title because it was [[DarkerAndEdgier too dark]] for either franchise. |
| 305 | * Both the little-known RPG ''VideoGame/DivineDivinity'' by Creator/LarianStudios and the somewhat better-known first installment of the HackAndSlash franchise ''VideoGame/{{Sacred}}'' by Ascaron were originally supposed to be set in the ''TabletopGame/TheDarkEye'' universe (having no connection whatsoever otherwise). The Larian game had the title ''The Lady, the Mage and the Knight'', abbreviated as LMK, which, in the German title, would have stood for ''Legenden der Magierkriege'', i.e. "legends of the Mage Wars" (the Mage Wars being a period in the history of Aventuria in the TDE setting). The precursor of ''Sacred'' was called ''Armalion'' (a powerful artifact in the TDE universe). In both cases, problems with the license prevented the projects from leaving the pre-alpha stage, but the existing code and parts of the art were used as building blocks for ''Divine Divinity'' and ''Sacred'', respectively. |
| 306 | * The SNES racing game ''Cyber Spin'' was originally a game based on ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'', it was brought overseas with references of the series removed, and in the American version, the setting was changed to a futuristic UsefulNotes/FormulaOne setting. |
| 307 | * In its '''very''' earliest stages, ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' was actually a ContinuityReboot of ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter''. Creator/NaughtyDog decided to make it a new IP instead when they realized the ideas they liked best had nothing to do with ''Jak and Daxter''. |
| 308 | * The TwoAndAHalfD HackAndSlash ''Final Exam'' began life as an {{interquel}} in the ''VideoGame/{{ObsCure}}'' series of SurvivalHorror games. It was retooled into a separate game after the original developer, Hydravision Entertainment, closed its doors and reformed into Mighty Rocket Studios. However, it still has many {{Shout Out}}s and {{Continuity Nod}}s to the ''[=ObsCure=]'' games, most notably [[spoiler:Shannon, one of the series' protagonists, returning as an NPC, and the first game's villain Principal Friedman serving as the FinalBoss]], to the point where fans of that series consider it all but an unofficial sequel. |
| 309 | * ''Family Pinball'' was originally a Creator/{{Namco}} game in Japan, but a different publisher brought it to the U.S. as ''Rock 'n' Ball''. The Namco characters were replaced with generic equivalents, and the ''VideoGame/PacMan'' table was not only genericized but slightly altered in layout. |
| 310 | * ''VideoGame/YoungMerlin'' developed out of a canceled SNES version of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfKyrandia Fables & Fiends]]''. |
| 311 | * ''VideoGame/{{Bombshell}}'' was originally conceived as ''Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction'', but a legal dispute arose over the use of the ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' intellectual property (specifically, Creator/GearboxSoftware said that their deal with Creator/ApogeeSoftware - the one which resulted in ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' finally coming out - precluded Apogee from publishing any more Duke Nukem games). As such, Duke was replaced by Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison as the game's protagonist. |
| 312 | * ''VideoGame/GeminiHeroesReborn'' was conceived as a spin-off game based on the ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' TV series, which is hardly a surprise given the superpowered civilains theme. The ''Heroes'' wiki even has articles dedicated to the games' characters. |
| 313 | * ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa'' was known as ''Ultima X'' in development, and was intended as a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}''. The first version was going to be a fantasy MMORPG, then was scrapped to make a second fantasy MMORPG, then it was scrapped entirely and made into a completely different MMOFPS. |
| 314 | * ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'' started out as ''VideoGame/MyLittlePonyFightingIsMagic'', a ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Friendship is Magic]]'' fangame. While still early in development, ''Fighting is Magic'' got so much attention that Hasbro sent them a Cease and Desist order. Creator/LaurenFaust liked the game, however, so she helped ReTool it into an original game about several different kinds of quadrupedal animals. |
| 315 | * The planned third installment of the Amiga hack-n-slash series ''Switchblade'' was completely retooled into the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog''-style platform game ''VideoGame/{{Zool}}''. Much later, after ''Zool 3'''s second cancellation, shovelware developer Data Design Interactive picked up the pieces and used them to create ''VideoGame/NinjabreadMan''. |
| 316 | * Creator/{{Codemasters}} distributed the Spanish Platform/ZXSpectrum game ''Phantomas'' under its original title, but distanced its sequel from it by retitling it ''Vampire''. Interestingly, ''Phantomas'' and ''Phantomas 2'' began development as unrelated but similar games, but Dinamic convinced the coders of both games to use the same main character. |
| 317 | * Similar to the ''Them's Fighting Herds'' example, ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' started as a ''Franchise/{{Sonic|TheHedgehog}}'' fangame, but later became its own thing for commercial release. In this case, it switched over before getting a C&D. |
| 318 | * ''Mickey Mouse III: Yume Fuusen'' was being localized as ''Mickey Mouse: Dream Balloon'', but licensing difficulties apparently intervened because Kemco ended up editing in their own character and releasing the game in the US as ''VideoGame/KidKlownInNightMayorWorld''. Indeed, every Mickey Mouse game from Kemco that wasn't published overseas by Creator/{{Capcom}} or Creator/{{Nintendo}} was modified into something else outside Japan. |
| 319 | * There was once a sequel to the original ''VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters'' in development. Due to the controversy of the original game, it was canceled and retooled into ''Hard 'N' Heavy''. |
| 320 | * ''Jimbo'', released with the March 1995 issue of German Platform/Commodore64 magazine ''Magic Disk 64'', doesn't do much to hide that it was originally developed as the fourth game in Creator/{{Codemasters}}' ''CJ's Elephant Antics'' series. (The third game was never released in any form. The first game, for that matter, was built on the engine of an unfinished Commodore 64 port of ''VideoGame/TheNewZealandStory'', different from the one actually released by Ocean Software.) |
| 321 | * ''VideoGame/NexusTheJupiterIncident'' started out as ''VideoGame/ImperiumGalactica 3: Genesis''. It then got bounced around several developers/publishers under the title of ''Galaxy Andromeda'' before finally being released as its current title. WordOfGod is that the storyline remains largely unchanged, so ''Nexus'' can be considered a [[SpiritualSequel Spiritual Prequel]] to ''Imperium Galactica''. |
| 322 | * ''VideoGame/RetroCityRampage'' started as an NES hardware-based [[VideoGameDemake demake]] of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' titled ''Grand Theftendo'', but eventually ended up an 8-bit-{{retraux}} ReferenceOverdosed SpiritualSuccessor of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic''. |
| 323 | * ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'' was at one point planned to be a sequel to Rare's ''VideoGame/RCProAM'' series until the game was shown to Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto, who suggested adding Diddy Kong as the main character. This change happened late enough in development that a small amount of merchandise was printed under the ''Pro-Am 64'' title. |
| 324 | * The Famicom game ''Moeru! Oniisan'' was based on a Creator/{{Toho}} OAV of the same name. Toho published a Westernized NES version of this game under the title ''Circus Caper''. |
| 325 | * A sequel to the ''Combat Wings'' series titled ''Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII'' was delayed at the last minute and renamed ''Dogfight 1942''. Though considering the previous ''Combat Wings'' games were very generic arcade WWII flight combat games with few recurring characters or plot elements, this doesn't change much. |
| 326 | * ''VideoGame/ZeraMythsAwaken'' was meant to be a ''Spyro the Dragon 4'' styled in the same way as the original Insomniac trilogy. A cease-and-desist order put an end to that idea. It was reworked into its own concept starring a pink, female, semi-pedal CartoonCreature named "Zera", but it's still clearly ''Spyro'' inspired. |
| 327 | * ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' was originally going to be a ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' game before becoming [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed its own franchise]]. |
| 328 | * ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' was planned as a sequel to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight'' but became its own SpiritualSuccessor series. Aside from sharing a character designer/art director in Akihiko Yoshida and similar battle systems, the first ''Bravely'' title even features the Demon Lords from ''4 Heroes of Light'' as [[OptionalBoss Nemeses]], accompanied by a remix of that game's normal battle theme, "Battle with Monsters." The side character the Adventurer and her fox from ''4 Heroes of Light'' also cross over into ''Bravely Default'' and ''VideoGame/BravelySecond''. |
| 329 | * Rare had planned to develop a sequel to ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'', but lost the license as they were outbid by Creator/ElectronicArts. Downplayed, as the ''Goldeneye'' development team hadn't wished to create another ''Franchise/JamesBond'' game anyway, instead wanting to create their own, original spy-based title. Thus ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' was made as a standalone game with similar mechanics. |
| 330 | ** The canceled ''Perfect Dark Core'' would have undergone the same thing had development continued; by the time it was canceled it had turned into a completely different game, featuring a new male protagonist fighting HumongousMecha. |
| 331 | * One early design concept for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' would have been a detective mystery set in contemporary (mid-late '90s) [[BigApplesauce New York]]. While this obviously didn't pan out, the basic idea would later be reworked into a [[VideoGame/ParasiteEve video game sequel]] to Hideaki Sena's novel ''Literature/ParasiteEve''. |
| 332 | * ''[[VideoGame/DefJamSeries Def Jam Vendetta]]'' was originally planned to be a Wrestling/{{WCW}} game, tentatively called ''WCW 2000'' or ''WCW Mayhem 2'', depending on the source, for the then-upcoming [=PlayStation 2=], but EA lost the WCW license after the latter company was acquired by the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]] in 2001. |
| 333 | * ''VideoGame/TheForgottenCity'' started its life a [[GameMod quest mod]] for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' released in 2015. The mod was met with acclaim by the modding community and even managed to garner some praise from the mainstream gaming press. Encouraged by the positive response, the mod's project leader Nick Pearce decided to work on expanding the mod into a full game, divorcing it from ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' universe and instead transplanting it into its own original setting. |
| 334 | * ''VideoGame/Daymare1998'' was originally a FanRemake of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' before the developers received a cease & desist letter from Creator/{{Capcom}}, who were working on [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake their own official remake]] of that game. This led them to {{retool}} it into an original SurvivalHorror title that served as a GenreThrowback to the genre's late '90s heyday. |
| 335 | * ''VideoGame/{{Remothered}}'' started out as a 2D remake of ''VideoGame/ClockTower1995'', but the developers made the decision to go all the way and make it its own IP after deciding to make the jump to 3D. In addition to being an excellent game in its own right, it also still manages to capture the spirit of the original ''VideoGame/ClockTower'' series quite well. |
| 336 | * ''VideoGame/{{Oddity}}'' started life as a {{fan sequel}}, ''[[VideoGame/{{Mother}} Mother 4]]'', before the developers decided to drop nearly all references to the Mother series to potentially avoid a cease-and-desist. However, some fans still refer to it as ''Mother 4''. |
| 337 | * ''VideoGame/{{Freespace}}'' originally started life as a sequel/spin-off of the developer's ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' series. It developed into its own thing quickly, but in America was still called "Descent: Freespace" for [[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope strange copyright reasons]] (it was released as "Conflict: Freespace" elsewhere). |
| 338 | * ''Dota Auto Chess'' was an extremely popular mod for ''VideoGame/Dota2'', and proved popular enough to the point that Dota's competitors [[FollowTheLeader created their own versions of Auto Chess]]. Discussions between Valve and the mod creator ultimately led to the decision that each of them work on their own separate auto chess games. What was left from ''Dota Auto Chess'' turned into simply ''Auto Chess'', while Valve created their own version of the game, ''VideoGame/DotaUnderlords''. |
| 339 | * ''VisualNovel/{{Echo}}'' was pitched as part of ''VisualNovel/{{Blackgate}}''[='=]s canon, but has very early on established itself as its own thing in a more mundane setting. Relics of this origin can be seen both here and in ''VisualNovel/Adastra2018'', where the supernatural BigBad from each takes heavily inspiration from ''Blackgate''[='=]s Eternal. Conversely, ''Adastra'' began as a ''Franchise/StarTrek''-esque show in ''Echo'', but it evolved into a radically different thing, a SpaceOpera with nothing in common. The other project of the group, ''VisualNovel/GloryHounds'', is also not connected to any of those. |
| 340 | * The arcade ShootEmUp ''Turbo Force'' was [[https://twitter.com/VGDensetsu/status/1333162602499870721 originally developed]] as an international graphic swap for a spin-off of the ''VideoGame/RabioLepus'' series named ''Metal Rabbit'', until ''Metal Rabbit'' was scrapped and ''Turbo Force'' was the version released worldwide. |
| 341 | * ''VideoGame/MarioParty9'' includes a FallingBlocks mini-game called "Castle Clearout". This game would later appear in ''VideoGame/ClubhouseGames: 51 Worldwide Classics'' under the name "6-Ball Puzzle" with ties to the ''Mario'' series removed. |
| 342 | * ''VideoGame/MysticDefender'' was originally developed as an adaptation of ''Manga/PeacockKing'', before Sega removes the licensed materials for the game's international release, turning it into a wholly-original game. For instance, the main villain Zareth was supposed to be Oda Nobunaga, while Joe the hero was Kujaku from the anime. Alexandra from the game was also originally supposed to be Azusa. The game's back cover even uses stills from the anime as promotional material! |
| 343 | * ''VideoGame/LegacyOfTheWizard'' for the NES is known in Japan as ''Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family'', being the fourth installment in Falcom's ''VideoGame/DragonSlayer'' series. |
| 344 | * ''VideoGame/TitusTheFox'' was originally created as ''Lagaf': Les Aventures de Moktar - Vol.1: La Zoubida'', and based on a comedy dance song, called "La Zoubida". "Lagaf'" is the comedian who sang it, and "Moktar" is the song's protagonist, who pines for the titular La Zoubida. The game starred Moktar going from Paris to Marrakech and back to save his beloved... but, since only French people knew of Lagaf', the developers turned Moktar into a character based on their own mascot Titus, removed each and every reference to him and his song from the graphics (including an entire stage) and replaced the rendition of "La Zoubida" in the soundtrack with original music. |
| 345 | * ''VideoGame/{{Croc}}'' was at first conceived as a 3D ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' game, that was ultimately turned into an original property after the prototype was rejected by Nintendo... and became a Playstation exclusive in the process. Croc himself is still clearly a barely-disguised, direct stand-in for Yoshi. |
| 346 | * The Super Famicom game ''Xandra no Daibouken'' is a {{Prequel}} to the arcade game ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfValkyrie'', starring Xandra [[ADayInTheLimelight (the second player in the arcade game) as the titular main character]]. When the game was localized, since ''The Legend of Valkyrie'' [[LateExportForYou would not be released outside Japan for another five years]], the game (and main character) were renamed to ''Whirlo'', and the ending screen text confirmed that the game's story continues in ''The Legend of Valkyrie'' was changed to just say "THE END". |
| 347 | * ''VideoGame/AlexKidd in Miracle World'' was originally intended to be a ''Manga/DragonBall'' game, but it was made into an original IP when Sega couldn't secure the license. The major element of this that remains in the game is the use of Rock Paper Scissors (or Janken) to fight bosses: this was Goku's signature move at the time, before he adopted the much more famous Kamehameha. |
| 348 | * ''Cratemaze'' for the [=TurboGrafx-16=] was originally released as a ''Franchise/{{Doraemon}}'' game in Japan. |
| 349 | * ''Warsong'' on the Genesis/Mega Drive is actually a localization of the first ''VideoGame/{{Langrisser}}'' game. |
| 350 | * ''Maru's Mission'' for the Game Boy is a ''Ninja Jajamaru-kun'' game in Japan. |
| 351 | * ''VideoGame/LittleNinjaBrothers'' for the NES is actually a localization of the Famicom game ''Super Chinese 2''. Despite the fact that the first ''Super Chinese'' game had already been released in the west as ''Kung-Fu Heroes'', Culture Brain chose to localize the sequel as a completely separate game. This would later be repeated on the SNES, as ''VideoGame/SuperNinjaBoy'' on that system is known as ''Super Chinese World'' in Japan. |
| 352 | * ''VisualNovel/StarswirlAcademy'' was originally a visual novel where you could date humanized versions of ''My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' characters. Hasbro caught wind and told the devs to change some elements. They changed the character names and now we have characters like the rainbow-haired Robin Douglas (Rainbow Dash). |
| 353 | * Done numerous times with the ''VideoGame/{{Aleste}}'' franchise of shoot-em-ups by Creator/{{Compile}}: |
| 354 | ** The Master System ports of the first two ''Aleste'' games were localized as ''Power Strike'' and ''Power Strike II'', respectively (though the latter port was not released in Japan until 2020's ''[[CompilationRerelease Aleste Collection]]''). |
| 355 | ** The Genesis/Mega Drive installment, ''Musha Aleste'', was localized as ''VideoGame/{{MUSHA}}''. |
| 356 | ** While the first Game Gear game, ''GG Aleste'', stayed in Japan, ''GG Aleste II'' was turned into ''Power Strike II'' despite [[InNameOnly being a completely different game from the Master System game]]. |
| 357 | ** Finally, the SNES installment, ''Super Aleste'', became ''VideoGame/SpaceMegaforce'' in North America, but kept the ''Aleste'' name in Europe, marking the first time it was seen outside Japan.[[note]]Another Compile shoot-em-up, ''Guardic'', received a [[GaidenGame spinoff]] on the NES called ''Guardic Gaiden'', which was brought west as ''VideoGame/TheGuardianLegend''.[[/note]] |
| 358 | * ''VideoGame/TheTwistedTalesOfSpikeMcFang'' for the SNES is the second game in the ''Dorabocchan'' franchise in Japan, with the first game being a Japan-only platformer for the PC Engine (known as the [=TurboGrafx=]-16 in America). |
| 359 | * In 2006, Raw Thrills released ''Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious: Super Bikes'' to arcades. The game was successful enough to spawn sequels, but they lost the license. However, they kept the rights to the ''Super Bikes'' name, so in 2012, they made a sequel simply titled ''Super Bikes 2'', with ''Super Bikes 3'' later coming out in 2019. |
| 360 | * The first ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' game was originally conceived and pitched by Creator/WarrenSpector as a ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' spin-off with the WorkingTitle "''Alien Commander''", and would be set on the wreckage of TCS Tiger's Claw. However, with Creator/LookingGlassStudios previous projects having been ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'' and ''Ultima Underworld II'', both Spector and project leader Doug Church decided that they wanted a greater degree of creative freedom and not have their hands tied by working with an existing franchise, and so they reconfigured the pitch into its own original setting very early into pre-production. |
| 361 | ** ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' was [[https://gamerant.com/dead-space-system-shock-3/ originally conceived as]] a ''System Shock'' sequel, until ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' came out and the devs decided to develop a new IP along those lines instead. |
| 362 | * ''Tube Slider: The Championship of Future Formula'' was originally meant to be a ''VideoGame/FZero'', serving as developer Creator/NDCube's follow-up to ''VideoGame/FZeroMaximumVelocity''. Nintendo would pass over the pitch, instead giving the franchise to Creator/{{Sega}} upon the latter's request, to act as their first collaborative project following the latter's exit from the console market. |
| 363 | * ''VideoGame/TheDarkPicturesAnthology'' was originally conceived as Creator/SupermassiveGames' pitch for a new ''Franchise/SilentHill'' game. Creator/{{Konami}} turned them down in favor of a pitch from Bloober Team that turned out to be a [[VideoGameRemake remake]] of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', but Supermassive, undeterred, reworked their ideas into a series of original games. |
| 364 | * An [[https://www.tweaktown.com/news/81615/nvidia-on-geforce-now-database-leak-games-used-for-internal-testing/index.html Invidia GeForce Now data leak]] indicates that ''VideoGame/GothamKnights2022'' began development as an installment of the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'' known as ''Batman: Arkham Insurgency'' (the game was developed by the same studio as ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' to boot), probably as a sequel to ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'', but was reworked into a standalone game for reasons unknown. |
| 365 | * The original ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}}'' was born out of a proposed Playstation 2 port of ''Thrill Drive''. When Konami passed on Criterion's pitch, Criterion decided to prototype a new game liberally inspired by ''Thrill Drive''. |
| 366 | [[/folder]] |
| 367 | |
| 368 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 369 | * According to Creator/LaurenFaust, the ''WesternAnimation/SuperBestFriendsForever'' shorts and her ensuing ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'' TV series were recycled from a rejected pitch she'd made starring Comicbook/KittyPryde and the Comicbook/NewMutants. |
| 370 | * ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' was the result of a collaboration between Creator/DiCEntertainment and Creator/TMSEntertainment, but it originally started life as a [[LighterAndSofter kid-friendly]] spin-off of ''Franchise/LupinIII''. It was to be called ''Lupin VIII'', starring the descendants of the ''Lupin III'' cast and would feature a lot of futuristic gadgets. The pilot episode was nearly complete, but the estate of Maurice [=LeBlanc=], creator of the original ''Literature/ArseneLupin'' series which ''Lupin III'' was based on (without permission), decided to threaten legal action against the companies. This put a stop to ''Lupin VIII'', but since both companies had already put money into production, they needed to make ''something''. The result was ''Inspector Gadget'', which ran with the idea of a show centered around gadgets, and switched the main character focus from the thief to the police inspector, with Gadget being something of an {{expy}} of Inspector Zenigata. |
| 371 | * ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' was originally pitched as a SpinOff of ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'', but Jeffrey Katzenberg rejected it, as work on ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' was beginning in the feature department. |
| 372 | * ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' was originally conceived as a ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'' spinoff with Hank being Tom Anderson's son, but Fox couldn't get access to ''Beavis and Butthead'' characters. |
| 373 | * ''WesternAnimation/LoveDeathAndRobots'' began development in 2008 as a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'', but issues with the rights to the original movie meant that Netflix launched it as an unrelated TV series instead. |
| 374 | * ''WesternAnimation/RandomCartoons'': |
| 375 | ** It is no coincidence that the show has a lot in common with fellow Nickelodeon series ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' (namely, both shows being created by Fred Seibert and consisting of anthologies for seven-minute animated shorts that are intended to serve as pilots for potential Nicktoons), as ''Random! Cartoons'' was originally produced as a fourth season for ''Oh Yeah! Cartoons'' before the execs chose to rebrand the series as its own thing. |
| 376 | ** The short "Hornswiggle" was initially planned to be a ''WesternAnimation/SidneyTheElephant'' short, but was changed to star a new character who was a rhinoceros rather than an elephant when it was discovered that Nickelodeon didn't have the rights to the Creator/{{Terrytoons}} characters at the time. |
| 377 | [[/folder]] |
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