Here's why Forrest Gump 2 never happened

Forrest Gump is one of the most beloved movies on the 1990s. The film racked up three awards at the Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis) and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

Forrest Gump was based on a 1984 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. Following the film’s success, Groom released a sequel to his book titled Gump & Co. It is structured similarly to the original, with Forrest inserted into many historical United States events of the 1980s and 90s. However, this time, his son Forrest Jr. is along for many of the adventures. These include events like the launch of New Coke, the Black Monday stock market crash and the Gulf War.

Eric Roth, who wrote the original film, was tasked with writing the sequel adaptation. He completed and submitted the script on Sept. 10, 2001. However, following the events that transpired the following morning, the creative team behind the film had a change of heart. Roth explained to /Film how said conversation went down:

“I [wanted] to start the movie literally two minutes after the end of the last one, with him on the bus bench waiting for his son to get home from school. But I turned in the script the night before 9/11. And we sat down, Tom [Hanks] and Bob [Zemeckis] and I, looked at each other and said, we don’t think this is relevant anymore. The world had changed. Now time has obviously passed, but maybe some things should just be one thing and left as they are.”

If Robert Zemeckis and Paramount Pictures ever decide to move forward with a Forrest Gump sequel, Winston Groom has given his (reluctant) blessing:

“Hell, the studio bought the sequel and paid me a ton of dough even before it came out, and they then owned it, as they still do, and can make it a movie anytime they damn well please.”

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