Steven Spielberg is one of the most legendary directors, but he didn’t always have that clout. In a recent interview, he opened up about the hard-fought victory he earned by making sure no sequel to E.

Director Steven Spielberg shares his ‘hard-fought victory’ to not have a sequel to his classic E.T.. And while I agree why it was better to not have one, the idea he had was still kind of cool. At the TCM Classic Film Festival: New York Pop-Up x 92NY event,

Had there been an “E.T” sequel, Steven Spielberg would have had the titular alien not just phone home, but go home. In the end, Spielberg had no desire to direct a follow-up to his iconic 1982 film — and he had just enough sway to put his foot down.

When the film (now available to own from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) ended up being a massive success upon its release in the summer of 1982, however, director Steven Spielberg briefly considered making a second movie called E.

Steven Spielberg fought to stop a sequel to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial being made. The legendary director had already made classics including Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Raiders of the Lost Ark before he moved onto the beloved alien movie,