Bruce Almighty almost had a Satanic sequel

Last Updated on November 28, 2022

2003’s Bruce Almighty was such a smash hit that it got its inevitable sequel, Evan Almighty, in 2007, albeit without Jim Carrey. But it almost played out differently, with Jim Carrey reprising his role–but instead of playing God, he would be granted the powers of Satan.

The sequel, which would have been titled Brucifer, was something Jim Carrey was highly interested in but it didn’t get as far as intended. According to co-writer Steve Koren, “We went in and pitched it, but it never quite worked out, because it was later on…It would have been another giant movie and I don’t think they wanted to do it. It just didn’t work out for some reason, but a lot of people loved it, including Jim.”

One key reason it never got greenlit by the studio was that the pitch came in 2010, three years after Evan Almighty was a dud at the box office. 

Brucifer would have had a darker tone than Bruce Almighty, too, with Jennifer Aniston’s character dying and Bruce losing his faith, something that enticed Jim Carrey. “You tend to lose your faith when the world seems unfair, and that’s what got him,” said Koren. “It came from a serious place, but we were gonna write it in a very friendly way. We certainly didn’t want to depress people. So I think that scared [the studio] a little bit.”

While the premise and tone do sound promising, a showdown between Jim Carrey’s Satan and Morgan Freeman’s God would have been an all-timer.

Jim Carrey recently said he really has no interest in returning to play any of his popular characters. “Most of the time when you make something that really hits with people, the sequels have a diminishing return. If you do it long enough after the fact, you’re kind of imitating yourself now; you’re not using your original inspiration.”

What do you think about the idea for a Bruce Almighty sequel with Jim Carrey taking on the attributes of Satan? Would you have watched this movie? Let us know below!