He taught Elvis Presley how to dance, mooned LBJ and ran across the country…like, a lot. But what else could simpleton Forrest Gump do? As it turns out, that’s not all that enticing of a question, as a sequel for 1994’s Forrest Gump was quickly nixed, according to Tom Hanks.
As he revealed on a recent episode of the podcast Happy Sad Confused, Tom Hanks revealed that the idea for a Forrest Gump sequel was approached–it was a massive hit at the box office and on awards night–but quickly tossed. “I will say that, with a long time in between, we did take a stab at talking about another Forrest Gump that lasted all of 40 minutes…And then we never- we said, ‘Guys, come on.’”
Considering Forrest Gump (from Greenbow, ALABAMA!) was such a busy fella, proving himself as an All-American football star, a Vietnam War hero and hell of a shrimp boat captain, one wonders what a sequel would even show. Would Gump be put on the moon or teach the world to twerk? Now there’s a deserving Best Picture winner!
As it turns out, there was more story to tell, as author Winston Groom did pen a Forrest Gump sequel, Gump and Co. But that will remain the extent of Forrest Gump’s exploits, as Hanks has explicitly stated there is almost no reason to delve any further into Gump’s brain. “A smart thing I did is I’ve never signed a contract that had a contractual obligation to a sequel…I’ve always said, ‘Guys, if there’s a reason to do it, let’s do it. But you guys can’t force me.’”
For the most part, Tom Hanks has stuck to that. Despite a film career that has lasted nearly 40 years, Hanks has only been in a few sequels, acting on screen only once, for The Da Vinci Code’s sequel, Angels & Demons. The others are, of course, the Toy Story movies.
Tom Hanks currently stars in Disney’s Pinocchio. You can read our review here!