Forrest Gump Originally Featured Curious George

Forrest Gump could have looked a lot different.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in a video published Nov. 13, Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis and stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright opened up about the creation of the movie. “I remember that first draft that Eric Roth wrote on Gump, it was like 179 pages — Eric had all sorts of like angels flying up, and dreamscapes,” Hanks, 68, said. 

Zemeckis, 72, added, “Including Curious George! Curious George was a cartoon monkey on Forrest’s shoulder talking to him.” Curious George was created by H.A. and Margret Rey in 1940, and the mischievous monkey starred in a series of children’s books before making his way to television and the big screen. Will Ferrell starred alongside the famous primate in a 2006 animated film.

Wright, 58, asked if Curious George was cut because of rights issues, but Zemeckis and Hanks remembered that the character actually does appear multiple times in the movie. Forrest’s favorite book is Curious George, and he reads it to his son as an adult. There’s also a Curious George toy in a few scenes.

Zemeckis remembered how he got called in to direct Forrest Gump — and assumed it was in part because he was used to mixing animation and real people. “They said, ‘Get that guy who did [Who Framed] Roger Rabbit,’ ” he said. “And I read the [Forrest Gump] script, and I said, ‘I love this, but that monkey’s gotta go.’ ”

Forrest Gump, which also starred Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field, ultimately became a success, grossing more than $670 million at the box office and receiving 13 Oscar nominations. The movie won six of those awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Hanks and Best Director for Zemeckis.

The director also reunited with Hanks and Wright this year for their new movie Here. Hanks opened up to PEOPLE in October about what it meant to be back together. “Everybody was [saying], ‘Oh, what was it like, the reunion?’ ” Hanks said. “You know what it was? It was like, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ ”  

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“We just picked up right where we left off,” the That Thing You Do director continued. “I’m going to say we love each other because we’re so easy with each other. It was a luxury to be able to come in and get the same conversations we’ve been having for the last 30 years after a moment of, ‘Hey, this kooky look, do you believe this? Can you believe this? Look at this, look at this.’ ”

Hanks also worked with Zemeckis on 2004’s The Polar Express and 2022’s Pinocchio, while Wright appeared in his 2007 film Beowulf.