The Simpsons: Hit & Run sequel had airships, devs remain unsure why it was scrapped
The Bart of war.
An ambitious-sounding follow-up to The Simpsons: Hit & Run was set to include airships.
That's according to the scrapped project's executive producer John Melchior, who revealed developer Radical Entertainment even had plans to include planes in a Hit & Run sequel.
Speaking with MinnMax, the producer, along with other members of the Hit & Run team, discussed the tabled sequel and the various ideas the studio had for it.
"To everybody's credit here, in the sequel we had airships, we had planes, we had lots to go on The Simpsons," Melchior said. "This was gonna be a franchise, no doubt in anybody's mind."
The developer revealed there was even an offer for a "five game deal" in place between The Simpsons and publisher Vivendi, before the follow up games were shelved. Melchior said that no one who worked on the project understood why.
"It was a really good deal, and Vivendi said 'no'," Melchior shared, later adding "there would have been no momentum lost between the shipping of [The Simpsons: Hit & Run] and the work being done on the sequel."
Melchior said his own boss at the time was also unsure why the game was ultimately put on ice. "He was just like, 'I don't understand. I gave it to you on a silver platter, why aren't you just saying yes and doing these games?'," the producer recalled.
"It was just a really bizarre decision. I'll never understand it. Most people on the production level never understood it."
While the sequel wasn't playable at the time the Hit & Run team got this news, the studio had prepared various assets and had a system in place which would allow players to tow things behind their vehicles.
The actual story for the sequel, however, was more uncertain, with writer Chris Mitchell stating "it was all over the map".
Said Mitchell: "In those early days, kind of everybody just imagines what they want, so I'm sure there were 12 competing storylines at that point.
"Who knows what the final story would have been?"
Who knows indeed. Sadly, not us. Sigh. At least, while we lament what could have been, we can listen to the full original soundtrack for The Simpsons: Hit & Run over on Spotify and Apple Music.
