Then I went to down this rabbit hole, pun intended, where I later found out the poster is an art piece from 2016 that has nothing to do with the sequel, but boy did I find out some cool stuff. Let’s dive in, shall we?
So I did what any normal person does nowadays when they are looking for answers, Google, and I found so much amazing information that my sequel-loving heart almost exploded. I found a script titled “Roger Rabbit Two” - “The Toon Platoon”, later revised to “Who Discovered Roger Rabbit” (Here is the link to it) and I also found a Disney wiki page dedicated to it that has the synopsis and character breakdowns which is so great.
Now the plot which I will sum up below, but you can check out the full plot and character list here.https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Roger_Rabbit_II:_The_Toon_Platoon#Toon_cameos
Plot: Roger Rabbit 2: The Toon Platoon is set just before the start of World War II and starts with Roger living with a human family not knowing he is a toon until the family tells him that he is actually… A Toon and from there he sets off to Hollywood where he befriends two humans, Richard and Wendy, and his future wife, Jessica Krupnick (aka Jessica Rabbit). Rich gets a job as an actor and Roger stumbles on the set where he is discovered by Hollywood execs. Pearl Harbor happens then Wendy and Jessica find out their boss, Otto Green, is working for the Nazis (wait what?). Otto kidnaps both girls, enslaves Jessica as a Toyko-Rose propagandist, and uses Wendy as a bargaining trip. This has both Roger and Rich join the Army to fight in the war which has a ton of cameos including the likes of Mickey Mouse, Tasmania Devil, Droopy, Tweety, and many more. The ending is pretty rad, so read the last few pages if you’d like, I don’t want to be a spoiler.
So I sorta understand why Steven Spielberg didn’t like it and didn’t move forward with it, but you can read the script for yourself here.http://maddogmovies.com/almost/scripts/rogerrabbit2thetoonplatoon_mauldin5-89.pdf
Now I am even deeper down the rabbit-hole, yes I used the pun again, so according to an IMDb page Steven Spielberg asked J.J. Abrams in 1989 to draft an outline for a sequel, but that was quickly abandoned in the early stages. Steven and J.J. Abrams had an amazing relationship that is better told by Producer Kathleen Kennedy (Read about that here
https://www.indiewire.com/2015/05/kathleen-kennedys-great-story-about-how-j-j-abrams-and-matt-reeves-met-steven-spielberg-as-teenagers-263529/)
Also, I found on IMDb that director Robert Zemeckis said that he has the perfect script for a sequel that picks up where the last one left off. It almost got off the ground and even shot test footage in 1998 (see below), but never made it off the ground due to waning audience interest and budget concerns. Zemeckis wants to do it but claims Disney would never want a highly sexualized Jessica Rabbit nowadays.
Who is this Actor from the Test Footage? If you know email doug@sequelsonly.com or DM us on Twitter @ sequelsonly
So that is where my hopes for a sequel ends, or does it because on IMDb there is a “Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2” said to be coming out in 2022. Although it gets our hopes up, there isn’t much information on there or cast attached, but hopefully, it happens, so a new generation can be added to the Toon crew with the likes of Powder Puff Girls, Spongebob, and maybe even Wreck-it Ralph can help.
One last awesome bit of information that I found, but it has to do with some test footage for the original film that was shot around 1983 with, wait for it, Paul Reubens as the voice of Roger (see below). So I will continue to keep my pulse on the Roger Rabbit sequel, but until then I am going to show my daughter “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” for the very first time.
-Doug Dietz
Host of "The Good, The Bad, and The Sequel" Podcast
www.sequelsonly.com