Steven Spielberg majorly regrets scene he edited out of E.T. 20 years after film released

Steven Spielberg recently admitted that he still regrets cutting a scene from E.T. nearly 20 years after the film was released.

The beloved kids' film initially hit cinemas in 1982 (which really makes you feel old), but like with any classic movie, Spielberg re-released it in 2002 but this time, digitally edited certain scenes for a modern audiences.

Even the greats make mistakes though, as the 76-year-old filmmaker has now said that he should have ‘never done that’.

And it seems like E.T is a personal favourite of Spielberg's, as he had previously called it a 'pretty perfect movie'.

It's also a movie that he's always happy to rewatch 'again and again' - especially with his children.

He added: “I don’t want them to see ET without dad sitting there – especially with the scary parts at the beginning.”

So what was this mistake?

Speaking at the Time 100 Summit, the filmmaker revealed it was a scene from the classic movie that he edited, which showed government agents armed with guns as they tried to capture the lost little alien.

Instead, the guns were replaced with walkie-talkies in the 2002 remastered edition.

He told the audience: “That was a mistake. I never should have done that because ‘E.T.’ was a product of its era.”

Universal Pictures

The Oscar-winner continued, saying: “No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily or being forced to peer through.”

The Jaws director has also admitted that his views on re-editing films ‘changed’ in recent years.

“I should never have messed with the archive of my own work, and I don’t recommend anybody really do that,” Spielberg confessed, adding that movies were a form of ‘cultural heritage’ as he cautioned other directors about editing their work.

“All our movies are a kind of measuring – a signpost of where we were when we made them, what the world was like, and what the world was receiving when we got those stories out there.

"So I really regret having that out there.”

Universal Pictures

This led the interviewer to bring up the recent changes made to literature by certain authors, referencing the edits made to some of Roald Dahl’s most famous novels.

“Nobody should ever attempt to take the chocolate out of Willy Wonka! Ever! And they shouldn’t take the chocolate or the vanilla, or any other flavour out of anything that has been written,” Spielberg said in response.

He then added: “For me, it is sacrosanct. It’s our history, it’s our cultural heritage. I do not believe in censorship in that way.”