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Read the “X-Files” Script That Became ‘Final Destination’! (Exclusive)

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Final Destination, courtesy of New Line

One of our favorite genre shows is FOX’s “The X-Files,” while one of our favorite horror movies is New Line Cinema’s 2000 Final Destination.

What if the two were nearly one and the same?

We got in touch with Final Destination creator Jeffrey Reddick (@jeffreyareddick) who had a shocking never-before-seen relic to share exclusively with Bloody Disgusting readers.

Dated 1994, Reddick has made available (exclusive to Bloody Disgusting) the unused script for his “X-Files” pitch, ‘Flight 180.’

“It was really exciting to find it on an old floppy disc,” Reddick tells us. “I typed it in Word…since we didn’t have the luxury of Final Draft back then.

“It’s definitely fun to read…but I wrote it over 20 years ago, so I read some of it and cringed a little,” he added, explaining that as a screenwriter “You get better as you get older.”

‘Flight 180’ was written as a spec for an agent as “The X-Files” was Reddick’s favorite show at the time.

“I decided to use the basic concept of people cheating Death as the catalyst,” said Reddick, “But when you write a spec for a series, you want to follow the framework of the show and go deeper. So, I had Scully’s brother have the premonition, which made the story more personal. I won’t spoil the rest, but for the spec script, the concept isn’t front and center, it’s more about Scully, Mulder and her relationship with her brother.

“But when I decided to write it as a feature [Final Destination], I made the story all about the concept. And tweaked it.”

Reddick continues: “I think fans will be most interested in seeing how the kernel of the concept started in 1994. Death worked differently in this version. Since Mulder and Scully had the believer/skeptic relationship, I had to keep Death vague enough, but clear enough, to fit the concept and investigation into a one-hour show.

“But it’s interesting to see how this kernel evolved into the original draft of Flight 180 in 1997 – and finally the finished version of the 2000 Final Destination.”

While talking to Reddick, he revealed he’s been carrying some frustration for the past 15 years. Here, he clears the air about rumors that Final Destination was inspired by the real life crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

“The biggest misconception about the original spec script is the one that has bothered me the most… When the movie came out in 2000, a lot of reviewers said the story was inspired by the real life crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996. I got flack for that,” Reddick explained, “but I actually wrote this in 1994. I do think the director may have used news footage from the crash in the film, so that’s where that rumor came from.”

So, without further ado, here’s the spec script for ‘Flight 180’ (Reddick notes that this was never submitted to the show, but was expanded into a feature at the interest of New Line executive Mark Kaufman.)

X-Files Script 'Flight 180' shared via screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Exclusives

Daniel Roebuck Has Joined the Cast of ‘Terrifier 3’! [Exclusive]

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Daniel Roebuck has been cast as Santa Claus in Terrifier 3, Bloody Disgusting can exclusively report.

Writer-director Damien Leone is currently wrapping production on the highly-anticipated sequel, in which Art the Clown unleashes chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.

“I’ve been holding this secret for a long time!” Roebuck tells Bloody Disgusting. “I’ve been really excited about it. I’m actually entering into the movies that I watch. It’s extraordinary. This is Terrifier bigger, badder, best.”

Roebuck appears in Terrifier 3 alongside returning cast members David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Samantha Scaffidi, Elliot Fullam, and AEW superstar Chris Jericho.

No stranger to iconic horror properties, Roebuck has squared off against Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, played The Count in Zombie’s The Munsters, succumbed to The Tall Man’s sphere in Phantasm: Ravager, and investigated death in Final Destination.

A distinguished character actor with over 250 credits, Roebuck has also appeared in The Devil’s Rejects, 3 from Hell, Bubba Ho-Tep, John Dies at the End, The Fugitive, Lost, Agent Cody Banks, and The Man in the High Castle. Incidentally, he’s also playing Santa in the family drama Saint Nick of Bethlehem, due out later this year.

Terrifier 3 will be released in theaters nationwide later this year via Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting in conjunction with our partner on Terrifier 2, Iconic Events Releasing.

Terrifier 3 comes courtesy of Dark Age Cinema Productions. Phil Falcone Produces with Lisa Falcone acting as Executive Producer. Co-producers include Mike Leavy, Jason Leavy, George Steuber, and Steve Della Salla. Brad Miska, Brandon Hill, and Erick Opeka Executive Produce for Cineverse. Matthew Helderman and Luke Taylor also Executive Produce.

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