Tom Hanks Is Thankful a ‘Forrest Gump’ Sequel Was Never Made: “Why Put a Hat on a Hat?”

Tom Hanks is happy to leave Forrest Gump just how it is.

The Oscar winner, who reteamed with his Forrest Gump co-star Robin Wright and director Robert Zemeckis for their new movie Here, recently told The New York Times that he’s thankful a sequel to the 1994 film was never made.

“It is this extraordinary amalgam that stands completely on its own and never has to be repeated,” he said of the movie. “And thank God we never bothered trying to make another one. Why put a hat on a hat?”

Forrest Gump, which saw Hanks play the titular character, was based on late author Winston Groom‘s 1986 novel. The film follows the life of Forrest Gump, an Alabama man with an IQ of 75 who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart, and his experiences from the 1950s to the 1970s

While a sequel was never adapted for the big screen, Groom did publish a 1995 sequel, Gump & Co., following the success of Forrest Gump.

Hanks said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2022 that they “did take a stab at talking about another Forrest Gump,” however, it “lasted all of 40 minutes.” He added, “And then we never… we said, ‘Guys, come on.’”

Elsewhere in his interview with the Times, the Asteroid City actor added that he enjoys seeing how special the movie still is for people.

“I still get letters all the time saying, every year the family gets together, we do what we did back in 1995, when it first came out on home video. We all watch it, from beginning to end,” he said. “Right now, someone is watching that movie from beginning to end somewhere in the world. And it’s landing with that same sense of comfort and familiarity.”