• Deleted Scene: Harrison Ford filmed a scene as the principal of Elliot's school, set after he frees the frogs, which Spielberg cut because he felt Ford's presence was too distracting.
  • What Could Have Been: The first choice to play Gertie? Juliette Lewis. Her father made her turn down the role and Barrymore was cast instead.
    • Stan Winston turned down the opportunity to work on E.T.. He would regret doing so.
    • The book "E.T. from Concept to Classic" features many plot points and scenes cut from the script. One subplot from an early draft was to have a rival to Elliott named Lance who wanted to expose E.T.. The spaceship was going to land in a parking lot, but it was changed to a forest because that sounded more magical, amongst many others.