Mentions of suicide.

10 Things I Hate About You is one of the most popular and beloved teen movies and rom-coms of the 1990s, and though it told a complete story, it almost got a very dark sequel that I’m glad never happened. Teen comedies and rom-coms went through a great run in the 1990s and early 2000s, and among the best is 10 Things I Hate About You. Directed by Gil Junger, 10 Things I Hate About You is a modern take on William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew, set in an American high school in 1999.

10 Things I Hate About You follows new student Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who, after learning that his crush, Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), can’t date anyone unless her older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) does, comes up with an elaborate plan with his friend: trick arrogant but wealthy senior Joey (Andrew Keegan) into paying “bad boy” Patrick (Heath Ledger) to date Kat. 10 Things I Hate About You was a critical and commercial success, but its legacy was almost tainted by a dark and tone-deaf sequel that, luckily, never happened.

10 Things I Hate About You's Sequel Was Going To Be Unnecessarily Dark

10 Things I Hate About Me/Life Would Have Taken A Completely Different Path

10 Things I Hate About You gives closure to all its characters and their relationships, leaving no room for a sequel: Bianca and Cameron get together, Joey gets what he deserves after being so disrespectful, and Patrick and Kat reconcile. Whatever happens to all of them after the credits roll is up to every viewer, but at one point, 10 Things I Hate About You was going to get a sequel, though from what’s known about it, it was more of a standalone sequel.

What Junger wanted to do with the project, then titled 10 Things I Hate About Me, was to “explore” and “explode” the "myths of suicide."

In 2012, Junger revealed his plans for a sequel to 10 Things I Hate About You, and it was unnecessarily dark. What Junger wanted to do with the project, then titled 10 Things I Hate About Me, was to “explore” and “explode” the “myths of suicide”, and it was a very personal story for him (via Junger revealed he was moving forward with production on this follow-up, and he had already cast Hayley Atwell as his main actress.

The problem with 10 Things I Hate About Me is that its approach to the topic of suicide doesn’t seem like it was being handled as it should. What’s known about 10 Things I Hate About You’s unmade sequel is that it followed two people – a man and a woman – who crossed paths when heading to the same place at the same time to end their lives. According to Junger, their chance meeting was “so awkward, so raw, and so funny” that they postponed their plans and went their separate ways.

The project as described by Junger ended up becoming the unfinished and canceled rom-com 10 Things I Hate About Life, starring Thomas McDonell and Evan Rachel Wood.

The project clearly had nothing to do with 10 Things I Hate About You aside from the similar titles, and it makes me wonder why it was described as a follow-up to it. The project as described by Junger ended up becoming the unfinished and canceled rom-com 10 Things I Hate About Life, starring Thomas McDonell and Evan Rachel Wood (as Atwell ended up dropping out). The movie was never finished due to changes at the production company and Wood’s pregnancy.

Why 10 Things I Hate About You's Dark Sequel Wouldn’t Have Worked

10 Things I Hate About Life Was Bound To Fail

When I think about 10 Things I Hate About You, what comes to mind is its type of comedy (which doesn’t rely on physicality or obvious jokes), the drama in the story, and the strong personalities of the characters. 10 Things I Hate About You worked perfectly as a rom-com, which is why a follow-up with a much darker premise doesn’t seem quite right.

The brief clips of 10 Things I Hate About Life that have been released show that Junger and company completely failed at trying to recreate the tone and greatness of 10 Things I Hate About You.

Although 10 Things I Hate About Life was labeled as a “rom-com”, it just doesn’t seem right when looking at the premise and Junger’s intentions of “exploring” and “exploding” the topic of suicide. In addition to that, the brief clips of 10 Things I Hate About Life that have been released show that Junger and company completely failed at trying to recreate the tone and greatness of 10 Things I Hate About You, and the movie looks way too cheesy, flat, and, honestly, cringy.

According to the above-mentioned People article, Junger wanted to offer the main role in 10 Things I Hate About Me to Heath Ledger, but sadly, Ledger ed away in January 2008. Moving on with the project and linking it to 10 Things I Hate About You despite not having any connection beyond their similar titles would have felt disrespectful to Ledger and his legacy, and thankfully, the movie never saw the light of day.

Had this project been its own thing, completely separate from 10 Things I Hate About You, without trying to copy what made it work, with a different title, and a better premise (as it is, it’s pretty tone-deaf and would have been pretty controversial), it might have had a chance.

10 Things I Hate About You Got A TV Reboot A Decade Later

10 Things I Hate About You Got A Different Kind Of Expansion

10 Things I Hate About Life thankfully never happened, but 10 Things I Hate About You got a TV reboot in 2009. The show, which shared the movie’s title, was developed by Carter Covington and premiered on ABC in 2009. The 10 Things I Hate About You TV series followed the premise of the movie but with major differences: there was no deal to make Patrick date Kat, and Bianca wasn’t popular.

Despite getting good reviews, mostly praising the performances of the cast, the 10 Things I Hate About You TV series only lasted one season and was canceled in 2010. 10 Things I Hate About You isn’t meant to become a franchise or expansive world, as happens with many other classics.

Source: People.