Roger Rabbit 2 (found production material of cancelled prequels to live-action/animated film; late 1989-1990s)
The movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) had different ideas for a prequel that has been cancelled, which would have been direct-to-video.
The idea of a prequel was planned as early as the late 1980s, after the original movie's release.
Roger Rabbit: The Toon Platoon (First Project)
The first idea for a prequel was Roger Rabbit: The Toon Platoon.
Set during World War III, the story would have involved a young Roger Rabbit rescuing Jessica Rabbit from the Nazis, and the story would have ended with the revelation that Roger’s father is Bugs Bunny.
However, this original idea for the project was discontinued.
Who Discovered Roger Rabbit? (Second Project)
In the late 1990s, the idea of a Roger Rabbit prequel was brought back to life, with Steven Spielberg in the commands.
No longer involving the Nazis, this new prequel idea would have been called Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?, and the plot was changed to the story of Roger Rabbit's path to stardom on Broadway and Hollywood. This new project would have had CGI along with the expected live-action mixed with traditional animation. The animation would have been developed by Jim Pentecost, who produced Pocahontas.
The intended budget would have been too expensive, and added to "then-current studio politics", the project was discontinued once again.
Aftermath
In 2009, rumors came that a Roger Rabbit sequel was being worked on byRobert Zemeckis, but nothing came to be from it.
A 10-second animation test from 1998, with a CGI Roger Rabbit, was leaked online. It was revealed to be directed by veteran animator Eric Goldberg.