Curious George was originally a character in “Forrest Gump” until Robert Zemeckis cut him: 'That monkey's gotta go'

Zemeckis and stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright reminisce on the beloved 1994 film.

Forrest Gump almost had a whole lot more monkey business in it.

As part of the latest in Entertainment Weekly's Reunions video series, the film's director, Robert Zemeckis, and stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright sat down to discuss memories from making the 1994 hit film when Zemeckis revealed none other than Curious George was originally supposed to appear in the movie.

"I remember that first draft that Eric Roth wrote on Gump, it was like 179 pages — Eric had all sorts of like angels flying up, and dreamscapes," Hanks remembered when Zemeckis cut in to add: "Including Curious George! Curious George was a cartoon monkey on Forrest's shoulder talking to him."

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The beloved animated monkey first appeared in H.A. Rey's 1939 short story Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys. He was so popular that George quickly spawned his own book series, leading to various other media centering on the character, including films and TV shows.

In Forrest Gump, an old edition of Curious George is Forrest's (Hanks) favorite book, which his mother reads to him and he later reads to his son. A Curious George toy also appears in the film, but, much to Wright's apparent chagrin, an animated version of him is not.

At EW's reunion, as her director explained the cameo that never was, she let out a disappointed "Aww."

While George didn't make the final cut, Zemeckis might owe his job on the film to the monkey's initial appearance in the script. Just a few years earlier, the director had won three Oscars for his work on a movie that famously incorporated animation with live-action.

"They said, 'Get that guy who did [Who Framed] Roger Rabbit," the director recalled of how he got tapped for Gump. "And I read the [Forrest Gump] script, and I said, 'I love this, but that monkey's gotta go.'"

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When Wright, who played Forrest's love, Jenny, in the film, asked Zemeckis if it was a rights issue, the director said no, pointing out all the other ways the monkey appears in the film. He didn't, however, explain his decision to cut the animated simian.

Thirty years after Forrest Gump, Zemeckis, Hanks, and Wright are back together again for Here, which hit theaters Nov. 1. The film tells the story of multiple generations of families who inhabit the same home over the course of a century, with Hanks and Wright once again portraying a couple.

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Watch the full clip with Zemeckis, Hanks, and Wright above.