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Tim Allen says original Santa Clause plot was much ‘darker’

Tim Allen originally planned to shoot and kill Santa in what became his 1994 hit film ‘The Santa Clause’.
The 65-year-old actor starred as a replacement Santa in the popular festive film, but he’s revealed that his initial plan for the movie – which features Tim’s on-screen character accidentally causing Santa Claus to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve – was much "darker" than what it evolved into.
During an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’, Tim shared: "The original ‘Santa Clause’ is a little darker, written by two comedians, and I actually shot and killed Santa, in the original movies.
"He fell off the roof because I thought he was a burglar [in the actual film]. He gives me the card, the whole movie starts. [In the original script,] the kid actually starts with, ‘You just killed Santa.’ And I said, ‘He shouldn’t have been on the roof when he wasn’t invited.’"
Tim thought the idea was hilarious, but the people who took the decisions at Disney were less impressed.
He recalled: "I’m laughing so hard, but the head of Disney at the time, [Jeffrey] Katzenberg said, ‘Well you can’t start a movie like that.’ And I said, ‘Why not?’ He said, ‘We can’t start a Disney movie with you murdering Santa.’
"I go, ‘I’m a comedian. Why not? That’s funny. You kill all the parents in your other movies anyway.’ Don’t they?"
Meanwhile, Tim recently revealed he "got real close" to leading a ‘Home Improvement’ revival.
The comedic actor – who starred in the hit sitcom from 1991 until 1999 – said he held discussions with numerous people about reviving the show, prior to Fox bringing back ‘Last Man Standing’, which was cancelled by ABC and then brought back.
Speaking about ‘Last Man Standing’ ending and ‘Home Improvement’ returning, he said: "I never felt – and it’s come true – that this was done. It never felt right.
"In the time off, we got real close where we talked to everybody … It was an interesting idea."