2008-2010 Script of Cars 2
The 2008-2010 script of Cars 2 is an early version of Cars 2 that featured deleted characters such as Zil and Giulia, as well as deleted scenes such as Prague and Meet Finn. Although the script of the movie was complete, it was overhauled in 2010 in favor of the existing version of Cars 2 that was released in theaters on June 24th, 2011. The film was originally scheduled to be released in 2012.
Not much is known about the original plot, but the World Grand Prix would've had five races instead of three, occurring in Japan, Italy, France, Germany and England. Other countries such as the Czech Republic and Spain would've also made an appearance in the film, as they would serve as the settings for some of the spy scenes, similar to France in the final version of the movie, and wouldn't have hosted any World Grand Prix events.
Plot
The movie would've begun in Prague, Czech Republic, at night, where a British spy named Healey would've been chased by the Lemons while requesting backup from British Intelligence. The chase would've led to a junkyard where Healey would've attempted to hide, only to be captured by a crane working for the Lemons and tossed into a car crusher. Zil would've emerged from the shadows and asked Healey where Finn McMissile is, with Healey replying that he'll never catch Finn and that the latter will stop him. Unfazed, Zil would've chuckled and responded that they shall see, before driving away as Healey gets crushed and ends up dying.
This would've been immediately followed by the Tall Tale deleted scene, showing the opening credits while Lightning McQueen races in the Dinoco 400, the final race of the 2009 Piston Cup season, as he looks forward to win his third Piston Cup trophy. As McQueen leads the final lap, a cardboard clown car catches up to him and, under it, several clown pitties come out and prepare to throw him into a giant pie. Suddenly, Mater appears on the track and uses his tow cable to yank Lightning out of the clown pitties' grasps as they end up crashing into the pie. The duo then start to be chased by ninjas, as Lightning urges Mater to speed up, to which Mater agrees as they need more speed for the loop of death. Mater would've hurled Lightning towards the loop as he fought the ninjas to protect his friend. In the end, Lightning would've completed the loop, crossed the finish line with great speed and won his third Piston Cup. After this, it would've been revealed that these events were being recounted by Mater to a group of fans at the Racing Museum, only for Lightning to jump in and say that they shouldn't believe everything Mater tells them and that he didn't even win that race, with Mater simply mistaking him for an ugly animatronic.
It's unknown how McQueen would've joined the World Grand Prix in this version of the story, though given there still are elements of a rivalry between him and Francesco Bernoulli, it's entirely possible that he would've joined the competition the same way as in the existing movie, with Mater calling into The Mel Dorado Show to defend his friend and McQueen stepping in to defend Mater from Francesco. According to John Lasseter in the director commentary, Mel Dorado would've been called "Caddy Cadillac".
At the World Grand Prix welcome party in Germany, an Oktoberfest-like event would be happening and Mater would've been enjoying its attractions with two other tow trucks. Meanwhile, an American spy disguised as a waiter would've been fleeing from a black and white-striped Lemon, a Zündapp Janus and Tomber, and they would've entered the event with the intention of killing said spy. The latter would've tried to hide in an alleyway but the Lemons would've cornered him and repeatedly start to ram him into a wall and he'd manage to escape after a couple of seconds. Mater and his two tow truck friends would've eventually decided to go to a horror attraction named Haus of Doom, with him going in all by himself. Suddenly, in the middle of the ride, the American spy would've appeared from under Mater's raft and told him to tell Finn McMissile "nothing" as he succumbs to his injuries shortly afterwards. Mater, however, thinks that was all part of the ride and doesn't take any of it seriously. Unbeknownst to him, Petrov Trunkov, the black and white-striped Lemon and a Tatra Lemon would've seen that interaction and assumed Mater was also an American spy.
During the first race of the World Grand Prix, in Tokyo, Japan, the Lemons would've targeted Rip Clutchgoneski, causing his engine to blow up and him to meet his demise as he would've gone over the racetrack's guard rail after losing control and presumably have fallen to his death. It is unknown who was going to be the winner of the first race.
Around the time of the second race, in Porto Corsa, Italy, Mater would've been attacked by the Lemons, but managed to evade them with the help of Finn McMissile guiding him through his headset. During the train ride to Paris, France following the Porto Corsa race, Mater would've tried to explain what happened to him in Italy to the other members of Team McQueen, but they wouldn't believe him. Upset by this, Mater would've turned around and spotted a car that looks like Giulia as he'd follow her to the back carriage of the train while Tomber would've discreetly tried to follow Mater with the intention of killing him. As Giulia reaches the back carriage, she would've disappeared and Mater would've asked a nearby nun if she happened to see her, but just before Tomber was able to follow Mater inside, the train would've entered a tunnel, and the back carriage would've disconnected itself from the others as Mater would've started panicking. Suddenly, the nun would've revealed herself to actually be Finn McMissile in disguise, who was also disguised as Giulia earlier, with him properly introducing himself to Mater, right before he removes a device from the latter's undercarriage using a robotic arm. The device would've had data about the plot to sabotage the World Grand Prix, with Finn even accessing his own memory chip to confirm its accuracy on the first two races, and, coupled with the fact that British Intelligence intercepted a communiqué that The Queen, who is due to crown the winner of the competition, would be targeted at the last race in London, England makes Finn even more curious as to what a map that is somehow related to the sabotages truly means and is unaware of who is the mastermind behind it. He then proceeds to instruct Mater not to tell anyone about the conspiracy, and to act natural until Finn contacts him before the Paris race.
Upon arriving in Paris, Mater would've been very nervous, however he does his best not to reveal what is going on to McQueen or any other member of Team McQueen. Finn would've eventually called on Mater for a rendezvous, and after briefly encountering the Lemons, Finn would've given him a call button in case he runs into trouble.
The Paris race commences and Mater remains on edge. Since it would've been a 24-hour Le Mans-style race, the racers would have to stay focused and awake. Mater would've eventually cracked from pressure and yelled, "I ain't no spy" while Lightning is in the pits, giving him the idea to play eye-spy to stay awake, but once he's out of the pits, Francesco provokes him, telling him he'll let McQueen draft him. With this, McQueen decides he doesn't need to play games anymore, even after having already spied something that begins with the letter "A", as Francesco's words have given him all the energy and motivation he needs. After Luigi begs him not to leave them hanging in suspense, McQueen reveals to his pit crew that what he 'spied' was a red antenna ball, which would've alarmed Mater as he begins to panic and attempts to reach the antenna ball before McQueen does. Hijinks ensue as Mater struggles to use his new spy gadgets, sending missiles into the air and deploying his parachute at random times, but he eventually manages to make it to the antenna ball before McQueen by using a coupe's trunk as a ramp. Mater lands on the racetrack, right in front of McQueen's way, forcing him to brake as Mater grabs the antenna ball with his tow hook. The police arrive soon after and it is revealed that the antenna ball is entirely harmless, belonging to a school teacher, and not the same one the Lemons were using to sabotage the races. McQueen then would've asked Mater what is going on, but Mater, remembering what Finn told him about not telling anyone about the plot, replies that there is nothing going on. The whole spectacle would've caused McQueen to lose the race, the press to cover the story in the papers, and Francesco to gloat and further provoke McQueen for having lost, ultimately leading to a fight between McQueen and Mater. Feeling upset about what happened, Mater would've decided to go home, making his way to the airport after he and the rest of Team McQueen arrive in Stuttgart, Germany for the fourth race.
The Black Forest race begins, with each racer having to drive the course individually. McQueen would've wanted to speak to Mater before the race, but Luigi tells him that Mater left to go home and didn't want McQueen to know until after the race. McQueen is distressed by this, but is able to regain his focus and carry on with the race. Meanwhile, Mater makes his way to the airport, where he would've ran into Giulia. Mater explains he is leaving, but panics when he sees the Lemons approaching him, dragging Giulia onto a nearby train heading to Spain, overheating Giulia's engine in the process. On the train ride, Mater explains the situation to Giulia, including everything he knows about the Lemons and Finn McMissile. Giulia is confused by Mater's story, but ultimately tells him it doesn't matter whether or not he's telling the truth, as the gist is, they both need to get to McQueen. Giulia then leaves to get some coolant for her overheated engine, but Mater gets attacked by Tomber wielding two saws inside his carriage. Mater manages to escape the carriage, telling Giulia to run as Tomber throws saws at them. They make their way to the back carriage, with Mater pressing the emergency stop button as the train screeches to a halt, and proceeding to grab Giulia with his tow hook as they drive into the nearby Spanish city of Pamplona. The pair split up as Tomber follows Mater into a street where the Running of the Bulldozers is occurring. Mater would've accidentally released the bulldozers, who run over Tomber before heading towards Giulia, who is struggling to start her engine. Fortunately Mater spots her at the last minute and would've swung the two into a nearby store to avoid the stampede. After this, Mater would've attempted to find a way to return to McQueen, but is ambushed by Zil and a group of Lemons, who reveal that Giulia is a double agent, and one of Zil's top lieutenants. Mater is then taken to the Lemons' smelting yard in Italy under Giulia's supervision, but she begins to feel guilty about betraying Mater, especially after it is revealed that Mater is really not a spy, leading her to free him and possibly leave the Lemons.
It is unknown how the movie would've ended and what would've happened in London other than supposedly the last race of the World Grand Prix and Zil's likely comeuppance.
Sequence of Deleted Scenes
The following is the sequence of deleted scenes released on the Cars 2 Blu-ray and digital copy:
- Prague
- Tall Tale
- Oktoberfest
- Tokyo Race, Lap One
- Meet Finn
- Paris Race
- Germany
- Train to Spain
Differences from the Final Version of the Movie
- The World Grand Prix would've consisted of five races (Japan, Italy, France, Germany and England) instead of three (Japan, Italy and England).
- Mack would've been a member of Team McQueen at the World Grand Prix instead of Sarge.
- Tomber would've been a member of the Lemons instead of Finn McMissile's informant.
- The weapon the Lemons would be using to sabotage the World Grand Prix races would've been a red antenna ball in disguise instead of a TV camera in disguise.
- The World Grand Prix welcome party would've taken place in Germany instead of Japan.
- Holley Shiftwell wouldn't have been a character. Instead, Giulia would've taken her role as Mater's female friend and, unlike Holley, she would have been a double agent working for Zil and the Lemons.
Trivia
- Healey's death scene in Prague mirrors Leland Turbo's death in the opening of Cars 2.
- Only Zil's silhouette is visible in the Prague deleted scene. This was to keep his appearance ambiguous, as it would've been revealed much later in the story.
- In Tall Tale, Mater's role fighting clown pitties and ninjas as a "troubleshooter" foreshadows his role as a spy later in the film.
- Of the five World Grand Prix races, the London race is the only one that was never shown in any deleted scene, with the Paris and the Black Forest races having their own deleted scenes, and the Tokyo and Porto Corsa races appearing in Meet Finn.
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