Wait, WHAT? Turns out the original script for The Santa Clause was WAY darker

'Tis the season to binge-watch Christmas movies.

From Elf to Die Hard; Home Alone to Miracle on 34th Street, there's no shortage of holiday classics - both new and old - to enjoy. One of the ones we're always going to have a bit of a soft spot for, though, is The Santa Clause.  The 1994 festive flick starred Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, a workaholic dad who accidentally ends up becoming Santa after the real St. Nick falls off his roof. Which, yeah, is kind of dark - but the very family-friendly movie managed to never actually seem that way. However, it turns out that the original idea for the beloved '90s film was a whole lot darker - at leat, according to Tim Allen. The comedian appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about Toy Story 4 but, given the time of year, the conversation soon turned to the classic Christmas comedy. He explained:

"The original Santa Clause is a little darker, written by two comedians. I actually shot and killed Santa, in the original movie. "And he fell off the roof, because I thought he was a burglar. He gives me the card and the whole movie starts. And the kid goes, 'You just killed Santa.' And I said, 'He shouldn't have been on the roof when he wasn't invited.'"

The idea was axed by the then-head of Disney - and the reason why makes plenty of sense. Allen recalled:

“The head of Disney at the time said, ‘Well, we can’t start a movie like that.’ "I said, ‘Why not?’ He said, ‘Well, we can’t start a Disney movie with you murdering Santa Claus.’ "I said, ‘I’m a comedian. Why not? That’s funny. You killed all the parents in your other movies anyway.’ "Don’t they? They do that. I’m a comedian!”

The script was eventually re-written, with Allen's character no longer shooting and killing St. Nick - which is definitely for the best, if you ask us. You can check out his full interview below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=326&v=Fc7f9keSrfM