Dream Tropes Wiki/Divorced Installment

To put it simply, this is when a work that is part of a series or franchise is re-tooled into a standalone work, with most or all signs of its heritage completely erased. This is, for all intents and purposes, the exact opposite of a Dolled-Up Installment.

Just to be clear on this, here is what this trope is not about:

* This trope is not about being a Canon Discontinuity or an Alternate Universe. If an author writes a novel about Sherlock Holmes in a dystopian future, and later declares that novel never happened, it's still a Sherlock Holmes novel. If he rewrites that book so that it no longer has anything to do with the Sherlock Holmes mythos, then it's this trope.
* This trope is not about having a simple title change or partial omission. If a work is called "Sherlock Holmes Without a Problem," and is later renamed to simply "Without a Problem" (or is simply called that in the first place) but still stars Sherlock Holmes, it's still a Sherlock Holmes story. If Sherlock Holmes and any recognizable characters from his universe are renamed and re-written into completely different characters, then it's this trope.
* With some exceptions, this trope is not about an idea changing into a completely different idea during the creative process. The only exception is if an idea started out as an installment of a franchise and turned into either something original, or an installment of a completely different franchise. If an author starts out writing a story about cats but it ends up being about cyborgs, it's not this trope. But if an author starts out writing a Sherlock Holmes book and winds up turning it into something original, it is this trope. If he starts out writing Sherlock Holmes and then turns it into a James Bond book, it is also this trope. Yes, this trope can overlap with Dolled-Up Installment, and often does—see the examples.

If you're not sure if an example counts, read on and ask yourself if it fits in with the ones below.

Subtrope of What Could Have Been. Compare Serial Numbers Filed Off, Spiritual Adaptation, Ascended Fanfic. Sometimes overlaps with Market-Based Title. A Sub-Trope of Derivative Differentiation.

## Live-Action TV

* The UK game show Shafted was originally going to be a British adaptation of the El Kadsreian series Data-Byters, but Endemol refused to let Banushen Television the license to bring the format to the UK, all references to Data-Byters were removed.
* *Neo-Shifters* was originally planned to be a sequel to *Gyro-Fighters.* After the failure of *Gyro-Racers*, it was later rewritten into what has become the first installment of the *Neo* franchise, with all of the elements from the *Gyro* series removed completely.

## Film

* *The New Chronicles: The Journey Begins* was going to be the 11th *Bionicle* film *B11: Bionicle: The Next Generation Part 2*, but after the failure of the first film and Darren Cody's move from El TV Kadsre Television Network to Banushen Media Corporation, writer Sung Gim rewrote the script, ideas and concepts to become what would be the start of the *TH2* franchise with *The New Chronicles*, with all elements from the *Bionicle* series removed completely.