structural:reformatting
Sequel

Following the publication of her novel, Margaret Mitchell was inundated with requests for a sequel, but she claimed not to have a notion of what happened to Scarlett and Rhett, and as a result, she had "left them to their ultimate fate". Until her death in 1949, Mitchell continued to resist pressure from Selznick and MGM to write a sequel. In 1975, her brother, Stephens Mitchell (who assumed control of her estate), authorized a sequel that would be jointly produced by MGM and Universal Studios on a budget of $12 million. Anne Edwards was commissioned to write the sequel as a novel, which would then be adapted into a screenplay and published in conjunction with the film's release. Edwards submitted a 775-page manuscript which was titled Tara, The Continuation of Gone with the Wind, set between 1872 and 1882 and focusing on Scarlett's divorce from Rhett; MGM was not satisfied with the story, and the deal collapsed.

The idea was revived in the 1990s when a sequel was finally produced in 1994 in the form of a television miniseries. Scarlett was based on the novel by Alexandra Ripley, itself a sequel to Mitchell's book. British actors Joanne Whalley and Timothy Dalton were cast as Scarlett and Rhett, and the series follows Scarlett's relocation to Ireland after she again becomes pregnant by Rhett.