Examples in film

Alternative endings are often filmed before being scrapped, and may be released as a special feature in the movie’s DVD release. These alternative endings are a special type of deleted scene . In other cases, ideas that have been presented in the early days of the world in the field of commentary or interviews.

Some movies also present the alternative ending on the international release of their home media release, with its original region release only showing the alternative ending on some TV channels.

The following are examples of known alternative endings to movies:

• 1408 : An alternative ending is present on the director’s cut disc (much like the Butterfly Effect , with a few deleted scenes kidneys) Mike Enslin dies in the fire he causes. At his burial, his wife is approached by the hotel manager, offering his personal belongings. She refuses, and he lets her know that her husband did not die in vain. Back to the top of the list of the recorder, and screams in his head. The film closes with an apparition of Mike Enslin still in 1408, muttering to himself, hears his daughter’s voice, and finally exiting the room with her.
• 28 Days Later : Several darker alternative endings (filmed, available on DVD release). The first has been taken by a doctor, but it is taken to a hospital, but he can be given medical attention, and his body is left behind. a hospital and has now died there). Some versions also involve him dreaming of the accident that puts him in the hospital at the beginning of the film. Another unfilmed ending picks up after Frank has been infected, where they take him to a research complex and Jim sacrifices his own life to give him a complete blood transfusion to restore him, This was discarded for being too unbelievable.
• 3 Ninjas : The American cut-away from the basketball challenge and effortlessly won Emily’s bike back. In an extended international version of this movie, they lose the basketball challenge along with their own bikes, so they end up in the international version of the movie in which they fight the bullies to get back, as an alternative ending. In the United States, this alternative ending can be seen on certain television channels such as Starz ,Showtime and Showtime MAX ; international DVDs have this version, as well.
• Army of Darkness : In an alternative ending after Ash drinks the potion that would make him sleep long enough to wake up in his own time, he inadvertently drinks too much and wakes up in the future. Realizing that the world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland, ash screams “I slept too long!”
• The Astronaut’s Wife : When Spencer is killed, Jillian is not possessed by the alien. Instead, she moves out to the country. Sitting beneath a tree, looking up at the stars, she tunes her radio to the same signals Spencer was receiving while possessed by the alien – her twin babies controlling her movements from inside the womb, listening – and waiting …
• Blade: Trinity : The original ending is far more ambiguous with Dracula and Blade’s fates not as determined. The ending only appears in the unrated DVD and was intended by David S. Goyer . Hannibal King and Abigail Whistler confront a werewolf.
• The Bourne Identity : An alternative ending on the DVD has Bourne collapsing during the search for Marie, waking up with Abbot standing over him, and getting an offer to return to the CIA.
• The Butterfly Effect : Evan watches a home video of his mother pregnant with him and returns to the memory of himself as a fetus. Convinced that his very existence is ruined the lives of those around him, he strangles himself with his umbilical cord and dies, stillborn . This ” Director’s Cut ” ending is much darker than the theatrical ending, where he simply stops himself from becoming friends with Kayleigh.
• Child’s Play 2 : An extended ending reveals a chunk of Chucky’s skin after his head exploded. A machine is then seen making a new Good Guy Doll head, which then forms a sinister smile.
• Clash of the TitansAfter defeating the Kraken and Hades, Andromeda falls into the sea and Perseus dives in to save her. When he reaches her, he embraces her passionate kiss, pointing out that he is in love with her, and she with him. After reaching the shore and regaining consciousness, Andromeda asks Perseus if he will stay there and say it is someone he wants to talk to, before kissing her again, indicating that he will come back. Getting on Pegasus, he flies to Mt. Olympus (where the special effects are incomplete) where he confronts Zeus, stating that he does not wish to be one of them. After slamming his sword into the gods’ map and shattering the models of every living person, he leaves and is seen flying on Pegasus over the sea,
• Clerks : Dante is still inside the Quick Stop after it closes. A customer enters and, without saying a word, shoots Dante after he tells them they are closed, and empties the cash register. The credits then roll, and when they are over the counter Dante’s body on the ground behind the counter.
• Clue HAD four different endings, and Each One distributed to theaters HAD one of three of ’em. The video and DVD version had all these three endings on it. The fourth one has not been included because of the director did not approve of it. ^[1]
• With a Vengeance : In an alternative ending of the DVD, it is presumed that the robbery succeeds, with McClane catching up with Gruber months later in Austria. His career is in ruins and he is keen to take it out on Gruber whom he invites to play a game called “McClane Says”. This involves a form of Russian Roulette with a small Chinese rocket launcher with the sights removed, meaning it can not be determined which end of which. McClane then asks Gruber some riddles similar to the ones he played in New York. When Gruber gets a wrong riddle, McClane forces him to gunpoint to fire the launcher, which blows Gruber to bits. This ending is in the novelization, only McClane fools Gruber into thinking the tube-like launcher is pointed to McClane. Gruber guesses the trick question and shoots himself.
• Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story : The Average Joes lose the game when White Goodman hits Peter with the ball. According to the DVD commentary, this was the writer’s original intention for the movie, but the studio insisted that it be changed – hence the “real” ending – when test audiences reacted poorly to the unhappy ending. (The antagonist references this right to the end of the movie, by mocking the audience for a happy ending and saying, “You happy now?”)
• Ella Enchanted : The movie is about to end up in a scene after the wedding, where Lucinda, Ella’s father demands a divorce from Lady Olga, Heston is still alive but suffering from the Char Fan Club, Slannen becomes a lawyer, and Lady Olga ends up with Nish. No one knows why, but they cut the scene out and replaced the ending with a musical ending.
• Fatal Attraction : Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) was born to be a victim of suicide. (Michael Douglas) had murdered her, for which he was arrested. Test audiences did not respond well to this final, especially due to a lack of revenge from Beth and the family, especially when Beth tells Alex “If you ever come near my family again, I’ll kill you”. This film is about to be re-shot for the action-filled sequence in the bathroom and Alex’s death by shooting. The fact that Beth shoots Alex makes a direct comparison between the two characters, Alex being a victim, and Beth taking control to protect her family.
• Final Destination : Alex is killed when he grabs the downed power line to save Claire, ending Death’s pattern. In the final scene it turns out that Claire is pregnant with Alex’s baby.
• Final Destination 2 : The original movie was presumed to be Kimberly and Officer Burke embracing in the hospital after Kimberly is revived. Instead, David Ellis, the director, is the director of the barbecue scene.
• Final Destination 3 : The film has two alternative endings (based on the viewer’s choices on the DVD). In the first ending, Ian is fully crushed by the sign and Wendy, Kevin, and Julie decides what to do next. In the second ending, which involves the subway, the train headed for Wendy actually hits her, instead of being a vision.
• The Final Destination : In one alternative ending, Nick realizes he has to kill himself for the chain to end. So, he puts out the initial fire and then jumps out a window, killing himself. Later, Janet and Lori sadly embrace, as Lori says, “The chain is broken.” Suddenly, a piece of the chain holding the A / C unit breaks and lands next to Lori. Lori picks it up, and the unit drops and crushes Lori and Janet, with Lori’s hand holding the chain sliding into the audience’s face in 3D. In another, Nick is also with Lori in the escalator, instead of it being a vision.
• Final Destination 5 : In an alternative ending, which was in the original script, Sam, Molly and Nathan take a walk through a memorial park. Molly stare at him in horror.
• First Blood : In an alternative ending, Rambo commits suicide rather than arrested. This alternate ending is included as an extra on the First Blood DVD Ultimate Edition released in 2004.
• Friday the 13th Part III : Chris wakes the morning after killing Jason, only to find he is still alive when she opens the back door of the lake house. Jason then proceeds to cut off Chris’s head, and the scene immediately switches to Chris waking up screaming in the back of the police car, revealing his entire death was a dream and Jason remains dead in the barn.
• Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter : An alternative ending to the movie, included in the 2009 Deluxe Edition DVD, shows a dream sequence where Trish and Tommy wake up next to Jason after the sound of police sirens. Trish sends Tommy to summon the police who have arrived next door. At this point, she leaves the water and goes to investigate. She enters the upstairs bathroom, and finds the body of her mother, drowned in the bathtub. At that moment, Mrs. Jarvis’ eyes open and Jason appears behind Trish, ready to strike. Trish then suddenly wakes up in the hospital in a reminiscent scene of the ending of the first movie. In his commentary, the director says this scene was intertwined with the idea that this would be the final film.
• Game of Death : This movie has two alternative endings. In the Hong Kong Cantonese print, after we see Billy defeating Dr. Land, who falls from the rooftop, the police and an ambulance arrives there. The police arrest Billy and the ambulance takes Dr. Land. In the Mandarin print it shows that after defeating Dr. Land, Billy is with Ann at a harbor, saying good-bye to Jim. The next scene shows a ship and a picture of Bruce Lee . This scene of the ship departing is also in the Hong Kong ending.
• Hide and Seek : This movie had many different endings on whether or not Dakota Fanning ‘s character, Emily had split personality and she was up to a mental hospital or at a new home.
• I Am Legend : The “Monster Woman” that Robert Neville captures in order to run a “cure” test becomes the key to his survival in the end. As the “Alpha Monster” begins to break into the lab area, he stops, and Robert Neville suddenly realizes that they are the “Monster Woman” back. So Robert Neville rolls out of the lab and awakens her out of her medicated state, and the “Alpha Monster” picks her up and takes her away, leaving Neville alive after her ordeal. (NOTE: The creatures are a mutation of man’s cure to cancer)
• I Know What You Did Last Summer : In the alternative ending, Julie receives an invitation to a pool party and reads an email that reads “I still know”. This scene was used in the trailer for the movie.
• Infernal Affairs : In the mainland Chinese version, the police found evidence proving Lau Lau Ming ( Andy Lau ) is a triad mole and is arrested and the film end. The sequel, Infernal Affairs III , follows the original Hong Kong ending where Lau got away with his crime.
• Little Shop of Horrors : The first conclusion to the off-Broadway musical was filmed and preferred by Frank Oz the director and the majority of the actors. However, test audiences disliked how Audrey and Seymour, the main protagonists, were both killed by the evil alien plant, and the ending had to be re-shot so that their deaths were removed.
• Men in Black II : The original ending for the film featured in a scene in which the towers of the World Trade Center opened to a swarm of UFOS. After the terrorist attacks in 2001, the ending was reshot.
• Orphan : In an alternative ending, Esther is seen hurrying into her room. There, she is shown with a face covered in blood while she re-applies her makeup. She’s got her way to the front of the house, and she’s ready to go to the house. the stairs into the crowd of police. Kate or Max in the alternative ending, the dead body of John can be seen. However, due to the excess blood, it is possible that it is not wet, it is possible that both Max and Kate.
• Paranormal Activity: In one version of the film that was shown at only one public viewing, Katie returns to the bedroom after the screaming and noise of her and Micah struggling downstairs. She is holding a knife and covered in blood. She closed and locked the bedroom door. Katie walks over and smiles at the camera, then slits her own throat. There is a third ending in which, after killing Micah, Katie returns to the bedroom and sits down against the bed with the knife in her hand, rocking back and forth, for almost two days straight. Katie’s sister comes looking for her, but when she enters the house, she is heard screaming after seeing Micah’s body. The creature possessing Katie leaves her body, and scares Katie’s sister out of the house, before returning to Katie, who resumes rocking back and forth. The police arrive at the house about 30 minutes later, and Katie comes out of the bedroom with her knife, calling for Micah. Following a heated confrontation, Katie.
• Paycheck : Jennings and Rachel are wondering what to do when Jennings spots the kid who stole the engagement ring from him on the way out of a pawn shop. He goes into the shop for a few minutes and when he comes back he asks Rachel “do you believe in fate?” and they kiss. It is assumed that it is proposed to be at its point.
• Pineapple Express : Both main characters are killed off by a man they forgot to shoot down.
• Rocky Balboa : Rocky Mason defeats “The Line” Dixon by split decision. In the actual movie, it is reversed.
• Ronin : Deirdre is on the stairs next to the cafe Sam and Vincent. Deciding against it, she walks up the stairs. As she is getting into her car, she is snatched into a van by men in the IRA who call her a traitor. It is implied that she is later killed. Sam and Vincent finish their conversation and leave, completely unaware of what has just happened.
• Scream 3 : When Ghostface enters the screening room, it does not have a white sheet covering him. After Roman notices Sidney has disappeared after he is supposedly killed, most of the scene shows Sidney’s point of view which was not shown in the actual ending. Also, Kincaid does not enter the screening room in this ending.
• Seven : Writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, completed two separate drafts of the ending. The first was used in the theatrical edition of the film. In the second, John Doe is killed by Somerset instead of Mills. This alternate ending sequence has been published and published in the published script, but never filmed, but it does not appear on DVD.
• Sliver : Sharon Stone and the killer fly over when the killer suddenly confesses his crimes. He then sees the aircraft in the volcano as the end credits roll and leaves the audience to decide whether they survive.
• Smokin ‘Aces : Rather than pulling the life support cords of Israel and Sparazza as he does in the end used, he instead draws his weapon and empties his pistol into them.
• Super Troopers : Another ending was filmed that starts the same way as the real ending; by the police station being closed down. This time, the train officers are working on a meat packing plant. They talk to their boss saying that they should not go out of their way. At this point the officers take over their jacket to reveal that they are now local police officers and chase him through the meat packing plant.
• Swordfish : The DVD version contains an alternative ending. Ginger is told in the bank that the account is already empty, alluding to the possibility that Stanley has played a final trick on them and taken the money himself. In a companion scene to the alternative ending, Stanley is shown on a trip to a new RV. While eating at dinner, Stanley is shown transferring many billion dollars to various charities before continuing his trip.
• The Terminator : The alternative ending, included in some DVD releases, shows the cleanup and police response to the factory shortly after the final battle between Kyle and the terminator. A group of company representatives find the terminator wreckage and decide to hide it from the police and have it analyzed. Cyberdyne Systems is a film that ends up in the screen of the day. The sequel is based on this alternative ending.
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day : The alternative ending shows Sarah Connor alive and well on August 29, 2029. She is by then a grandmother (and John Connor is a Senator) in a world where Skynet was never able to start his war on humanity.
• Titanic : Old Rose is seen by her granddaughter dropping the diamond into the ocean.
• Topaz : While Nicole and Michele waiting in front of Stade Charléty, there was a duel between André and Jacques in the French football stadium. Jacques is shot down by a sniper. This ending was panned by audiences during test screenings.
• X-Men: The Last Stand : Not only is this filmmore likelyto be used in this film, but the role of Jean Gray is more aggressive and disobeying direct orders of Magneto several times. The alternative endings are: the re-opening of the Xavier Institute in which Beast is now a professor; Logan coming back to Alberta, Canada , specifically the very same tavern seen in the first X-Men ; and Rogue keeping her powers.
• Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit had two different endings. One had Lady Totington marrying PC Mackintosh and another had Lady Totington visiting Wallace and giving Gromit the golden carrot.
• Whisper : In the alternative ending, the kidnapper Max has chased the demon boy David through the forest David makes him believe the wolves around him are the people who died. When they turn into wolves, they attack Max, but instead of throwing the axis and hitting David, Max holds on the axis as he falls and the wolves maul him to death. Afterwards, the cops show up and wrap David up in a blanket and take him to safety. As the police van leaves, you can see David smiling.

Examples in television

In TV shows, producers may want to keep the ending of a secret episode, even if it means keeping it from the stars themselves. In such a case, they will usually be more of a movie.

• 24 : To keep the ending to the season 1 surprise, the crew shot multiple endings to the final (Teri’s death was the one they aired). A second ending had Teri live through the gunshot, and a third had not been at all, with the family embracing each other.
• DIE : In original ending, Yue Sir ( Roger Kwok ) dies from a car accident and the audience wanted a happier ending so TVB created a new one in the style of mo lei tau comedy. In the new ending, the car accident would kill Yue Sir from happening.
• EU : Due to the popularity of Michael Tse ‘s character Laughing Gor, who died in episode 22, The ending never implied whether Laughing is alive or not and leaves it open for the audience to decide.
• Green Wing : In the final Special , Guy and Mac are dragged into the air in an attempt to rescue Caroline, who has been dragged into the air by holding too many helium balloons. Whilst in the air, Mac tells Caroline he has something to tell her. After walking into the sea, Alan and Joanna are last seen hanging on a buoy, waiting for drown. The actors wanted to use this ending but it was turned down. It was thought that this ending would have been used if a third series was being made.
• Sex and the City : In the final series of three endings were shot, in which Carrie Bradshaw : (1) is reluctant to meet Aleksandr Petrovsky , (2) resumes her relationship with Mr. Big , and (3) turns down both followers and reaffirms her love for her friends.
• The Simpsons : In the two part episode ” Who Shot Mr. Burns? ” There was an alternative ending where it was revealed that the shooter of Mr. Burns was Waylon Smithers rather than Maggie Simpson . Mr. Burns’ shots of other characters were also fully animated, though no other complete ending scenes were produced. (These alternative shootings were intended to be ‘leaked’ as an elaborate practical joke on the media, but the producers could not find them.
• Lost : At the end of Season 4, the audience learns that one of the main characters will die in the future. To keep the identity of this person a secret, three different versions of the final scene were shot. The canonical ending shows that Locke will die, while the alternative endings had Sawyer and Desmond die.
• Total Drama : For every season of this animated “reality show”, 2 endings were filmed in which both finalists would win the competition. Every country Total Drama aired in the air.
• King of the Hill : Some episodes have alternative endings (including the episode “The Company Man”), which can be found on the DVD Special Features.
• Psych : the episode “100 Clues”, a parody of the board game Clue, had alternate endings where the fans decided who was the culprit of murdering a guest at a party. Also, the episode “Right Turn or Left for Dead” involves the main character, Shawn, playing out an alternative ending in the episode.
• Pretty Little Liars : In the episode, “The Lady Killer,” three endings were shot, each revealing a member of the A-Team. The Because the. The. Because. Because. Because. Because. Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A Because A, A, A, A, A, A, A, A, A, A, A, was, was, was, was, was, was, was. Caleb’s ending, Toby’s ending, Toby’s ending.
• Secrets and Lies : Killer’s Identity Secrets and Lies , Several Multiple Endings Were Shot.

Examples in video games

Many video games also have alternative endings. These endings are generally difficult to play, or take a different road through the game’s storyline.

Examples in music

• English rock band Marillion’s 1994 concept album Brave is one of the few examples of an alternative ending appearing in the medium of music. The vinyl edition of Brave featured on a double groove on the side of the second record, the final side of the album: The song “The Great Escape” and “The Great Escape” “Made Again”) or alternative would be an alternative version of “The Great Escape” with different lyrics, presenting an alternative, darker ending to the album’s story. ^[2]

Examples in literature

• Felix Salten ‘s The Hound of Florence differs Greatly in the original German language ( Der Hund von Florenz ) and in the English translation. The German-language version ends in tragedy : the archduke stabs the dog to death, killing Lukas, and his body is disposed of. ^[3] In the English translation, a wholly new ending of six more pages: Lukas survives, gets medication and is united with the courtesan . ^[4] Currently it is not known if the alternate ending is authorized.

See also

• Deleted scene
• Multiple endings

References