Great movies have a history of leaving the audience somewhat dissatisfied with their ending, thus making them wonder and imagine alternate endings which could have been better according to their viewing experience. Although, movie scripts are drafted with utmost perfection and keeping all important aspects of the storyline in mind, there is always a chance that a slightly different ending could change the entire outlook of an iconic movie, which in turn would have altered the reaction of the audience.
Here is a list of 20 alternate movie endings would have changed iconic films.
20) The Butterfly Effect
The Butterfly Effect starring Ashton Kutcher, is a story about a man who can travel back in time and alter it. While the change is possible, it can cause a hurricane of other changes too. In the movie's alternate ending, Ashton Kutcher and his love interest meet in the future, but move on in their separate ways. But, the director wanted the ending where Ashton moves so much in the past that he ends up in his mother’s womb and chokes himself. This would have been a rather unappealing ending.
19) Orphan
Orphan is a movie about Esther, a 33-year-old female, who has a disease where her growth is stunted. With the help of makeup, she presents herself as a 9-year-old to a family, who adopts her. In the actual ending, Esther’s secret is revealed, and after a confrontation with the family, she is presumed to be dead. An alternate ending could have been where Esther isn’t caught and continues killing everyone in the family.
18) Edge of Tomorrow
Tom Cruise starrer Edge of Tomorrow is a sci-fi movie about Major William Cage, who is stuck in a time loop where alien invaders kill him repeatedly. Eventually, he figures out how to defeat them and break the loop. While this ending is much loved and is how a proper sci-fi movie should be, there could have been many alternate endings to this movie. One such ending could have been where Cage kills the aliens, but remains stuck in the timeline, which could have been his sacrifice for humanity.
17) My Best Friend's Wedding
Starring Julia Roberts, My Best Friend’s Wedding is about Julianne, whose best friend is getting married, which is when she realises she has been in love with him this entire time. She tries to sabotage their wedding, but ends up realising that what his friend and his fiance have is true love, and she is being selfish. It's a very bittersweet ending, although realistic. But, what could have been superb was if Julianne’s feelings were reciprocated and she ended up marrying her best friend.
16) Fatal Attraction
Fatal Attraction is a movie about an extramarital affair between Dan and Alex, which ends up in an obsession that is not sane or safe. In the actual ending, Alex tries killing Dan’s wife and ends up dying herself. A much more sinister and dark ending for the movie could have been Alex taking her own life and framing Dan. It could have provided a deeper insight into her psychotic nature.
15) Heathers
Heathers is a movie with the star cast of Christian Slater, Winona Ryder, Shannen Doherty and many more. It is a film about a popular group of girls, all with the same name - Heather. The movie is about JD and Veronica, who kill one of the Heathers and eventually, Veronica realises that JD is obsessed as he tries to detonate a bomb in his school to kill everyone. In the real ending, Veronica tries to confront and kill JD, but fails, and eventually, JD straps a bomb to himself and kills himself. An alternate and dark ending could have been where JD manages to kill everyone, thus ending the power hierarchy in his school.
14) I Am Legend
I Am Legend is a movie about Dr. Robert Neville, one of the only surviving humans left on earth, filled with vampires called Darkseekers. Neville is trying to find a cure when he meets a few members of a secret survivor group. In the real ending, Neville manages to find a cure, but in the process sacrifices his life. An alternate ending could have been if Robert never found the cure and became a Darkseeker. This ending though would have demoted the movie from its iconic status.
13) Little Women
The ending of Little Women left the audience frustrated. It's a movie about four sisters struggling financially. They befriend a rich boy Laurie, who is their neighbour. Laurie loves one of the sisters - Jo, but Jo wants to concentrate on her career and be a writer and rejects his proposal. He ends up marrying one of the other sisters - Amy. Fans loved the chemistry between Jo and Laurie and if they had ended up together, the movie would have been much more loved than what it is today.
12) La La Land
La La Land is about an aspiring actress and a musician - Mia and Sebastian, respectively, who are working hard to gain success in Hollywood and in the process are also trying to balance their love life. In the real ending, both of them achieve their dreams, but do not end up togethor as Mia settles down with someone else. Although, the fans really wanted both of them to reconcile, but if they ended up together, it would have given the fans one of the most iconic “happily ever after” movie couple that they deserved.
11) Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a sci-fi movie about bioengineered beings created by humans. They are mainly used for labor-related work. But, as one of the group of these beings runs rogue, a Blade Runner is tasked with hunting them down and shutting them off. But, what the Blade Runner was never prepared for was falling in love with one of these beings. In the real ending of the movie, both of them run away together. An alternate and more heroic ending that fans could have loved more would have been where both of them end up sacrificing themselves to save the others.
10) Gone with the Wind
Released in 1939, Gone with the Wind is a classic movie about Scarlet, who is in love with an already engaged man - Ashley. Eventually, Scarlet ends up marrying another man - Rhett, just out of spite towards Ashley. In the real ending of the movie, Scarlet realises she loves Rhett, but its too late and he leaves her. An alternative ending could have been where Rhett forgives Scarlet and they live together, but that wouldn’t have made Gone with the Win, the iconic movie that it is.
9) Pride and Prejuduce
Pride and Prejudice is a movie about Elizabeth Bennet, an intelligent woman whose family wants her to get married and begin a family. She meets a rich man, Mr. Darcy and they instantly dislike each other. They clash repeatedly and have a lot of misunderstandings. In the real ending, they end up moving past these misunderstandings and realising they love each other and get married. An alternate and bittersweet ending could have been where Elizabeth gets married to someone else and is only able to look past the misunderstandings she had with Mr. Darcy when it is too late.
8) The Shining
The Shining is a horror movie about Jack an, alcoholic who moves with his family to an abandoned hotel in order to work there. Jack has a son, Danny, who has abilities that help him find out that the hotel is haunted. Jack eventually gets psychotic and starts attacking his family. Danny manages to escape somehow, but Jack dies and the camera shows a photograph revealing Jack has been a ghost of some sort. An alternate ending could have been where Jack kills Danny and it is then that he wakes up from his possessed state and realises what he has done.
7) The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs is a movie about Claire who has to interview a killer - Hannibal Lector (played by the legendary Anthony Hopkins) in order to find another killer - Buffalo Bill. Hannibal agrees, but in return demands Claire tells him details about her traumatic past life. Claire finds Buffalo, but in the process Hannibal escapes. He leaves her alive as he considers her a friend. A chilling alternative ending could have been where Hannibal reveals he was somehow involved in Claire’s past.
6) Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2, is about a bot - T-800, sent back in time to protect John Conner, who would in future grow up to lead a resistance against AI, who have taken complete control of the world. In the real ending of the movie, the mission was successful and humanity ended up being saved. However, another alternative ending could have been that the resistance fails and the human race is left in desperation as they try to find another way or source to save themselves.
5) E.T. the Extra - Terrestrial
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial is about an alien who is left on earth and becomes friend with a boy named Elliot, The government wants to capture E.T., but Elliot and his siblings try their best to reunite him with his people. In the real ending of the movie, E.T. successfully reunites with his people. An alternative ending could have been where E.T. dies, thus leaving the audience emotional. This alternative ending could then have led to multiple sequels where a lot more about E.T's own race could have been explored.
4) The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises is an end to the trilogy of the Batman films. In this movie, Batman has retired, but has to go on one last mission to save Gotham City against the tyrannical terrorist, Bane. In the real ending, Batman is presumed dead, when in reality, he has left Gotham and moved to Florence in order to live the remainder of his days in peace. A better alternative ending could have been if Batman actually dies. This act of heroism would have made him immortal in the eyes of the people.
3) Jurassic Park
An iconic hit, Jurassic Park is about a genetically modified dinosaur park where tragedies occur as the park’s security fails and the dinosaurs start attacking everyone. In the real ending of the movie, T-rex saves the people trapped and they manage to escape the island. But, an alternative ending could have been with everyone dying and a dinosaur uprising preparing to challenge humanity for dominion over earth.
2) Titanic
The end of Titanic is known to everyone. Jack saves Rose and dies in the process. As much as everyone wanted both of them to survive, it is the emotional loss of Jack that has made Titanic the iconic hit that it is. An alternative ending where both of them are saved would still be loved by people, but it wouldn’t remain the same epic that it is today.
1) Avengers: Endgame
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Well, this could be controversial, so buckle up! Avengers: Endgame has one of the most heartbreaking endings where Iron Man dies to save everyone and eradicate Thanos from existence. The Avengers end up as victors, but suffer the massive loss of Tony Stark. It is already an epic movie, but imagine if the Russo brothers decided to end all six original Avengers' storylines then and there and if all six of them (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Hulk) together sacrificed their own lives in order to save the universe. It would have altered the course of Marvel comics that we know of today, most probably for the worse.
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