Edge of Tomorrow ending explained: What happens to William Cage?

Edge of Tomorrow takes the concept of a time loop and puts it in an action-thriller context. Helmed by Doug Liman and written by Christopher McQuarrie, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, the film draws its inspiration from a light Japanese novel titled All You Need Is Kill. The film was released on June 6, 2014.

Letterboxd describes its synopsis as:

Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.

William Cage gets stuck in a time loop, and the rest of the story revolves around that. So, let's take a look at what exactly happens with the character in the end.

What is the plot of Edge of Tomorrow?

A still from Edge of Tomorrow | Image via Warner Bros. YouTube

In Edge of Tomorrow, the earth is occupied by aliens called Mimics that landed in 2015 and, by 2020, had taken control over a large part of the planet. Major William Cage (played by Tom Cruise) gets a demotion in rank by General Brigham. But his inexperience leads him to die instantly on the battlefield. However, while dying, Cage manages to take down one of the aliens. He then goes on to live the same day repeatedly and has to learn how to survive on the battlefield.

The film is produced by Gregory Jacobs, Jason Hoffs, Erwin Stoff, Jeffrey Silver, and Tom Lassally under multiple banners. Edge of Tomorrow was released on June 6, 2014, by Warner Bros. Pictures and had a total of $370.5 million in collections at the box office. Besides that, it also earned positive reviews from critics.

How does Edge of Tomorrow end?

Because he is stuck in a time loop, William ends up honing his combat skills as Edge of Tomorrow progresses. He teams up with Sergeant Rita Vrataski (played by Emily Blunt) to look for Omega. However, he ends up getting injured in the process, which takes him out of the loop. The two team up with the J-squad, who end up dying while trying to reach Omega in Paris. Rita also sacrifices herself while William ends Omega, which disrupts the entire mimic race and kills them.

Right after Omega is finished, William opens his eyes and finds himself on the very day he was tasked to join the J-squad. He is told that the Mimics were eliminated due to some energy. William gets to relive that day once more for the last time when he meets Rita. But she does not recognize him. The film ends there, leaving viewers with a lot of questions.

The film does not answer where and how the Mimics came to Earth and if William will be able to reset his days again or not. The ambiguity of the ending has a happy note as Earth has been set free by the aliens, and William has reunited with Rita (even though she has no memory of him).