The first draft of the script isn’t the only one that exists, and filmmakers work
with a variety of ideas to try to craft the perfect story.
This means that lines, scenes, or even entire sequences are retooled or cut entirely before
the movie hits theaters.
And that means the whole movie could be drastically changed.
If you haven’t seen part 1, stay tuned for a link to it in this video!
Here are Screen Rant’s 10 amazing movie twists you’ve never seen PART 2.
Army of Darkness
American audiences know Army of Darkness as the story of Ash taking on the Deadites in
Medieval times and then using the Necronomicon to return home to kill another possessed demon.
But international viewers got a different version.
Ash still beats the Deadites in the past, but is then given a potion that allows him
to sleep one century for each drop he drinks.
The hero misuses it and lands himself in a future apocalypse overrun by Deadites.
He screams in anguish and the film ends.
It seems like a cool concept, but it’s a bleak end for Ash and seems to go against
the film’s humorous tone.
Watchmen
Zack Snyder’s superhero epic sees the villainous Ozymandias blowing up US and Russian cities,
blaming it on Dr. Manhattan so the two nations have a common enemy, forcing Manhattan to
leave Earth for world peace.
But he originally targeted Manhattan for a totally different reason.
When Terry Gilliam was attached to direct, Ozymandias convinced Manhattan to go back
in time and stop the accident that gave the Watchmen their powers because the existence
of the god has a negative impact on everything.
The decision creates a better timeline where heroes only exist in comic books.
It would have been an interesting, if different, way to end the film.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
After defeating Ramona’s seven evil exes, Scott Pilgrim can be with his newfound love,
but Edgar Wright didn’t always have that ending in mind.
An alternate version sees Scott leaving Ramona behind to reunite with Knives, and while that
has a nice touch, it undermines the crux of the narrative.
After seeing all Scott went through, audiences deserved to see him and Ramona together.
It’s just too bad Wright couldn’t shoot his other ending, which saw a news report
detailing a serial killer who had murdered seven people and claimed to be in a video
game.
E.T.
– The Extra Terrestrial
Steven Spielberg ends his beloved film in an awe-inspiring, magical way: Elliott watches
in amazement as E.T.’s ship flies back home.
It’s somewhat uncertain what will become of the boy, and Spielberg originally had more
finality in the conclusion.
The original version had Elliott saying a downbeat monologue about the need to search
for experience, before showing a scene featuring him playing with other children.
It shows that Elliott moved on from E.T.
afterwards, but it undercuts the sense of wonder the film is known for and didn’t
serve a real purpose in the story.
Dodgeball
Looking to subvert the typical “underdog” trope, the original ending of Dodgeball saw
our heroes defeated by Globo Gym before sulking off into the sunset.
While Ben Stiller celebrated, test audiences did not.
After spending the entire film with Vince Vaughn’s loveable losers, they wanted to
see the gang come out on top, so a happier ending was inserted.
However, the filmmakers used this as an opportunity to fit in one final gag.
In a post-credits scene, a fat White Goodman pokes fun at the audience, saying that now
they’re happy because the villains lost.
So this was probably a good call.
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko threw audiences for a loop when at the end, the title character realized he
had to die in order to correct the timeline and save his loved ones.
It’s a haunting moment for the character and viewers and even leaves some things unanswered.
While fans always just assumed Donnie met his end when the plane crashed through his
room, they never saw the aftermath.
But one ending treated us to that sight, including a graphic image of his dying body twitching
with a pole stuck through it.
We did not need that to understand the message of the film.
The Town
Doug McCray manages to get away from Boston and start a new life in Florida, but he almost
joined his friends in death.
An alternate ending for The Town saw Doug bump into Alex Collazo, who shoots him down.
That name sound familiar?
Viewers will remember Alex better as the thief Doug and his friend James beat up much earlier
in the film, and nobody expected to see again.
While this cut ending gives the film an ironic edge about crime not paying, it’s a tad
anticlimactic, very abrupt, and a little confusing.
Seeing Doug free made for a more satisfying finale.
The Amazing Spider-Man
We’ve covered this one before, but we just couldn’t leave it out.
Peter Parker believes his parents are dead, but in an alternate ending for Amazing Spider-Man
2, he gets a surprise visit from his very much alive father.
Richard Parker gives his son some words of encouragement to help him get over Gwen Stacey’s
death and move on as a renewed Spider-Man.
Director Marc Webb eventually went with Peter being motivated by Gwen’s graduation speech,
which was probably the right call.
Richard’s sudden appearance was jarring and raised even more questions about the film’s
messy story.
Ant-Man
Ant-Man sets up the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by showing undercover Hydra agent
Mitchell Carson stealing Pym particles for an unknown purpose.
But it originally wasn’t that open-ended.
The initial conclusion featured Scott Lang having an encounter with Carson, defeating
him in a fight to reclaim the particles.
That would have been a nice way to tie up loose ends and give the film some finality,
but the MCU is always looking ahead, and the filmmakers wanted to save this aspect for
later.
Knowing them, the particles will come back later in a big way.
Paranormal Activity
If only the filmmakers had gone with the alternate ending, maybe horror fans would have been
spared from the disappointing sequels.
The theatrical version had Katie kill Micah off-camera and returning to the room to show
her demon face.
In a different conclusion, Katie murders Micah downstairs off-camera before returning to
the room and slitting her throat.
There was also an ending where after killing Micah, Katie sits in the room alone for days
on end before her sister comes around to investigate.
After seeing Micah’s body, the sister calls the cops and they shoot a knife-wielding Katie.
Either one might have had a more powerful impact and brought the story to a more terrifying
end.
So what do you think of our list?
Which unseen twists are your favorites?
Sound off in the comments section below and be sure to subscribe to our channel for more
videos like this one!