Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/the-real-reason-8-famous-endings-were-rewritten-at-the-last-minute-2/
Most moviegoers assume the ending they watched was always the plan. In reality, quite a few beloved films almost closed on a completely different note, sometimes a darker one, sometimes a softer one, and the switch usually came down to a single test screening that went badly wrong. What follows is a look at eight cases where studios tore up the finale and started over, often just weeks before release.
I Am Legend and the ending audiences booed
Will Smith has talked candidly about how the original conclusion of the 2007 thriller stayed faithful to Richard Matheson’s novel, with Robert Neville realizing the infected creatures were not monsters at all but a new society trying to survive. The original ending showed Robert Neville discovering that the Darkseekers were trying to survive, just like humans, and he realizes that he might be the monster in their eyes and lets them go. It sounded like a faithful, thoughtful finish. Test audiences hated it.
Will Smith remarked “It was the only movie I’ve ever had that the audience booed,” and detailed that the test screening had a “couple hundred people” in attendance who received a feedback form, with the top two boxes only fetching 51% of the votes. That number spooked the studio enough to send the crew back for reshoots. The version that made it to theaters, with Neville sacrificing himself so a cure can survive, became the one everyone remembers,…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-08-24 06:19:00
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