5 Alternative Sci-Fi Movie Endings That Almost Happened
From the main character strangling himself in the womb to the one who never really comes back to the Earth.
Sci-fi movies have a unique ability to transport viewers to new worlds and challenge their imagination.
Usually, the endings of these movies leave a lasting impression and shape the way we perceive the story, leaving an everlasting aftertaste.
However, there are instances where viewers could have seen alternative endings and it would completely change the course of events of the movie.
Here are the top 5 sci-fi movie endings that almost happened, and some of them you might consider more prominent than the original ones.
1. I Am Legend (2007)
In the movie, we saw Will Smith 's character, Robert Neville, finally find a cure for the virus moment before the Darkseekers invade his lab, causing him to sacrifice himself and send Anna and Ethan to save the world with his vaccine all alone.
The alternative ending was much closer to the original novel, as it follows the same events, but instead of wanting to kill Robert, the only motive the Darkseekers had was to free their friend, who appeared to be Robert's latter test subject.
This scene revealed that the Darkseekers were never really emotionless and evil. All the atrocities Neville committed during his experiments on them made him realize that the only monster in the whole situation was himself.
2. The Butterfly Effect (2004)
The ending that we all know where Evan Treborn goes back in time and pushes away the love of his life in order to save her and her brother was, in fact, an alternative.
The original one was so shocking that the screening audience couldn't handle it, which led the creators to choose another one for the theatrical release.
In the original ending, Evan Treborn travels back to his mother's womb and strangles himself with his umbilical cord. A really dark ending, but it would definitely take the movie to another level.
3. Alien (1979)
Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, could have had a completely different fate. In the theatrical ending, she is the only survivor who managed to escape the Nostromo and explore the Xenomorph in space.
The alternate ending would bury all hopes for a sequel along with Sigourney Weaver's character, as we would see Ripley get her head ripped off by the alien.
4. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
In the original ending of the movie, Terminator sacrifices himself to destroy the advanced T-1000 Terminator by lowering himself into a vat of molten steel to save Sarah Connor and her son John.
In an alternate reality, we would see an elderly Sarah Connor alive in 2029, watching her son — the Senator — play with his daughter.
There seems to be nothing wrong with such a friendly ending, but think about it, if the movie ends with Sarah in her old age, it would kill all possibilities for the other parts.
If Sarah gets happily old, what would the next three parts be about? We don't even want to think about that.
5. Interstellar (2014)
Much of the original ending confuses people because they don't understand how Cooper, Mathey McConaughey's character, could survive in the wormhole.
The alternate ending would have a much more scientific ending, as it would allow his character to send a message to his daughter Murphy with all the necessary data, but in the end he would die heroically trapped in space.