10 Secret Subplots You Didn’t Know Were Cut From Popular Movies

Whether they should have been left in or not, these subplots would have changed everything...

By Aidan Whatman /

It's no secret that making a movie is a tough job. It takes hours upon hours of writing, filming, acting, re-shooting and marketing to make everything come together, and even then you're not guaranteed success.

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The biggest changes movie-wise take place once the film is actually shot. Once the actors have done their bit and the sets are emptied, focus is put on the editing process.

Editing is the final stage of filmmaking - the moment where the movie is cut down to a more appropriate length, where unnecessary scenes are removed and dialogue is brushed up. Honestly, the amount of work that goes into it, it's a wonder films even find a way to get made at all.

On the cutting room floor, it's normal for minor scenes to go missing and even for entire subplots to go out the window.

The following list is concerned with such cuts. The films which cut out major, often game-changing subplots in order to tidy up the finished product, reduce the film's length or keep focus on the main story. Some are quite bad and cutting them was a wise move; others would have made for a brilliant addition to the story.

Whether a shocking final twist or a brilliant extra layer to an otherwise solid film, here are 10 subplots you never knew were cut from popular movies.

10. The Thing In Action - Fantastic Four (2015)

There's no doubt that Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot was a poor affair marred by a terrible script, out-of-place casting decisions and forgettable... everything. But there was actually a big deleted scene which would have been good to see in the final cut of the movie.

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After the peculiar one year time jump after the team first get their powers, there was meant to be a sequence in which The Thing (Jamie Bell) would attack an enemy base by jumping from a plane. He would crash into the earth, creating a massive crater, and then walk through his opponents as they tried to shoot him down with little effect.

This scene was actually briefly shown in the trailer, but was cut from the finished film because Trank thought it wasn't necessary. Given the fact the movie was slated for its lack of action sequences and suffers from a clear underuse of the heroes and their powers, perhaps it would have been wiser to keep in.

Then again, it probably would have been wise to make a better film. We can't all be winners.

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