8 Directors Who Have The Worst Takes About Their Own Movie Endings

Just because they were the minds behind a movie, doesn't mean their ending takes were golden.

By Gareth Morgan /

It's undoubtedly never been easier to unleash an unfiltered and sometimes controversial take onto the masses, with fans seemingly taking to the likes of Twitter by the hour to fantasise or theorise over what the ending of a much-discussed recent flick actually means.

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For the most part, though, no matter how intentionally ambiguous or confusing a feature's final moments may appear at first, the director behind said movie can usually be counted on to deliver a definitive answer as to how their story rides off into the sunset, ultimately settling all debate on the matter so fans can happily move onto the next project to fiercely discuss.

However, in the following cases, not only did a director go out of their way to offer an explanation for their movie's ending that many would be quick to brand as downright laughable if it tumbled out of the average moviegoer's mouth, but they may have actually been responsible for perhaps the poorest take ever sent their big-screen baby's way.

From making matters even more confusing than they already were, to some of the strangest explanations for undeniably bizarre developments you're ever likely to hear, maybe these directors should've just kept their traps shut upon being nudged over the true meaning behind their film's closing stages.

8. George Lucas' Odd Reason For Bringing Back Hayden Christensen - Return Of The Jedi

While many have been quick to call out George Lucas for his decision to repeatedly tinker with his Original Trilogy in the years since the trio of beloved features initially burst onto the scene, it must be noted that not every alteration was as jarring as the sight of pointless CGI being stuffed into every frame possible.

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Take the decision to lace Ian McDiarmid's version of Emperor Palpatine into The Empire Strikes Back, for example, papering over the sight of Marjorie Eaton initially playing the Dark Lord of the Sith with superimposed chimpanzee eyes and effectively linking the Prequels with the OG trilogy of flicks.

The same cannot be said for the decision to bring Hayden Christensen back into the fold in the closing stages of Return of the Jedi, however, with many quick to question why Lucas opted to revert back to the younger version Anakin Skywalker after the fallen Jedi ultimately became a Force Ghost in the wake of dying much later on in his life.

Lucas' explanation for the jarring shift? Well, the director felt that after Anakin was redeemed by saving his son's life, his "inner person would go back to where we left it off", suggesting that the Jedi metaphorically died after becoming Vader.

In reality, though, Sebastian Shaw's version of Skywalker/Vader was likely cut out as way of jarringly connecting the two trilogies more than anything else.

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