10 Horror Movie Endings You Can No Longer See
4. Gerry Fights Zombies In Russia - World War Z
It's no secret at all that World War Z was plagued (sorry) with issues during production, such that the overwhelming majority of the third act was rewritten and reshot at massive cost to Paramount.
The ending we eventually saw had protagonist Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) head to a World Health Organization facility in Cardiff, where he learned that the zombies don't pay attention to gravely ill people, and so by injecting themselves with pathogens they would be ignored by the undead.
It sets the stage for a sequel which ultimately never materialised, though this ending only came about after Paramount threw out a far more involved and action-packed finale.
The original ending involved Gerry ending up in Moscow, where he was conscripted to fight the zombies and learned that the cold slowed their movements.
This third act included a lengthy action scene in which Gerry battled zombies, before a cliffhanger ending revealed that his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) was living in a refugee camp and had effectively trader herself to a soldier (Matthew Fow) in exchange for protection, prompting Gerry to try and find her.
Given the reportedly extensive issues with this ending - including tonal issues and even missing footage - it's little surprise that it's never been released outside of test screenings.
Though a few set pictures of the Moscow shoot were snapped at the time, it seems like Paramount would simply prefer to bury that ill-fated original finale.
It certainly paid off, as despite considerable pre-release skepticism from analysts, World War Z received solid reviews and grossed over $500 million worldwide.