10 More Movies That Almost Had Much Better Endings
Black Widow could have given Natasha Romanoff and Scarlett Johansson a much better send off.
You could argue that the final moments of any movie are among its most critical. Does it matter how good the beginning and the middle are if the final moments can't bring everything together and stick the landing? It is crucial that the conclusion is done right.
Stories can often have multiple different finishes throughout production before the final one is decided upon. Sometimes they are changed with a new draft of the script, they can even be filmed before being altered with feedback from test screenings, and sometimes they don't even get past the stage of the initial concept.
You'd be forgiven for thinking the ending that makes the final cut would, in theory, be the best of the bunch. There has to be a reason why such a decision is made, and a lot of the time this would be correct, but it's certainly not always the case.
WhatCulture has previously compiled 10 Movies That Almost Had Much Better Endings, but there are more than just ten that missed out on having something better just by changing the final few scenes.
10. Peter Meets His Father - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Though Andrew Garfield's iteration of Peter Parker may have hit new heights of popularity in the wake of Spider-Man: No Way Home, his own Spidey franchise wasn't so well received. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014 fell particularly flat, with the ending teasing something further that never came to fruition.
The final moments of the movie saw Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborn begin to set up the Sinister Six, while Peter was dragged out of his downward spiral of depression following the death of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) to return to the superhero life. This teed up an epic rematch with Rhino (Paul Giamatti) from the opening scenes that was spoiled by a cut to credits, finishing things in the most infuriating way possible.
One of the heavier themes throughout Andrew Garfield's second Spider-Man film was how he was affected by the loss of his parents, something that would have taken a new direction had the alternate ending in which he actually met his father face to face made the cut.
It is a scene that would have raised questions, certainly, but it saw Andrew Garfield put in some of his finest and most emotional work as Peter Parker, as his first conversation with his dad since he was a small boy helped push him towards making his triumphant return as Spidey.