10 Most Expensive DELETED Movie Scenes Ever

1. World War Z's Ditched Third Act Cost...$25 Million

World War Z Brad Pitt
Paramount Pictures

As ludicrous as the All the Money in the World situation was, nothing quite tops the near-disaster that occurred while shooting 2013's zombie blockbuster World War Z.

The film's original third act saw protagonist Gerry (Brad Pitt) heading from Jerusalem to Russia, after which he would end up drafted into armed service as a zombie slayer of sorts. Gerry grows a beard and becomes a world-weary badass, eventually learning that the zombies can be defeated by the cold.

In a grim final setup for the planned sequel, Gerry has a phone call with his wife Karin (Mireille Enos), who is safe in a refugee camp, but implies that she has entered into a dubiously consensual relationship with the Air Force officer (Matthew Fox) who saved her earlier in the movie.

Ultimately the entire final 40-ish minutes of the film was scrapped, and seven weeks of re-shoots were undertaken at a cost of $25 million to deliver a new finale in which Gerry seeks out a cure at the World Health Organization in Wales and is reunited with his family, while humanity begins their assault against the zombie horde.

Though this caused the film's budget to balloon as high as $269 million, World War Z ended up grossing $540 million, ensuring it was relatively successful all things considered.

Yet despite the obvious promise of a sequel, Paramount quietly cancelled it early last year due to the inability to capitalise on the Chinese box office, which currently has a ban on movies featuring zombies and ghosts.

Advertisement

Watch Next


Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.