10 Original Endings That Would Have Ruined Famous Movies

The Actual Ending:

While attempting to save his newfound friends, Selena and Hannah, from gang rape and potential execution after mistaking a military compound as a safe haven, our main protagonist, Jim, is shot.

Luckily, the group is able to escape and Jim is able to make a full recovery at a remote cottage, where the three of them have holed up to wait out the mass infection. It's also implied they're about to be rescued by an airplane thanks to a very large SOS signal.

The Ending We Almost Got:

There are several alternate endings for the film, two of which were actually filmed. But the most ridiculous finale, dubbed the "Radical Alternative Ending" by director Danny Boyle, never made it past the storyboarding stage. Because it's wholly stupid.

Rather than finding themselves forced into sex slavery at the military compound, the group goes to a medical research lab to save Frank, Hannah's father, who's become infected with the rage virus. A scientist tells them the only way to cure Frank is to perform a full blood transfusion on him, meaning that someone else would have to be willing to die to save him.

The only person who matches Frank's blood type is Jim, who proceeds to sacrifice himself via wildly implausible science. Not only is it a dramatic shift from the realistic tone of the film, but such a relatively "simple" solution makes the rage virus seem much less threatening.