8 Abandoned Plot Twists That Almost Ruined Famous Movies

4. Is That Johnny Depp? - Birdman

Birdman tells the story of an actor named Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) who attempts to stage a pretentious play on Broadway as a kind of antidote to years of playing superhero movie roles that he deems to be worthless. The movie climaxes with a scene in which Riggan shoots his nose off during opening night with a loaded gun - a statement of true artistry. Birdman then ends with an ambiguous shot of Sam Thomson (Emma Stone), Riggan's daughter, staring at the sky as her father may or may not have somehow managed to fly out of the window. It's a nice ending - hopeful and weird; the kind that gets people talking. But does it have the edge over the plot twist that was originally supposed to mark the film? Yes, probably, because it's downright insane. The original plan, then - according to co-writer Alexander Dinelaris - was for the camera to drift back to the theatre, into the dressing room, only to reveal... Johnny Depp? Yes, Johnny Depp putting on a wig similar to the one Riggan wore whilst on stage, surrounding by a bunch of Pirates of the Caribbean posters, only for him to say - in Jack Sparrow's voice, mind you - "What the f*ck are we doing here, mate?" The point? Well, they wanted to imply an "endless" loop - another actor made famous through playing the same character over and over again, attempting to make amends - and gain some credibility - through the act of theatre. This would have been a funny twist, of course, but it would have also cheapened the film somewhat. Also: Disney didn't allow it.