8 Directors Who Have The Worst Takes About Their Own Movie Endings

And finishing off with another flick that once spawned countless different theories over what in the hell it all meant by the time the credits rolled, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey provided audiences with one of the most confusing yet intriguing conclusions in movie history.

Yet, while many have spent hours trying to unpack the finale of David Bowman seemingly going from decrepit old man to baby floating towards Earth, Kubrick himself actually revealed the true meaning behind this enigmatic ending many moons ago.

According to the legendary director in a rare interview many years back, upon discovering another monolith, Dave "is taken in by god-like entities, creatures of pure energy and intelligence with no shape or form." Then, after being studied in "a human zoo" of sorts, "his whole life passes from that point on in that room."

And if that wasn't enough, Kubrick would then surreally add:

"Anyway, when they get finished with him, as happens in so many myths of all cultures in the world, he is transformed into some kind of super being and sent back to Earth, transformed and made into some sort of superman."

So for those eternally searching for some deeper meaning in the closing stretch of this 1968 classic, it turns out Kubrick was simply on the cusp of forging his own brand of super-verse. How thrilling.