Marvel's Eternals spoilers follow.
Marvel's Eternals director Chloe Zhao has confirmed that the movie originally had a much more "bleak" ending.
The film, released in cinemas earlier this year, doesn't exactly have an upbeat ending as the remaining Eternals are taken away to face judgment from the Celestial Arishem for defying their purpose on earth.
The Eternals had been sent to the planet to absorb the earth's energy when it was eventually uninhabitable, but instead, they decided to intervene on the planet's behalf and save humanity.
Related: Marvel confirms Eternals release date on Disney+
Speaking to Empire this week, director Chloe Zhao explained that, at one stage during production, the ending of Eternals would have essentially shown the super-team's intervention was meaningless.
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"We actually had another ending that is really bleak. Bleak," she recalled. "It used to end with everybody back on the ship, minds erased and just going on to another planet, like The Twilight Zone.
"I remember when it goes to black, everyone was like, 'I don't know what to do.' And also, it's the MCU, and you want to be excited for what’s next."
The Eternals filmmaking team decided against this "bleak" scene over fears the Marvel fans would reject such a downbeat conclusion for the scene.
"I have never made a film where the ending is what I wrote! You find it in the edit," she said. "I didn't hate it because I'm used to films that are more melancholy. But I don't think it went down well with audiences."
The film still leaves Marvel fans with some big questions even with its reworked ending, though writer Kaz Firpo has hinted at the fate of one particular character whose future was left ambiguous.
Eternals is now playing in US and UK cinemas. It will be released on Disney+ on January 12, 2022 and on 4K Steelbook, DVD and Blu-ray on February 7, 2022.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
