Jordan Peele & More Talk Changing Original Ending To ‘Get Out’

A year ago, “Get Out” was simply a smash hit, horror sensation. Twelve months later, its astonishing journey has brought the picture to the Oscars, where it has four nominations, in some very major categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. But as it goes with so many great movies, none if it would’ve happened if they didn’t get the ingredients just right, and one wonders how “Get Out” would’ve been received if it went with its original downer ending.

As it was first written and filmed, the conclusion of “Get Out” saw the cops show up after Daniel Kaluuya’s Chris has killed Allison Williams‘ Rose, and the picture ended with him being arrested and tossed in jail. It was a potent ending, that certainly connected with the times, but it was also a harsh note for audiences to carry with them out of the cinema. So, a new ending was conceived, this time with Chris being rescued by his TSA pal Rod (Lil Rey Howery). So, what’s the story with the change? Vulture got to the bottom of it with their terrific and extensive oral history of the movie. Here’s the excerpt:

Sean McKittrick (producer): We tested the movie with the original “sad truth” ending where, when the cop shows up, it’s an actual cop and Chris goes to jail. The audience was absolutely loving it, and then it was like we punched everybody in the gut. You could feel the air being sucked out of the room. The country was different. We weren’t in the Obama era, we were in this new world where all the racism crept out from under the rocks again. It was always an ending that we debated back and forth, so we decided to go back and shoot the pieces for the other ending where Chris wins.

Marcus Henderson: I remember when they gave the verdict that Darren Wilson wouldn’t be indicted, and you felt defeated. Like, “Man! Can we catch a break?” What the original ending said was, “No, you can’t catch a break,” because that’s our reality. But the new ending gave us a break, and I think that’s why we enjoyed it so much, because we want it so badly. The similarities of the narrative are so parallel to what actually happened in Ferguson. When I have conversations with people about it, we talk about the importance of watching that black body get away to tell his story. Because you know who didn’t get to tell their own story? Trayvon Martin. Mike Brown. Philando Castile.

Daniel Kaluuya: I love the original ending. It was great because of what it said about life — there’s this black guy who’s really cool and went through this trauma, got through all this racism, and in fighting for himself he gets incarcerated. That really resonated with me, because it showed me how unfair the system is. However, in hindsight, you still have that with the police lights, and Rod saves him through the black ­brotherhood — and also, Chris has a life, you know? He has to go out there even after he’s experienced all this racism, and people expect you to see the world in the same way when they haven’t experienced something like that. I thought that was really honest.

Bradley Whitford: The original ending was making a statement that I think Jordan felt a white audience might be able to dismiss about mass incarceration. The ending he ended up with does a brilliant thing, because when Chris is strangling Rose in the driveway, you see the red police lights, and then you see the door open and it says “Airport” and it’s a huge laugh, and everybody has that same laugh and release. You understand from Chris’s POV that if the cops come, he’s a dead man. That is absolutely brilliant, non-lecturing storytelling.

Jordan Peele: I think my improv training just put me in this mind frame of, with each problem, there’s not one solution, there’s not two solutions, there’s an infinite amount of great solutions. That includes the ending. When I realized the original, downer ending wasn’t working, I didn’t freak out. I looked at it as an opportunity to come up with a better ending.

It’s fascinating stuff, and perhaps a lesson to aspiring filmmakers out there to be flexible with your stories — be open to hearing feedback and reacting to it. Your movie just be all the better for it.