Not many directors do great movie the first timejust like Jordan Peele did in his breakout year in 2017 horror Get off. The film captivated audiences with its disturbing exploration of racism in America, cementing its place as one of best movies of 2010 and probably of all time. One of the film’s strongest moments comes at the climax, which features a fateful moment for the main character, Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), that ends on a somewhat optimistic note. However, the film initially had a much darker ending, and one of the film’s stars, Allison Williams, recently wondered about it.
She spoke with Allison Williams Comicbook.com during festivities surrounding New York Comic Con 2024. She discussed how the film, one of only six, was made horror films that have ever been nominated for Best Pictureinitially summarized, and why the team turned to a resolution that gave viewers more hope. The M3GAN the star recalls:
It’s interesting because we all signed up for a movie with an original ending. It made me feel really honest, we live in America. If there’s a black man standing over the body of a dying white woman, and then there’s a house full of dead white people, we all know how that’s going to turn out. So Jordan made it quite clear that he wanted the ending to reflect the truth of the situation. It ended with Lil Rel’s character basically trying to get the last shreds of information Chris could come up with. Like what? What? Is there anything else? There was film in the camera and all this stuff was there. It was basically like Chris or Daniel Kaluuya went back to prison and thought, “It’s over.” In short: “Yes, I will spend the rest of my life in prison, but I put an end to what they were doing and that is enough.”
At the end of the theatrical cut of the film, Chris is apparently rescued by his cop friend Rod (Lil Rel Howery) just as the police show up, sparking a moment of collective fear before eventual exposure. Jordan Peele’s initial vision for the ending had Chris arrested by the police, even though he managed to get away with a sinister Armitage family plot. The motion was intended to reflect the stark racial realities in America and make a more sobering statement about systemic injustice.
Allison Williams explained how the decision to change the ending was made after audience test screenings. In her own words:
What happened was that when we tested the movie, the audience was like, “I rate it a ten out of ten, this movie is fucking amazing.” Until the ending that went like “OOP!” Everyone said, “I feel so sad and this is too real.” Basically. Jordan realized what was so brilliant was that having two police lights on, Chris’s and Rose’s on me and Daniel, triggered a reaction in the audience of fear of what the police presence would mean for his future. You received a long ending message. Then he read it and at that moment he shot, right at those lights. And then came the release and the triumph, the emergence of Lil Rel, and it was like Rod was the savior.
Final version Get off maintains the tension of Chris’ encounter with the police, but offers relief when Rod shows up instead of law enforcement. Responding to the racial unrest that drives the film, this change allows viewers to leave the theater with a sense of triumph rather than the pain of premonition of Chris’ unjust imprisonment. Fortunately, that was the original ending Better leave it on the cutting room floor.
Jordan Peele talked about how the political climate has impacted his career decision to remove the GI ending then. Faced with a deluge of true stories of racial violence in the news, Peele noted that viewers were already feeling the weight of this grim reality. So instead of adding to the darkness, he provided viewers with a moment of hope.
In my opinion, this decision ultimately helped the film cement itself as a cultural touchstone, perfectly balancing horror with sharp social commentary and delivering an ending that remained deeply etched in audiences’ minds. Those final minutes are unforgettable, and chances are, thanks to Mr. Peele’s astute creative choices, we’ll never stop talking about them.
You can stream Get off now with Peacock subscription. Meanwhile, Allison Williams, who wasn’t just in New York to discuss her previous work, has… upcoming horror on the document. He is going to star in the series “High”. expected M3GAN 2.0a sequel that promises to be one of the most important horror games on the market 2025 movie schedule.
