World War Z is one of the few zombie blockbusters. However, the ending of the film was originally supposed to be quite different. At the last moment, it was reshot.
The making of World War Z is one of the most chaotic blockbuster productions in recent years. Creative differences and a script that was not completed in time meant that the entire third act had to be reshot. Along with this, the budget grew from 190 million US dollars to a considerable sum of almost 270 million US dollars.
What was the reason for this drastic measure? The short answer: the original ending was too bleak for the studio Paramount and lead actor Brad Pitt. The version that ended up in the finished film has much more hopeful overtones: In a World Health Organisation facility, protagonist Gerry manages to develop a virus that makes humans invisible to the zombies.
World War Z: This is how the zombie action blockbuster with Brad Pitt was originally supposed to end
Actually, something completely different was supposed to happen. In the first cut of World War Z, Gerry arrives in Moscow, where a harsh regime reigns, on the plane he escapes Jerusalem on. Old, weak and sick people are executed. Those who can fight must join the military. Gerry is drafted right after he enlists and loses his satellite phone – the only means of contact with his family.
You can watch the trailer for World War Z here:
That’s followed by a time jump that takes us deep into the Russian winter. A now fully bearded Gerry cleans out an underground tunnel in Moscow with his unit. In the course of this, we would have become acquainted with the zombie killing weapon Lobo. Also, an important realisation: the zombies can’t move that fast in the cold. Finally, the humans have a chance in the fight against the undead.
Meanwhile, Gerry’s family is stuck in a refugee camp in the Everglades National Park in the USA. Karin (Mireille Enos), Gerry’s wife, is living in a relationship of convenience with the unnamed soldier (Matthew Fox) from the beginning of the film, who uses her primarily for sex. When Gerry finds out about this, he does everything he can to free her. At the end of the film, he storms the Oregon coast with his unit.
