Movie scenes get cut all the time for various reasons, but these 10 scenes have the unique status of being cut before release due to being too controversial. Plenty of movies have faced controversy, with creatives or studios making bad calls in regard to some of the content that is put in feature releases. However, sometimes studio foresight is a useful tool, with the teams behind these 10 movies cutting scenes that they realized would be too controversial before the film was even released.
Typically, if a movie studio has a scene it deems too controversial to release, it will oftentimes try to bury it. However, information about these controversial scenes is occasionally released, albeit this is a rare occasion. Information about these controversial cut scenes is always interesting, as it gives an insight into what filmmakers consider too offensive for audiences. So, although they involve some touchy subjects, here are 10 movies that had scenes cut before the films were released.
10 The Lorax Replaced “Biggering” With A Less Divisive Song
“How Bad Can I Be?” is one of the most well-known songs from Illumination’s The Lorax, but it actually replaced a completely different song. Originally, “Biggering” filled this song’s role, with the initial version of this song being much darker. “Biggering” is a rock opera that chronicles the Once-ler’s rise to power, with him justifying the destruction that his greed is leading him to. Throughout the song, an almost specter-like Lorax is haunting the Once-ler, warning him of his misdeeds. “Biggering” is a dark and tragic song, with Illumination cutting it in favor of the much more lighthearted “How Bad Can I Be?”
Available To Stream On Netflix
9 Men In Black II Was Changed Due To 9/11
Men In Black II was one of the many movies that was affected by 9/11, but the popular Will Smith sequel is one of the biggest examples. In the final film, the climax takes place at the Statue of Liberty, with the alien battle and subsequent neutralization of New York centering around the iconic statue. However, this scene originally took place at the World Trade Center, with the Twin Towers being prominently featured throughout the scene. After the September 11 attacks, the scene was quickly reworked to take place on the Statue of Liberty, avoiding any potential problems in the aftermath of 9/11.
Available To Stream On Netflix
8 Deadpool 2 Almost Ended With The Death Of Baby Hitler
Deadpool 2 is an incredibly raunchy comedy, but one scene was too dark for the Marvel sequel. At the end of Deadpool 2, Deadpool uses Cable’s time travel device to alter history in several comedic ways. A scene was initially filmed in which Deadpool travels back to 1889 on a mission to kill baby Hitler. Test audiences reacted poorly to the scene, as it was incredibly dark and uncomfortable. Because of this, it was removed from the film, although the Baby Hitler scene can still be found online and in home releases of Deadpool 2.
Available To Stream On Disney+
7 Gangster Squad’s Theater Shootout Was Too Close To Real-Life Events
Gangster Squad is a star-studded crime movie from 2013, but the film was significantly altered due to the 2012 Aurora, Colorado theater shooting. As the trailer showed, the biggest action scene in Gangster Squad revolved around a shootout in a movie theater, something that Warner Bros. decided to change after the Aurora attack. Gangster Squad was delayed and received reshoots, completely removing the theater scene from the final cut.
Available To Stream On Netflix
6 Halloween 2007 Cut A Graphic Sequence Before Michael’s Escape
Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween remake took the franchise to another level, but one scene was too gruesome even for the slasher film. The film originally contained a scene in which two orderlies rape a female patient in Michael Myers’ cell in order to taunt him. After messing with Michael’s masks, Myers kills the two orderlies, leading to his escape. This scene was obviously too upsetting for Halloween 2007, leading to it being cut.
Available To Stream On Netflix
5 Scream’s Opening Kill Was Almost Even More Violent
The first Scream movie is a pretty violent film, but the film’s opening was almost even more violent. Scream‘s opening scene sees the Ghostface killer murder Drew Barrymore’s character as well as her boyfriend, with the scene being incredibly violent. However, the film originally contained a shot in which the boyfriend’s guts can be seen spilling out of his dead body. The MPAA requested Wes Craven cut the scene, and although he fought to keep it in, it ended up being cut.
Available To Stream On Netflix
4 Horrible Bosses 2 Cut An Assault Scene With Jennifer Aniston’s Character
In the Horrible Bosses movies, Jennifer Aniston plays Dr. Julia Harris, the boss of Charlie Day’s Dale Arbus. Throughout the two films, Dr. Harris makes constant unwanted advances at Dale, leading to him wanting to kill her. However, Horrible Bosses 2 originally featured a scene in which Dr. Harris performs sexual acts with Dale while he is unconscious. This scene went much farther than prior scenes between the two characters, leading to it being cut.
Available To Stream On Hulu
3 Osmosis Jones Cut A Scene That Took Place In Bill Murray’s Testicles
Osmosis Jones is a family-friendly comedy that follows Chris Rock’s titular animated character, a white blood cell police detective that lives inside the body of Bill Murray’s live-action character, Frank. Early in production, Osmosis Jones was meant to be PG-13, which explains why the film originally featured a scene in which Osmosis Jones interrogates sperm cells in Frank’s testicles. However, this scene was cut when the film was changed to be more family-friendly. This Gonad’s Gym scene is considered lost media, but hopefully, it will one day be found.
Available To Stream On Prime Video
2 Zootopia’s “Taming Parties” Were Too Dark For Disney
Zootopia originally featured what the film calls taming parties, a ceremony in which predators are presented with shock collars. The cut scene would have seen Nick and Judy sneaking into the taming party of a five-year-old polar bear, with them seeing the young child get shocked. The scene was apparently incredibly dark, leading to Disney cutting the scene. Although the scene wasn’t in Zootopia‘s final cut, some concept art and animatics can still be found online.
1 Avengers’ Changed Coulson’s Death To Keep A PG-13 Rating
The death of Agent Coulson was one of the most shocking moments in 2012’s The Avengers, but it was almost even darker. The film originally featured a much more violent shot in which Loki’s spear can be seen tearing through the front of Coulson. However, The Avengers had to cut this shot in order to keep its PG-13 rating. Even if it wasn’t the last the MCU saw of Agent Coulson, this moment of shocking violence would have been the franchise’s most gruesome death. However, it now only exists in a deleted movie scene.
Available To Stream On Prime Video
