David Fincher’s Se7en is now regarded as one of the best movies of the 1990s, and its ending became quite memorable – but it was almost very different, as Fincher had to make a couple of changes to it. Released in 1995, Se7en got mixed reviews during its initial release, but time has been good to it, and it’s now regarded as one of David Fincher’s best movies. Se7en has also earned a place in pop culture, in big part thanks to its shocking ending.
Se7en is set in an unnamed city plagued by crime and follows detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) as they investigate a series of murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. Despite their efforts, the killer, John Doe, was always a step ahead, and neither Somerset nor Mills could have predicted what his final murders – wrath and envy – would be about. The ending of Se7en is now famous for its twist and shocking reveal that left a lot to the imagination, but it was almost very different, and Fincher had to make a couple of changes to it.
Wild Se7en Theory Claims John Doe Wasn’t The Movie’s Real Killer
Although Se7en leaves no doubt that John Doe was the killer, a theory claims he was a cover and the real killer was part of the police department.
David Fincher’s Original Se7en Ending Explained
Se7en’s original ending was abrupt.
At the end of Se7en, John Doe leads Mills and Somerset to a remote location where a delivery van arrives with a package for Mills. Somerset intercepts the van and learns that the driver was instructed to deliver the package at a specific time and location. The box contains the result of Doe’s “envy” murder, as he represented this sin because he envied Mills’ life with his wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), so he took “her pretty head”. With this, Doe also pushes Mills to become the final sin: wrath, taunting him with Tracy’s death until Mills shoots him dead.
A shocked Mills is then taken by the police and Somerset tells his captain he will be around, and Se7en closes with a voiceover from Somerset sharing a quote by Ernest Hemingway. Fincher’s original ending for Se7en was shorter, as in an attempt to stun the audience, he simply cut to black after Mills shot Doe (via Telegraph) However, test audiences reacted negatively, so the scene with Mills being taken away and Somerset’s voiceover were added.
Se7en’s Alternate Ending Had Tracy Survive
Someone else’s head was in the box.
A big part of why Se7en’s ending was so shocking was that Tracy’s head was never shown, leaving this part to the audience’s imagination. Given how dark this ending was, the executive producers suggested a different, slightly more uplifting conclusion to Se7en. The producers wanted Mills and Somerset to go after Doe and a kidnapped Tracy, who would have survived her encounter with Doe. According to Pitt (via EW), the producers wanted Mills to be “more heroic” and not kill Doe, and as Tracy was alive, instead of her head in the box, it would have been the head of one of Mills and Tracy’s dogs.
In that same interview, Pitt mentioned he agreed to appear in Se7en under the condition that Tracy’s head was never shown and that Mills shot Doe instead of doing “the right thing”. Fincher also defended the decision not to show Tracy’s head when producers wanted to change the ending.
Somerset Would Have Killed Doe In Se7en’s Alternate Ending
Morgan Freeman supported this ending.
According to commentary provided by Morgan Freeman (via Film School Rejects), there was another ending planned in which Somerset shot John Doe. Freeman explained he liked this ending as Somerset would have done it so Mills’ career wouldn’t be affected – after all, Mills was still young, while Somerset was about to retire. However, it was Pitt who fought against this ending by explaining there was no way Mills wasn’t going to shoot Doe after what he did, and it was a reaction out of passion rather than doing the “right thing”.
Mills Shot Somerset In One Of Se7en’s Alternate Endings
Mills would have made even worse decisions.
An early version of Se7en’s script (via Daily Script) saw Mills shooting Somerset, but the latter would have survived. While recovering at the hospital, Somerset would have received a note from Mills that read “you were right. You were right about everything”. Although there are no specific details on why Mills would have shot Somerset, a copy of the script that can be read online reveals Somerset took out a switchblade while Mills pointed at Doe’s head with the gun. Mills, then, would have shot Somerset so he wouldn’t stop him from killing Doe.
Ultimately, the ending of Se7en had the elements that Fincher and Pitt fought to keep and had the desired effect of shocking the audience and not letting them ever forget what they watched. Se7en didn’t need to show the head in the box to make an impact, and the above alternate endings wouldn’t have had the same effect that the final cut did.
Sources: Telegraph, EW, Film SchoolRejects, DailyScript.
Se7en
David Fincher’s crime thriller Se7en follows the seasoned Detective William Somerset after he is assigned a new partner, the young and idealistic David Mills (Brad Pitt). The two find themselves investigating a deranged killer staging murders inspired by each of the seven deadly sins. On the hunt for the twisted John Doe (Kevin Spacey) before he can kill again, the two detectives soon discover that they’re much deeper into the case than they realized.
- Release Date
- September 22, 1995
- Director
- David Fincher
- Cast
- Brad Pitt , gwyneth paltrow , John C. McGinley , Morgan Freeman , Kevin Spacey
