Many video game fans had high hopes for last year’s “Assassin’s Creed” film. With stars Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Irons, and Marion Cotillard, on paper, the film had a chance of breaking the videogame movie adaptation curse. Unfortunately, the film was exactly what was feared, a middle of the road, confusing mess of a movie meant to jumpstart a new franchise. Now, with the film hitting home video, the studio has released an alternate ending, and it actually would have enhanced the overall product, but they were too scared to use it.
For those that saw the film in theaters, the film ends with Fassbender’s Callum leading a new group of assassins, promising new adventures in future sequels that probably won’t get made. However, in the original unused ending, the group of assassins would have had one final fight, ending with all but Callum dying. As the filmmakers explain in the clip, test audiences (and therefore the studio) didn’t like the fact that everyone died and the ending was changed.
Many critics and fans of these big budget franchise films always hope that studios try something new and different. With the recently released “Logan” proving that “new and different” is actually profitable, hopefully studios will allow for filmmakers to make a quality film with interesting choices instead of worry about test audiences and profit margins. Until then, audiences can expect more of the same, with uninteresting, formulaic blockbuster filmmaking. [Collider]