It is always fun to see what material didn't make it into the final cuts of famous movies. Every movie will have some footage that needed to be taken out for one reason or another, but some of these deleted scenes feel like missed opportunities.
Looking at the 2000s, the decade is filled with movies fans love to revisit. And while there are many movies they wouldn't want to change at all, it's hard not to be curious about how they could have been improved if some of these great deleted scenes were left in the final movies.
Jameson As Spider-Man - Spider-Man 2 (2004)
J.K. Simmons made for a perfect J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies. But though he seemed to hate Spider-Man and sought to ruin his reputation, a deleted scene seems to suggest Jameson might have been jealous of the hero.
After Peter Parker quits his superhero job and throws away his costume, Jameson takes it as a trophy. One brief cut scene shows Jameson in his office wearing the iconic costume and pretending to shoot webs. It's fun to imagine that Jameson really just wanted to be Spider-Man all along.
Sergeant Candy - Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)
The T-800 is one of the most formidable figures in action movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger providing an iconic performance in the role. However, Terminator 3's deleted scene gave some insight into how this cyborg came to be.
As members of Skynet watch a video presentation of the future of robotic soldiers, Schwarzenegger appears as Sergeant Candy, the human basis for the T-800. When someone comments on Candy's ridiculous Southern accent another member with a familiar Austrian accent insists they can fix it. It is a silly yet pretty enjoyable scene in a franchise not known for its humor.
William Uses Music To Convince His Mother - Almost Famous (2000)
Almost Famous serves as Cameron Crowe's love letter to rock music of his youth. The movie does a great job of showing how powerful a song can be, but one of the best examples of this didn't make the final cut.
After being offered the chance to go on the road with a rock band as a journalist, young William tries to convince his strict mother to let him go. His method to convince her how beautiful rock music can be is to play her Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." The scene allows the song to play in its entire 8-minutes as William's mother reluctantly comes around.
Miranda Thanks Andy - The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The comedy The Devil Wears Prada stars Meryl Streep as one of the most intimidating bosses in movie history. As ambitious young professional Andy begins working for fashion icon Miranda Priestly, she is berated and demeaned at every turn.
However, a rare softer side of Miranda is shown in a deleted scene during a party. As Miranda's drunken husband begins to embarrass her, Andy steps in to save the situation. From across the room, Miranda signals her thanks to Andy. It is a brief humanizing moment amid Miranda's constant abuse.
Brick's Lunch - Anchorman (2004)
The comedy Anchorman has so much unused footage that an entire other movie was made from the deleted scenes and still manages to be hilarious. One of the best moments of this lost footage comes when the news team is eating lunch in the cafeteria.
Their conversation is cut short when they notice Brick's unusual meal. He claims it is a falafel hotdog that he got from the food basket. But the others inform him that he is just eating a used coffee filter with cigarette butts he got from the trash can. It's a scene that would have further cemented Brick as perhaps Anchorman's funniest character.
The Flashback - In Bruges (2008)
The crime comedy In Bruges finds two hitmen, Ray and Ken, targeted by their boss Harry after a job went wrong. Despite the tension, Ken reveals he and Harry have a long relationship and Harry even killed the man who murdered Ken's wife.
A deleted flashback shows this event as Ken's prostitute wife was killed by an off-duty police officer. Young Harry (played by Matt Smith) is then seen going into the police station and decapitating the officer. It is a shocking moment that shows what Harry is capable of.
Rob Turns Down The Ultimate Record Collection - High Fidelity (2000)
Similar to Almost Famous, High Fidelity is a movie about people's love of music. However, it also combines music and relationships in an interesting way. Sadly, one of the best scenes to show this was left on the cutting room floor.
Music-lover Rob responds to an ad about a record collection for sale. He finds that it is being sold for next to nothing by a woman to spite her sleazy husband. While Rob sympathizes, he ultimately can't do that to a fellow collector and refuses. It is a great moment of the odd principles in the world of music lovers.
Bill Shows His Skills - Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
Despite being the titular character, Bill doesn't appear all that much in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies. This adds a mysterious quality to the man that is effective, but one deleted scene worked at showing just how much of a badass this man was.
The flashback scene shows The Bride and Bill ambushed by a rival gang, led by Michael Jai White. In a great fight sequence, Bill effortlessly takes on the whole gang by himself and leaves them all dead at his feet.
Faramir's Backstory - Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Faramir was one of the most interesting heroes in the Lord of the Rings movies as he was torn between doing what was right and following his father's commands. This struggle was given more depth in a deleted scene that showed the family dynamic which makes for one of Lord of the Rings' complicated relationships.
The extended sequence sees Sean Bean return as Boromir in full heroic mode as Faramir is seen as the less impressive son in his father's eyes. Seeing Faramir struggle with living up to Borimir's reputation adds further depth to the character.
The Alternate Ending - I Am Legend (2007)
Though I Am Legend functioned as a fine sci-fi action movie thanks to a solid performance by Will Smith, it wasn't anything special. However, the original deleted ending for the movie showed how close the movie was to telling a more unique and powerful story.
After a plague wipes out most of the world and transforms others into mutants, Robert Neville seeks a cure by experimenting on some of the mutants. The climax finds the mutants attacking Robert's house, presumably to kill him. However, the alternate ending shows they are just trying to save the mutant Robert captured and they see him as the monster.