Summary

  • In the alternate ending of Get Out, Chris was going to end up in prison or get his body hijacked by the Armitage family, highlighting the harsh realities of Black people in America.
  • Jordan Peele changed the ending because he wanted to offer a more hopeful note and provide relief after the disturbing events of the film.
  • The decision to change the ending was influenced by the rise of social justice movements and a shift in society's perspective on racism and police brutality.

Both of the Get Out alternate endings saw Chris lose but were swapped for the somewhat happier ending. Jordan Peele is a lifelong horror fan and paired with Blumhouse to make his directorial debut with Get Out, which follows Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a young black man meeting the rich family of his white girlfriend; during the visit, he uncovers their horrifying secret. Not only was the movie a big success, but it also received praise for Peele's direction, its performances, the many layers of the screenplay, and tackling subjects like racism and white privilege head-on. However, its success might have been different if one of the Get Out alternate endings were used.

Get Out's Chris endures some traumatic experiences, including attempted brain transplants, and the movie puts viewers through the wringer one last time in the final scene. Get Out's ending sees Chris kill the Armitage family and escape their plan to offer his body as a vehicle for twisted white elites. As he is about to finish off the dying Rose (Allison Williams), police lights to flash on him. Rather than cops pointing guns at Chris, however, it's revealed to be his friend Rod (Lil Rel Howery(, and they drive off together, leaving Rose to die alone. But there were Get Out alternate endings on the table that would have been darker.

Get Out is currently available to stream on Netflix.

Get Out's Alternate Endings Explained

The Original Endings Of Get Out Were Much Worse For Chris

Chris in prison in the alternate ending of Get Out

Chris and Rod escaping wasn't the original ending for Get Out. Jordan Peele's initial plan was to have two cops happen upon a blood-soaked Chris trying to strangle a wounded Rose, with the final scene seeing Rod visit Chris in prison. With overwhelming evidence he murdered a rich white family and the fact that he can't remember key details – likely due to Missy's hypnosis – Chris seems resigned in this version of the Get Out ending. He tells Rod to give up on trying to help him, but Chris himself can live with the fact he at least stopped the Armitage's operation and faced his fears.

This Get Out alternate ending was intended to be bleak and a statement on the fact that, in reality, this would almost certainly be Chris' fate. The Jordan Peele movie's producers (and Peele himself) decided to change the ending, partly because test audiences loved the character so much and wanted him to win. Plus, the filmmakers felt that was a more powerful note to end on. Jordan Peele also wrote another ending that would have hammered home the homage to 1970s social thrillers like The Stepford Wives even further.

The second alternate ending would have jumped ahead a couple of months from Get Out's finale, and found Rod sneaking into a gated community looking for Chris. He eventually spots him staring at his own reflection in a window, but when Rod calls his name he responds "I assure you, I don't know who you're talking about." This meant that much like Andre (Lakeith Stanfield), Chris was recaptured and underwent the transplant procedure. Chris is now trapped in "The Sunken Place" while his body is being used by one of the Armitages. While this would have been a chilling conclusion in its own right, it ultimately wasn't shot.

Related
Get Out's Inspirations Explained
Get Out addresses real-life issues, and it inevitably raised the question of whether it's based on a true story or what inspired the story of Chris.

Why Peele's Choice of Get Out Ending Was The Right One

The Ending Of Get Out Has A Hopeful Subtext

While either of the alternate endings Peele planned for Get Out would have hammered home its status as a chilling horror movie serving up profound bleakness, he ultimately made the right choice by letting Chris win. The impact of the police lights creeping up on Chris is still highly effective, and immediately invokes fear of the real-world injustice and violence that Black people face at the hands of the police. In this way, the effect is already achieved without Chris actually having to go to prison.

Likewise, after enduring a film's worth of torture in Jordan Peele's Get Out which brilliantly plays on contemporary racism while feeling fantastical, it's unnecessary to subject Chris to further suffering. Instead, offering him a hopeful ending also implies that resolution to the film's real-life social issues is possible. The transplant ending is unnecessary for the same reasons, though also quite horrifying in its own right. Ultimately, Jordan Peele's choice for Get Out and scrapping the alternate endings allows the film to offer some relief after being incredibly disturbing, which is kinder to Chris and to audiences.

The Reason Jordan Peele Changed The Get Out Ending

The Rise Of Social Justice And Awareness Change The Director's Perspective

Daniel Kaluuya as Chris on the ground looking scared at the end of Get Out

The Get Out alternate endings certainly packed a powerful punch to conclude the story, but Peele had good reason for changing his mind on the matter. Get Out's social commentary is one way it elevated the horror genre with insightful and thought-provoking messages on modern society. Initially, Peele felt the original ending of Get Out where Chris ended up in prison continued to highlight the movie's themes of the harsh realities of Black people in America. In the movie's director commentary, Peele explained his reasoning behind his original ending:

“The cops get him, and you’re meant to think: ‘Oh snap, wait a second, is that a good thing is that a bad thing?’ And then you cut to 6 months later and Chris is in prison, now, the idea here is he’s been through such mental shock and torment, and the house and everything… all the evidence has burnt down. And of course this is a system that values the rich white people, and takes their side. So, my feeling, is what would happen in this movie is Chris would end up in jail just because of how it looks.”

As much as the alternate ending of Get Out resonates with the reality of the world in many ways, Peele also admits that as he was making the movie, he found society was changing. Videos of police brutality were being widely circulated and criticized by the public, with organizations like Black Lives Matter becoming a significant part of the culture. In some ways, Peele found his original ending felt like a reaction rather than commentary. He also found that the real-world tensions meant that the audience needed a release that the alternate ending didn't provide:

“By the time I was shooting it, it was quite clear the world had shifted, racism was being dealt with, people were woke, and people needed a release and hero, which is why I changed the ending and had Rod turn up at the end.”

Peele's decision speaks to how Get Out became such a mainstream, as the director was intelligent enough to include such social commentary in his movie while also recognizing what the audience could handle and still be entertained. The result is a conclusion that adds to the brilliance of the movie itself, and it's clear the decision not to go with the Get Out alternate endings and finish on a note of justice for Chris was wise.

Get Out
R

Release Date
February 24, 2017
Director
Jordan Peele
Cast
Lyle Brocato , LaKeith Stanfield , Caleb Landry Jones , Betty Gabriel , Allison Williams , Marcus Henderson , erika alexander , Bradley Whitford , Jeronimo Spinx , Catherine Keener , Daniel Kaluuya
Runtime
1 hour, 44 minutes
Studio(s)
Universal Pictures