WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Bubble!

Netflix’s The Bubble features an aptly meta ending for its chaotic film production story, seeing the characters reunite for an unexpected premiere. Filled to the brim with references to and parodies of modern film franchises, The Bubble sees a group of actors and production staff attempt to film the sixth installment of the fictional Cliff Beasts series, though under the prison-like confines of the production “bubble” in order to avoid COVID-19 exposure. While trying to make a film about flying dinosaurs in a desolate location, the characters in Netflix's 2022 movie are subject to their own personal action-filled story as they become virtually trapped in the confines of the hotel and set.

Featuring cameos from actors like John Cena, Daisy Ridley, and James McAvoy, The Bubble’s ridiculous meta commentaries on filmdom, celebrity, and the inner workings of franchise productions reach every corner of the modern industry. While it begins with the typical COVID-19 protocols of testing and quarantining for two weeks, The Bubble’s ending approaches with near-death experiences, various attempts to shut down production, contagious illnesses, and failures of communication as issues with Zoom inevitably delay production. In the end, the cast of Cliff Beasts 6 successfully avoids the intense security measures and escapes the prison of the hotel via helicopter, reuniting two years later for a documentary about the making of the sequel.

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With many actors in The Bubble having already been part of major real-life franchises, such as Karen Gillan portraying Nebula in the MCU and Pedro Pascal playing Din Djarin in Star WarsThe Mandalorian, the Judd Apatow-directed comedy continuously draws from real-life experiences of the behind-the-scenes politics of franchise productions. Not only does Apatow focus on mocking franchises and the hierarchy of film production, but he also incorporates the real-life experiences of trying to make a film at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when actors were confined to lengthy stays exclusively in their hotel rooms and set. The Bubble is essentially Judd Apatow’s COVID-19 version of Tropic Thunder, with the parodies of filmmaking amidst daunting conditions wreaking havoc on the characters until the movie’s final moments.

Did Cliff Beasts 6 Ever Get Made?

A cast photo for The Bubble's Cliff Beasts 6

The end of The Bubble sees the cast of Cliff Beasts 6 narrowly escape the production bubble, with Carol (Gillan), Dieter (actor Pedro Pascal), Krystal (Iris Apatow), Sean (Keegan-Michael Key), and Dustin (David Duchovny) chartering the movie’s helicopter away from the hotel. Since production for Cliff Beasts 6 hadn’t finished by the time the cast abandoned their contracts and escaped their London hotel, it doesn’t appear that the sequel was ever completed. Instead, the studio used the behind-the-scenes footage shot by Scott, Cliff Beasts 6’s EPK guy, to create a documentary on the chaotic making of the franchise movie titled Beasts of the Bubble. The ending of The Bubble picks up two years after the events of the filming of Cliff Beasts 6, seeing the cast, production crew, and hotel employees walk the red carpet for the premiere of the documentary. Since The Bubble’s studio found more buzz and success for the documentary about making the fictional Cliff Beasts 6, it seems the actual franchise film was never made.

The Bubble Ending’s Jurassic Park Parody Explained

The Bubble Ending Helicopter

While The Bubble takes jabs at almost every major franchise including Jaws, Alien, and Mission: Impossible, the 2022 Netflix movie most frequently parodies Jurassic Park. The reason for its focus on Jurassic Park is based on Judd Apatow initially being inspired to write The Bubble’s story when he read about the chaotic London production bubble of Jurassic World: Dominion in late 2020. As such, it’s no surprise that he concluded the film with an apt nod to the iconic ending of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 Jurassic Park movie.

At the end of The Bubble, the cast of Cliff Beasts 6 is attempting to escape the prison-like confinement of the production bubble, so the actors band together and “fight” the directors and producers before boarding a helicopter. Sean’s quick helicopter flying lessons come in handy for the characters in Netflix's April 2022 movie, as they fly away over the hotel with the Netflix movie focusing on the helicopter flying away before the film cuts to black. This is a direct parallel to the end of Jurassic Park, which saw the characters escaping the dangerous confines of the title location in the helicopter, with the closing scene depicting the helicopter flying over the ocean and back to safety. For The Bubble, Jurassic Park’s killer dinosaurs essentially equate to the studio, security, and production staff, with the scientists correlating to Cliff Beasts 6’s cast.

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What Happened To Every Character After The Documentary

Beasts of the Bubble Premiere Ending

In the quick concluding scene for Netflix’s The Bubble, the premiere of Beasts of the Bubble sees various updates on the lives of Cliff Beasts 6’s cast in the two years since escaping the production. After Lauren (Blockers' Leslie Mann) had her hand shot off by security while trying to roller skate away from the hotel, The Bubble’s ending reveals that she was soon equipped with a bionic hand, which could come in handy for the futuristic setting of the Cliff Beasts franchise. While Cliff Beasts 6 was supposed to be Carol’s redemptive movie after the failure of Jerusalem Rising, it’s unclear what became of her career thereafter. However, it’s hinted that the wide interest in Beasts of the Bubble will revive her film career – even though she was interpreted as the production’s villain. Although Krystal was canceled on TikTok for recklessly exposing the cast to COVID in London, her career appears to be back on track after the premiere of the Beasts of the Bubble documentary.

In another disastrous twist for The Bubble’s character Sean, Keegan-Michael Key’s character briefly entered rehab for his cocaine addiction after Beasts of the Bubble exposed his frequent use of the drug. However, Sean reveals that he only entered rehab for two days to become clean, with the rehab telling him to quit, and Sean saying “okay.” Carla, who claimed to be the daughter of Cliff Beasts 6’s stunt coordinator (played by John Cena), was revealed to be the mole for the production, who would expose any of the cast’s breaking of the COVID-19 protocols. Since she admitted to being the mole, it’s unclear whether she truly was the daughter of John Cena’s character, or whether The Bubble’s character was hired by Cliff Bests 6’s studio and lied about her connection to the film.

The most interesting development for Cliff Beasts 6’s cast after filming the movie was for Dieter, Pedro Pascal’s character, who is revealed to be dating Anika (Borat 2's Maria Bakalova), one of the hotel employees. The Bubble’s ending also shows that he and Anika brought along Kate (Daisy Ridley) to the premiere, who was featured in the film as the virtual workout instructor who Dieter hallucinated that he had sex with. As for Dustin, the actor still seems to have an odd relationship with his son Raphael, though it’s unclear whether he and Lauren ever got back together. Gunther, the safety officer, reveals that he’s been worried in the two years since production that he’ll get in trouble because he never actually sent in the COVID-19 swabs to be tested. Cliff Beasts 6’s director, Darren (Big Mouth's Fred Armisen), explained that he’s now working on the Skittles movie, a film based on the candy. In Apatow’s meta-joke about Hollywood’s movies needing to have a bigger meaning in addressing social issues, Darren reveals that the Skittles movie is really about racism and diversity.

What The Bubble’s Ending Really Means

The Bubble Ending Documentary

The ending of The Bubble is really a look at how franchise films, as they reach a high number of installments, become fairly convoluted in their plots, with the actual making of the film and the disasters of the cast behind the scenes often being more interesting stories than the movie itself. Although The Bubble’s plot takes on a less relatable setting at a major film production in a nice hotel, the movie’s story is still largely comparable to the experiences of the majority of the world at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As everyone was shut inside their homes for weeks on end to avoid exposure to the virus, cabin fever, mania, and learning to adjust to a brand new reality caused unforeseen struggles for society at large. The circumstances of The Bubble’s quarantines and safety measures also led the cast of Cliff Beasts 6 to better appreciate one another, as the filming of the movies beforehand had all been more separated, leading them all to not like one another very much. At the end of The Bubble, it isn’t until the cast of Cliff Beasts 6 learns to set aside their differences and work together that they’re able to escape the disastrous production.

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While The Bubble tries to be relatable to the everyday struggles of people at home during the pandemic, Judd Apatow's movie also derives much of its humor from mocking the cast of Cliff Beasts 6 for complaining about their circumstances when they’re in an extremely privileged place. Even though they can’t leave the hotel, they get room service, drinks, high-end amenities, and even private concerts from singers like Beck to keep them on track. Either way, The Bubble’s notion of the restrictions of quarantine and how the circumstances can drive people crazy are fairly approachable to viewers at home, which gives audiences a kick out of how badly things could have been, such as how the hand of Leslie Mann’s character is shot off when she tries to break quarantine. With the title of The Bubble’s documentary being Beasts of the Bubble, it’s clear that the ending of Apatow’s Netflix movie is poking fun at how many people turned into beasts due to the maddening side effects of quarantine restrictions.

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