Books have long been a source of inspiration for movies, with countless adaptations popping up throughout the years. In recent years, there has been a new wave of young adult and children’s book-to-movie adaptations thanks to mega-franchise blockbusters like The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games.
However, YA movies aren’t exactly a new phenomenon. Nicholas Sparks’ 1999 novel A Walk to Remember became a movie in 2002, and S.E. Hinton’s 1967 hit The Outsiders was adapted in 1983, even becoming a TV series and a stage play.
Even though the target demographic for YA content comprises of teens 12 to 18, YA has proven to be popular for older readers and movie-goers alike. Whether fueled by nostalgia, engaged with socio-political issues, or simply loving the escapism, adults have helped usher in this new wave of YA movies.
That said, not every YA movie has enjoyed the success of the Harry Potter series, and even some wildly popular franchises have ample room for improvement. Some movies might have needed major overhauls, but others would have been saved with the simple addition of a plot twist.
The list below includes plot twists from the source material that didn’t make it into the movie adaptations, as well as twists that have been scrapped from the books altogether. It also features some major spoilers for the books and movies alike, so tread carefully if you’re not yet familiar with more recent YA.
Here are 10 Canceled Twists That Would’ve Saved YA Movies (And 10 That Would’ve Hurt Them).
Hurt: Harry Potter - Voldemort Turns Into a Statue
Given how monumental the Harry Potter books are, it’s no surprise that Rowling had considered dozens of alternate endings for the epic series. According to Greg Palast, a journalist and friend of the author, Rowling actually considered letting Voldemort live.
The original plan was to have Harry and Voldemort have a final showdown in the Forbidden Forest, where the Dark Lord has the Dementors kiss his wand and create a curse to end Harry’s life. Voldemort’s deceased parents then show up to comfort Harry, causing Voldemort to grow younger. Then his curse rebounds again and freezes him as a statue in his parents’ arms.
Besides the odd narrative convenience of introducing a curse so late in the story, it doesn’t make sense for the Riddles to hug it out with the son who ended their lives.
Saved: The Hunger Games - Peeta loses his leg
The book-to-movie changes in The Hunger Games have already been widely discussed and dissected, but no list about YA movies would ever be complete without Suzanne Collins’ blockbuster behemoth.
As with all adaptations, changes had to be made in order to better fit the medium. However, the omission of Peeta’s amputation understandably upset many fans, who wanted to see more positive representations of disability in mainstream media.
In the first book, Peeta gets blood poisoning in the Hunger Games arena, and ends up losing a leg and getting a prosthesis.
Where some stories might’ve become hyper-fixated on Peeta’s disability, The Hunger Games had Peeta exist as a complex human being who tries his best to do the right thing despite insurmountable odds.
Hurt: Twilight - The vampires ride jet skis
And speaking of doomed supernatural romances, the original Twilight script was very loosely based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestseller. For starters, director Catherine Hardwicke reveals that the initial script changed Bella into a track star.
Even the FBI gets involved, and the bureau tries to track down the bad vampires all the way to Mexico.
The movie then concludes with the FBI chasing the vampires around on jet skis in the ocean.
Eventually, they went with a script that was closer to the book, and the movie ends with a teen movie staple: prom. The Twilight series is nothing short of polarizing, but regardless of your opinion on it, it’s pretty safe to say that having a Charlies’ Angels-esque chase scene would’ve been nothing short of jarring.
Saved: Insurgent - A darker ending
The Divergent franchise has certainly seen its fair share of ups and downs. The first movie was a commercial hit, but the third movie bombed so hard that the fourth and last film was canceled in favor of a TV adaptation.
In Veronica Roth’s book, Edith Prior—a researcher and one of Tris’ ancestors—reveals that Chicago had been sealed off after the world had become corrupt. Once the population of Divergents had increased sufficiently, the citizens would re-enter the outside world. The message is only played for a small group of people, and chaos ensues.
However, the movie has Four broadcast the message to the entire city in a montage with swelling, hopeful music, a change that undercuts the ambiguity of re-entering the world.
Hurt: The Fault In Our Stars - Hazel goes out in a blaze of glory
When you read the words “young adult,” it’s hard not to think of John Green’s highly-acclaimed The Fault in Our Stars. Even if you haven’t read the book or watched the movie, there’s been a lot of discussion regarding its depiction of cancer among teens.
Both book and movie have poignant albeit heart-wrenching endings, with Hazel mourning Augustus’ passing. However, Green revealed that he considered a drastically different end to Hazel’s arc: she and Van Houten decide to honor Augustus by sacrificing themselves in some way to reflect how he was in life.
They plan to find a criminal and end his life, even though they’ll also perish among the shoot-out.
It sounds patently bizarre, but Green says he actually did send his editor a draft with that ending.
Saved: The Maze Runner - The Gladers get infected
If you didn’t read James Dashner’s The Scorch Trials before watching the movie, you might’ve found yourself wondering what the titular “trials” are supposed to be.
It turns out that in the book, the whole journey through a wasteland called the Scorch is a test for the Gladers set by WICKED (known as W.C.K.D. in the movies). Janson reveals that the Gladers have been infected with the Flare, thus further motivating them to get through the Scorch within two weeks.
In the film, however, the group escapes into the Scorch after finding out that the facility they’re staying at is operated by W.C.K.D. The Gladers are also seemingly immune to the Flare in the movie. The movie would’ve had much more urgency if they’d stuck to the source material.
Hurt: Before I Fall - Sam Survives
People aren’t generally fans of getting attached to a character only to find out that they don’t make it at the end of the book, especially not if they’re the protagonist. In the case of Before I Fall, Ry Russo-Young definitely made the right call by sticking to Lauren Oliver’s original ending.
It would’ve been clichéd to end the movie by having Sam open her eyes, and gone against the whole premise of the story.
Russo-Young admits that they’d shot an alternate ending as a joke with absolutely no intention of using it. Audiences know right from the start that the main character Sam isn’t alive, and that she’s reliving the day of her passing over and over again.
Saved: Harry Potter - Harry's offspring is the new Dark Lord
The epilogue of The Deathly Hallows has rung a bit hollow for some readers and movie-goers. After having defeated Voldemort, Harry and the gang go on to lead what seems to be a pretty normal and fulfilling life. While Harry has certainly more than earned the words “all was well," the ending seems to defeat the way Rowling highlights the horrifying cycles of war.
Apparently, she’d considered a slightly more sinister ending. Harry becomes the headmaster at Hogwarts and has wiped away the memories of Voldemort from the wizarding world.
The story ends with the suggestion that Harry’s great, great, grandson might become the next great dark wizard.
The ending would’ve been more in line with Rowling’s desire to illustrate the way tragedies can repeat themselves.
Hurt: The Golden Compass - Roger perishes
The team behind the adaptation of The Golden Compass (also titled Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman thought the movie would be the first in a franchise. After all, the original His Dark Materials series is a trilogy.
Since they assumed there’d be a sequel, it kind of makes sense why they’d remove a major book one plot point from the first movie.
That said, the movie sequels have been canceled, so the result is an adaptation with a markedly different ending than the source material.
The book’s ending is shocking: Lyra, Iorek and Roger visit Asriel in Svalbard, where he’s continued his research in exile. Asriel then severs Roger from his dæmon Salcilia, ending the boy’s life in the process.
Saved: The Mortal Instruments - We think Clary and Jace are really related
The Mortal Instruments series seemed like the heir-apparent to Twilight, especially given the popularity of Cassandra Clare’s books. However, the movie adaptation of the first book, City of Bones, fell short.
Like Twilight, the book also features two young star-crossed lovers, but this time, the problem isn’t that one wants to drink the others blood. The problem is that they later find out that they’re siblings.
The angst between Clary and Jace is eventually resolved in the third book, when it’s revealed that the sibling revelation is a lie to drive them apart.
The movie, on the other hand, weakens the impact of Clary and Jace’s dilemma on the audience because Hodge already reveals Valentine’s intent to lie beforehand.
Hurt: Ender's Game - We know it's a real war the whole movie
When it was announced that Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game was to be adapted into a movie, many organizations called for a boycott due to Card’s anti-gay opinions. Others looked forward to the movie adaptation of the 1985 hit, but it turned out to be a box office bomb.
Card’s initial decision to reveal a major plot twist right at the beginning was scrapped in favor of keeping the secret until the end. Throughout the book, Ender excels at battle simulations, completing test after test even when they become more difficult. It turns out that the simulations are real battles, and that Ender has unwittingly led a mass termination of an entire planet.
Card thought that revealing the secret at the beginning would have increased the suspense, but it might’ve also made audience lose interest.
Saved: Ella Enchanted - Wicked Stepsisters get cursed
Fairy tales are a popular theme in modern literature, especially modern YA retellings like Beastly and Cinder.
Although it’s not set in modern times, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine is a retelling of Cinderella with a ton of magical creatures. The story was turned into a movie in 2004, starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy, although the film is only loosely based on the original material.
The whimsical film ends with a musical number, but the alternate ending included in the DVD would have been a better conclusion. Instead of having the cast sing and dance to “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart”, the alternate ending shows the fairy godmother casting a spell on the wicked stepsisters.
Hurt: Harry Potter - Arthur Weasley's fate
J.K. Rowling is notoriously ruthless when it comes to ending the lives of her characters, breaking our hearts in the process. Two of the most heart-wrenching losses are Tonks and Lupin at the end of Deathly Hallows, but it turns out that they had to go in order for Arthur Weasley to survive Order of the Phoenix.
Rowling admits that she specifically wanted to write out the parents in the books in order to reflect the devastation of war and how children are left behind.
Thankfully she spared Arthur.
By having Tonks and Lupin leave behind baby Teddy, she shows a parallel between the brutality of the first war that Harry survives as an infant and the second war in which he fights.
Saved: Pretty In Pink - Andie chooses Duckie
Pretty in Pink is an iconic high school movie about the life of Andie Walsh. As with most teen movies, there’s plenty of romantic drama, including a love triangle that has divided fans since it first graced the big screen in 1986.
The original ending had Andie and Duckie together, but was scrapped when test audiences booed. Not to fall into the trap of “nice guys finish last,” but you’ve got to admit that Andie does barely know Blane.
Funnily enough, the movie was turned into a novel, and it’s good news for anyone who’s Team Duckie.
The book was finished before the movie’s ending was changed, so Andie does end up with Duckie instead of Blane, technically making them a canonical couple.
Hurt: Matilda - Matilda dark fate
Little Matilda Wormwood has been winning our hearts over and over again in the book, the movie and the stage musical. Despite the abuse she grows up with, she’s able to hold onto the good in her heart and stand up for her fellow students and Miss Honey against the tyrannical Miss Trunchbull.
The original concept for the story wasn’t nearly as wholesome.
Roald Dahl had meant for the book to be a cautionary tale, painting Matilda as a mischievous bundle of trouble who plays mean-spirited pranks with her telekinesis. Instead of giving her a happy ending, Dahl had Matilda pass away in the early versions of the book to show the consequences of being a naughty child.
Saved: Beautiful Creatures - Lena sacrifices Macon for Ethan
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s critically acclaimed novel Beautiful Creatures was turned into a movie in 2013, ostensibly in an attempt for Hollywood to latch onto the YA supernatural romance craze jumpstarted by Twilight.
Despite starring Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert as the two charming leads and a strong supporting cast including Viola Davis, Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons, the movie bombed.
Maybe sticking with the book’s original ending would’ve helped salvage the movie.
In the film, Lena believes that Ethan’s life has ended, which sends her flying into a rage. However, Ethan’s body turns into her uncle Macon, who had disguised himself. In the book, Ethan actually passes, and Lena willingly trades Macon’s life for Ethan’s, giving her much more agency.
Hurt: Stardust - Tristan gets old, Yvaine stays young
The 2007 adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust has been compared favorably to another cult classic, The Princess Bride. The movie boasts a star-studded cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Strong, Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, and Robert De Niro.
The story’s main arc revolves around the hunt for the heart of a fallen star named Yvaine, since the heart of a star can restore youth and bestow immortality. Ending a star’s life isn’t the only way to gain its heart though—Yvaine and Tristan fall in love, and they live forever up in the skies.
It’s a wholesome ending, but an alternate ending in the DVD shows Tristan getting old even though Yvaine remains youthful, which would have been just a tad too creepy.
Saved: My Sister's Keeper-
Jodi Picoult’s novel My Sister’s Keeper asks some uncomfortable questions about autonomy, morality and mortality, as does the film adaptation released in 2009. However, the movie changed the final plot twist, in spite of protests from Picoult.
Anna petitions for medical emancipation after repeatedly donating to her sister Kate, who has leukemia. The judge rules in her favour, but in the book, Anna is mortally injured in a car crash on the way home after the trial, and Kate receives her kidney.
Instead of an ending that underlines the unpredictability of life, the movie has Kate pass away in her sleep.
While it’s always devastating to lose a protagonist, in this case, it would have been the stronger choice.
Hurt: Harry Potter - Harry and Hermione get together
Harry’s primary arc might have concluded long ago, but J.K. Rowling has been revealing details about the wizarding world, some of which have seriously shaken up the Harry Potter fandom. A prominent example is the revelation that Dumbledore was gay, which sparked both ire and praise.
Another shocker is how Rowling appears to regret Hermione and Ron’s romance, and thinks Hermione should have married Harry instead.
However, given that all the other movies were carefully building up to Ron and Hermione's romance, it would have angered far too many fans who had waited years to see their favorite couple on screen.
Saved: The Book Thief
It’s a shame that The Standover Man was omitted from the movie adaptation of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, since it marks a turning point in Liesel and Max’s friendship.
Max is a Jewish fist-fighter who hides in Liesel’s basement in Germany during World War II. At one point in the book, he paints over a copy of Mein Kampf, and creates a picture book titled The Standover Man for the book-loving Liesel.
Instead of housing toxic and dangerous ideas about ethnicity, the book now contains Max’s journey.
It’s a poignant way to convey the power of language as a means of reclaiming one’s own narrative and connecting with someone else.
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Do you know any other canceled YA plot twists? Share them in the comments below!