After hitting theatres in 1991, ‘Thelma & Louise‘ quickly became one of the biggest films of the year. And the movie still holds up as a beloved classic with an unforgettable ending.
The final image of the pair driving their Thunderbird off the edge of the Grand Canyon has become one of cinemaโs most iconic scenes. But as it turns out, the movie had several alternate endings that almost robbed us of that legendary final scene.
Ridley Scott Almost Let Thelma Survive in ‘Thelma & Louise’
The ending we know and love today is the one where Thelma and Louise are surrounded by officers at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Faced with a future where they have no freedom, they decide to โkeep goingโ and drive off the edge of the cliff. The movie ends with the final scene of the car being launched into mid-air.
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However, that wasnโt the only ending discussed during production. Ridley Scott briefly considered an ending in which Louise pushes Thelma out of the car at the very last moment, allowing Thelma to survive while Louise faces her fate alone.
Susan Sarandon, who played Louise, was very skeptical, along with screenwriter Callie Khouri. They ultimately convinced Scott to abandon this idea.
Another alternate cut focused less on changing the story and more on expanding the aftermath. This version included additional shots of police officers staring into the gorge, footage of the Thunderbird tumbling down the rocky canyon walls, and a scene where Detective Hal looks sadly at a Polaroid of the two women.
The various alternate endings do raise plenty of questions. What would have happened if Thelma had survived? Could she have escaped prosecution? How would she carry on without Louise?
It is interesting to imagine, but those questions also reveal why the ending would never have worked. Thelma and Louiseโs relationship is the emotional heart of the film. Allowing one of them to survive while the other dies is simply tragic.
The Film Nearly Showed What Happened After The Leap
Scott also experimented with another version of the ending that focused on what happened after the car left the cliff. Instead of freezing the image in midair, the film would have continued by showing police officers looking down into the canyon and the car crashing against the rocky walls below.
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That alternate cut also included Detective Hal, played by Harvey Keitel, sadly looking at a Polaroid picture of Thelma and Louise together. It even ended with a symbolic shot of the car driving toward a distant place, suggesting that the pair continued their journey in another way. Scott eventually decided against using those scenes and chose to end the film while the two women were still making their own choice.
The extended crash sequence also changes the film in many significant ways. The original ending leaves the audience with many questions, and we can only imagine the answers. But focusing more on the wreckage and the police response forces us to confront the painful reality of what happens when someone tries to break free in pursuit of liberation.
These alternate versions donโt hold up to the famous freeze-frame scene. They fail to preserve Thelma & Louiseโs quest for freedom like the original ending does. Though we are happy to imagine all that could have happened, we would not trade the original unforgettable ending for anything else.
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