“It was like we punched everybody in the gut”: The bleak original ending of Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’
When the next step in Jordan Peele‘s career was announced to be that of a director, it was reasonable for everyone to assume that his debut was likely to be a comedy.
This individual initially gained prominence as a cast member on the sketch comedy series Mad TV before swiftly transitioning into the same genre alongside his friend and collaborator Keegan-Michael Key. Together, they co-wrote, produced, and starred in their own sketch show. In 2016, they ventured into film with Keanu, a comedic vehicle featuring a stolen cat as a central plot element.
In fact, Keanu was the first theatrically-released movie Peele had been involved with in any capacity other than being an actor-for-hire, so anybody who could have predicted his first time stepping behind the camera would yield a socially and societally conscious psychological horror that would instantly be greeted as a 21st century great is almost certainly a liar. Either that, or they’re part of his inner circle.
A certifiable sensation when it hit cinemas in February 2017, Get Out would earn over $255million at the box office against production costs of $4.5m, garnered rave reactions from all corners of the cinematic spectrum, and earn Academy Award nominations for ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Actor’, and ‘Best Original Screenplay’, with Peele being named victorious in the latter category.
Taking aim at modern-day race relations in the United States, Peele subversively painted a middle-class family with liberally-inclined leanings as the villains of the story, with their desperation to make things as comfortable as possible for any Black people in their proximity only aiding the queasy atmosphere he’d so deftly created, and that’s before the supernatural elements of the story even come into play.
Having battled his way out of the Sunken Place, Daniel Kaluuya’s Chris Washington has finally managed to escape the clutches of the Armitage family, or so he thinks. Hearing police sirens, he surrenders knowing how the situation will look to the authorities, only for Lil Rel Howery’s Rod Williams to be behind the wheel having answered his best friend’s cries for help. It’s a fitting ending, one that offers salvation at the end of a dark and winding road.
That wasn’t always going to be the case, though, with the original ending culminating in Chris being arrested after strangling Alison Williams’ Rose to death and ending up in jail for his troubles. It would have been a serious downer after audiences had become so invested in seeing Kaluuya’s character survive his ordeal, with Peele ultimately being convinced by test screenings that the protagonist deserved his redemption.
Producer Sean McKittrick confirmed as much to Collider, referring to “the original ‘sad truth’ ending” feeling as if “it was like we punched them in the gut”. Admitting he could “feel the air being sucked out of the room” when viewers discovered Chris was destined for a life behind bars even after vanquishing the Armitages; it was wisely decided upon for Get Out to end on a more uplifting note instead.
