David Fincher Might Not Have Made 'Se7en' Without Script Mixup

The ending to Se7en is a doozy. *Spoiler alert* At the film’s end, John Doe reveals that he has killed Mills’ wife and that her head is “in the box.” It was a stunning conclusion that became instantly memorable, but it almost didn’t happen.

Se7en writer Andrew Kevin Walker’s original version of the ending was what was filmed, but before director David Fincher came on board, another filmmaker had made him change it. Jeremiah Chechik (Christmas Vacation) didn’t want the head in the box, so Walker came up with a different ending.

As we know, Chechik wound up departing from the project. When other directors were being sought, a script was sent to Fincher, but it was the wrong script, the one with the original ending. “[Fincher] expressed some interest, but in expressing his interest to them, had mentioned there was a head in the box,” Walker told The Hollywood Reporter. “And they were like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. We sent you the wrong draft.’ And then they sent him the vastly rewritten, Jeremiah Chechik draft, which had a completely different ending and Fincher said, ‘No, I wouldn’t be interested in doing that.'”

The rest is history and Walker is glad though that he rewrote his script for Chechik and didn’t quit. “If I had done that, I wouldn’t have been around for the happenstance, luck, fate of Fincher receiving the wrong script,” explained Walker, who has gone to work with Fincher several times since. “He might have gotten my script, but it would have been at least one, maybe several writers down the line, and he probably would have proceeded with those other writers.”

Mark Hamill Can Do a Really Good Harrison Ford Impression:

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