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I Am Legend scrapped its original ending because test audiences 'felt cheated' by the big twist
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this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2026
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Test audiences kills authenticity and memorability
I disagree.
Authenticity?
The only part of the I Am Legend movie that is authentic to the Novella is the title. Every other part is different. So the movie never had authenticity.
Memorability?
The only reason anyone talks about the I Am Legend movie is because the movie did not use the alternate ending.
The test audiences are what has kept the movie on the front page of movie message boards for 19 years. The discourse over the theatrical ending v the alternate ending is why a sequel is development.
The best thing that ever happened to the I Am Legend movie is the test audiences.
Fair enough, haven't watched I Am Legend, so can't comment on that specifically. There's quite a few examples of movie endings being changed from the script after test audiences have watched though. The contract of Brad Pitt in Seven stated that they couldn't change the ending, but sure enough, they wanted to do it.
There are many examples where the test audiences and the much maligned studio interference greatly enhanced a movie.
One of the most famous in scenes in Jaws is when Ben Garner’s gnawed on head came threw the bottom of the boat. It was put in place because of test audiences.