Deleted Kiss Scenes We'll Never Get To See
Whether it's a small indie drama, a fanciful musical, a sci-fi actioner, or a gritty crime drama, every story can use a little romance. Even a superhero blockbuster can be elevated a love connection, and most movies will include at least some level of affection to give the heroes something to fight for. More often than not, these stories are punctuated by a pair of partners expressing their feelings with an on-screen kiss.
Every once in a while, though, a movie will land in theaters with the romance missing — and not because it wasn't supposed to be there. Sometimes this even means that a passionate kiss, written or filmed to show the rawest of human emotions, is cut out of the film. It might be because there's just no time in the story to focus on romance, or because it just didn't work for the characters once the movie was put together. Sadly, though, a romantic kiss is sometimes even removed because producers feel it might offend conservative audiences, as is all too often the case with same-sex smooches.
Lost on the cutting room floor, these kisses may never see the light of day, but they're a fascinating relic of what could have been. So scroll on, dear lovebirds, as we look at deleted kissing scenes you'll never get to see.
A gay kiss is the real final frontier
For a TV series known for its famous kisses, the "Star Trek" films are relatively devoid of romance. That includes the original six films starring William Shatner, and even the four subsequent movies with the cast of "The Next Generation." But while a kiss from "Star Trek: Insurrection" has managed to surface as a deleted scene, there's one moment from the 2016 blockbuster "Star Trek Beyond" that remains in question. Because according to actor John Cho, there was originally going to be a kiss between his character, Lt. Sulu, and his on-screen husband, played by the film's screenwriter, Doug Jung.
"There was a kiss that I think is not there any more," he said while speaking with Vulture. "It was a welcome home kiss. I'm actually proud of that scene, because it was pretty tough." Since making the claim, though, the film's editor has insisted that no such kiss was ever filmed. "I had looked at every frame shot for that scene and I never once saw a kiss," editor Stephen Sprung told Collider. "As a gay man, I was particularly excited to help bring this milestone moment into the 'Star Trek' universe and would have loved to have been able to include such an intimate moment."
Assuming both men are telling the truth, though, it's most likely that a kiss was rehearsed, but never filmed, though that doesn't make it any less disappointing to those involved.
A cut kiss in Wakanda Forever
Over the past several years, Disney has taken quite a bit of flack for an apparent lack of LGBTQ representation in its films. From minimizing a moment between two women in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" to briefly removing a lesbian kiss from "Lightyear" in some territories, it's a fair criticism of a corporation that has the unique ability to shift public perception of important social issues through its vast media franchises. Unfortunately, they were struck with similar criticisms again in 2022 after the release of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," when it was revealed that a gay kiss between two female characters was removed from the script.
As chronicled by Yahoo, the original screenplay for the film included a key scene featuring two members of the all-female Wakandan royal guard known as the Dora Milaje. In a quieter moment, Ayo (Florence Kasumba) gives combat instructor Aneka (Michaela Coel) the chance to regain her position, before sharing an intimate lip-lock. Ayo, of course, is the Doa Milaje who was introduced in "Captain America: Civil War" and went on to be featured on "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," while Aneka was a new character created for "Wakanda Forever."
While the scene did not appear in the completed movie, it's unknown if it was ever actually filmed, or was simply excised during the editing process. Either way, it was another missed opportunity to flesh out supporting characters and increase much-needed diversity in the MCU.
No love for Thor's thunder
"Wakanda Forever" wasn't the only Marvel movie to cut out a romantic moment between its two stars, as "Thor: Ragnarok" is guilty of doing the same. This time, it was the two film's mighty Asgardian warriors who were originally going to get smoochy in the film. It all came out during a joint interview with Cinema Blend with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who play Thor and Valkyrie, when they were doing press for their movie "Men in Black International."
"Yeah, we had kisses," acknowledged Hemsworth, before Thompson elaborated further. "There was a whole sequence, I mean there were takes in there ... To be totally honest. Isn't that always — that seems to be the way with us. Even with Thor it was the same thing. It was like will we, won't we." Why the scene was ultimately left on the cutting room floor wasn't revealed, but it could have had to do with Thompson's desire for her character to not be seen as a straight woman in a stereotypical romance. In fact, Thompson had pushed director Taika Waititi to include a scene where another woman is shown leaving her bedroom.
"We talked about it a lot, it was [a] big topic of conversation," Thompson told Yahoo in 2022. "Because I think rightfully there's this real want in audiences to see characters be very clearly queer or LGBTQIA inside these spaces. And I think it's hugely important to have representation."
Anna Kendrick nixed a romance
Some scripted kisses never even get off the page thanks to an actor who doesn't want to perform the scene. This was the case with Anna Kendrick's planned moment with co-star Guy Burnet in "Pitch Perfect 3," but not because she was uncomfortable kissing on camera. Instead, the actress simply didn't think the romance made any sense for her character.
"One of the big changes was that the guy [Theo] who shows up originally was written as a romantic interest," she told Collider. "I pushed back pretty hard on that because I thought it was a little problematic that a guy was coming into [Beca's] life and being the more active character." Kendrick also objected to how the script depicted her character being smitten with the newly-introduced Theo, a whirlwind romance that was planned to culminate in the aforementioned kiss.
"Even when we were filming, there was a, 'Can't you do [a take] where they kiss at the end?' And I was like, 'No, we for sure can't,'" Kendrick said. "Originally Beca was so in love with [Theo] and thought he was so cute, she was tongue-tied and falling over herself in front of him. I was just like, 'No, no, no.' The idea of Beca being really intimidated by dudes just didn't work well."
Things almost got hot in the Mystery Machine
Same-sex kisses are somehow still controversial in 2023, but back in the early 2000s, they were practically unheard of in family fare. So when writer James Gunn wanted to include a sexy, lip-smacking moment between the two women in the live-action adaptation of the cartoon classic "Scooby Doo," you can imagine how quickly it must have been nixed by producers. The film starred "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" alum Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, and relative newcomer Linda Cardellini as Velma.
"There was a steamy kiss," Gellar revealed during an appearance on "What Happens Live with Andy Cohen." "It got cut. There was an actual kiss between Daphne and Velma that got cut ... I feel like the world wants to see it. I don't know where it is." Known for being a bit edgier than the cartoon on which it was based, the kiss might have fit in perfectly with the more mature vibe of the film, but in an era when same-sex couples weren't common in family films, it must have seemed awfully out of place.
According to Gellar, though, that wasn't even all of it, as a joke about Fred's potential sexuality was also removed. "There's always been an implication about Fred being interested in both parties," the actress said. "It all got cut."
A nervous necking for Carey Mulligan
Some kisses may be cut for controversy, others for being out of character, but what could the reason be to delete a kissing scene between a pair of lovers played by superstar heartthrob Johnny Depp and British starlet Carey Mulligan? They appeared together in the 2009 Michael Mann crime drama "Public Enemies," in which Depp starred as infamous gangster John Dillinger and Mulligan played his mistress Carol Slayman. And according to Mulligan, who discussed the scene during an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show," the scene was cut simply because it was an awful kiss.
"I did kiss him several times, but it got cut from the film," she said on Norton's talk show. As she described it, there were actually as many as 16 takes attempted, but they still couldn't get it right. "Because I was so uncomfortable ... it got cut because I looked so uncomfortable. I was kissing Johnny Depp so I got really nervous." Fortunately, the movie turned out just fine without it, though Mulligan had other problems thanks to her role in the film. Having bleached her locks peroxide blonde, she struggled with hair loss after filming completed.
A kiss unfit for a football movie
Produced by NFL legend Tom Brady, the 2023 sports comedy "80 for Brady" follows the trials and tribulations of four older women who take a road trip to see the football star in the Super Bowl. The film stars Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field, with appearances by Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy and actor Brian Jordan Alvarez ("M3GAN") as his boyfriend. And as Kenworthy revealed after the movie debuted, there was originally going to be a kissing scene between him and Alvarez that didn't end up in the final film.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Kenworthy pulled no punches when talking about why he thinks the kiss was ultimately removed. "They said they had to cut it for time, but I think they cut it for Middle America," he said, blaming its removal on possible concerns over a gay romance on screen in a movie aimed at football fans. He did, however, reveal that there was plenty of footage of the kiss, which took many takes to accomplish. "Some of them got raunchy," Kenworthy said. "Release the tapes! See if you can get that trending."
Reached for comment, though, the production company behind the film insisted there was no malice behind cutting the scene, saying it was removed "for pacing reasons."
No smoochie for Gucci
The 2021 true crime biopic "House of Gucci" tells the story of Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci, whose passionate love affair leads to the rise of one of the most influential fashion brands in the world, but ultimately culminates in murder. In addition to Lady Gaga and Adam Driver in the two leading roles, the film also stars Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino. But while audiences got to see an all-star roster of A-listers on screen, they never did get to see two of them get hot and heavy, as a steamy scene between Lady Gaga and Salma Hayek didn't make the cut.
Word of the unreleased scene comes from Lady Gaga herself, who talked about it on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" (via People). She described how she approached kissing her co-star, and according to Gaga, the moment was entirely ad-libbed. "I was like, 'Okay, listen, so before we do this scene I just want your consent to do something together.' And she's like, 'Okay! What do you want to do?' 'I was thinking, after the hit gets put out on Maurizio and you get the phone call that he's dead, then I walk over to you and kiss you.' She's like, 'What?!'"
Though the moment didn't make it into the movie, Gaga still relishes the experience. "I made out with Salma Hayek," Gaga said proudly. "I'm like that really annoying kid in school that's like bragging that they made out with the popular girl but has no proof!"
The Ayer Cut is sealed with a kiss
Released in 2016, "Suicide Squad" turned a group of DC supervillains into anti-heroes, sending them on a reluctant mission to save the world from an ancient evil. It also had quite an impressive cast, led by Will Smith as the sharp-shooting assassin Deadshot, Jared Leto as Batman's nemesis The Joker, and Margot Robbie as the sassy fan-favorite Harley Quinn. On its road to theaters, though, the film saw plenty of changes, including some fairly extensive reshoots and large sequences cut from the film.
Over the years, fans have fought for the studio to release director David Ayer's original cut of the film, which included a lot more of Leto's Joker, and apparently a seriously sexy scene between Deadshot and Harley Quinn. An image from the scene eventually surfaced, popping up in 2021, but while some may have thought it was faked for attention, posts from the director himself a year earlier revealed that his original version did indeed pair the two up in a romantic subplot. "Harley and Deadshot hooked up as a couple. This was changed during reshoots," he said on Twitter in 2020.
Despite DC acquiescing to fan demand to release "Zack Snyder's Justice League," it so far seems like the studio has no plans to give the same treatment to the Ayer Cut of "Suicide Squad." If so, it will leave the killers' kiss forever lost to time.
No kissing allowed in Jurassic Park
Steven Spielberg's iconic 1993 adventure "Jurassic Park" broke new ground for special effects, with a mix of lifelike animatronics and revolutionary computer generated effects. It brought ancient dinosaurs to life in ways no audience had ever seen, with every kind of dinosaur a kid could want to see up on the big screen, at a cost of more than $63 million dollars. Perhaps surprisingly, though, one scene that was removed from the film wasn't to save on budget — it was a kiss between the film's two stars, Laura Dern and Sam Neill.
Dern and Neill play colleagues and archeologists Ellie Sattler and Alan Grant, who travel to a remote island to assess a theme park that has brought dinosaurs into the modern world. Though the film hints at some possible chemistry between the pair, it's firmly in the will-they/won't-they territory. But in one deleted scene, it's more firmly established that they're connected romantically, and an early sequence prior to their expedition to Jurassic Park would've seen Sattler and Grant as far more than professional partners. In the removed moment, the two are clearly lovers, as they share a passionate kiss while on an archeological dig.
Lindsay Lohan said no to a scary smack
Not all kissing scenes are removed for time or plot reasons, nor even to avoid a controversy. Sometimes, it's just a case of a star not wanting to get intimate with a fellow actor they're not very fond of. For "Scary Movie 5" that's what happened between actors Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen, which is made all the more awkward because they were playing themselves in a scene where they're supposed to get seriously intimate together.
Even before the movie was released, gossip around Hollywood surfaced that Lohan had refused to kiss Sheen during filming. The report came courtesy of TMZ, who claimed that Lohan was so disgusted by Sheen that she wouldn't get close, seemingly owing to Sheen's infamous history of womanizing and drug use. The report states that both Lohan and Sheen had to sign a release that stated they didn't have any contagious ailments of the mouth ahead of filming the kissing scenes, but that apparently wasn't enough for the former Disney star.
To achieve the necessary footage, body doubles were allegedly used in place of the actors, while camera tricks were employed to hide who was really doing the smooching. Oddly enough, the pair would reunite years later for an episode of "Anger Management" in which the world thinks they're kissing for real.
Denzel demanded a kiss come out of the Pelican Brief
The 1993 legal thriller "The Pelican Brief" starred two of Hollywood's biggest names, Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts, as a reporter and lawyer who fight to unravel a conspiracy. Despite being a pair of Hollywood A-listers and sex symbols, though, the superstars never do get too close on screen, though it wasn't for a lack of trying.
"I have taken so much s*** over the years about not kissing Denzel in that film," Roberts said (via Newsweek). "Don't I have a pulse? Of course I wanted to kiss Denzel. It was his idea to take the damn scenes out." As the story goes, Washington had serious concerns about an interracial kiss, and potentially furthering the stereotype of a black man pursuing a white woman. This had proven particularly troubling to him following the negative reaction to a similar scene in the 1989 film "The Mighty Quinn."
"Black women are not often seen as objects of desire on film," Washington said. "They have always been my core audience." Worried that a kiss with his co-star Roberts would upset Black women in the theaters, Washington demanded the kiss be removed from the finished film, and he evidently got his way.
An innocent kiss lost from the Descendants 2
In 2017, Disney once again found itself at the center of a kissing controversy when it came out that there was a scene that had been removed from "The Descendants 2." The musical Disney Channel sequel focuses on the children of popular Disney villains, and two of them – Harry and Gil, the sons of Captain Hook from "Peter Pan" and Gaston from "The Beauty and the Beast" — had apparently embraced in a loving moment during the film that never made it to the film's release.
Teen Vogue covered the story not long after the film came out, explaining that the film's star, Thomas Doherty (who played Harry Hook), had posted about the deleted kiss on his social media. According to the report, the moment wasn't a case of improvisation, either, and was apparently a scene taken directly from the book on which the movie was based. Unfortunately, when it came time to release the adaptation to the masses, the kiss wasn't in the final film, much to the dismay of many "shippers" who wanted to see the characters paired up romantically on-screen.