Actors Who Spoiled The Ending Of Their Movies
Most people don't enjoy spoilers before they watch a movie. Sure, sometimes it's nice to have the reassurance that your favorite character will make it to the end of a trilogy, or that the Easter egg you've been waiting for will pop up, but usually people want to see a movie without knowing what's going to happen. That's especially true when it comes to the ending.
Moviemakers and audiences alike often come together to keep spaces spoiler free for the first several weeks a film is in theaters. A great example is the campaign of secrecy that began before the release of "Avengers: Infinity War," started by the Russo Brothers in a now-deleted tweet. Archived by BBC, the post included a photo asking fans to keep spoilers at bay, just as they had by letting "only a handful of people know the film's true plot." To discourage the spread of spoilers online, the directors and cast used the hashtag #ThanosDemandsYourSilence. Fans took to the message well, resharing the post and using the hashtag to discourage rotten apples from spoiling the movie.
While the Russo Brothers asked fans to refrain from posting spoilers online, sometimes it's the actors who accidentally spill the beans. We're pulling back the curtain and sharing the actors who spoiled the ending of their movies. If you haven't seen these movies, you might want to watch them first, as this article might (unintentionally) spoil an ending for you.
Tom Holland and Avengers: Infinity War
Tom Holland has created quite the reputation for himself when it comes to spoilers. The "Spider-Man" actor is now known for accidentally blabbing in interviews, from mentions of the Quantum Realm to spoiling big stunts. Because of the young actor's tendency to say a little too much, the running joke within the Marvel cast members is that Holland is paired with Benedict Cumberbatch for interviews. Cumberbatch stops Holland from saying too much, preventing Holland from revealing plot secrets.
However, Cumberbath couldn't stop him from sharing his character's fate during a screening of "Avengers: Infinity War" opening weekend. While coming out onto the stage, the young actor used the microphone to greet the cheering crowd with the words, "I'm alive!" in a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, the fans hadn't seen the movie yet, so his declaration gave them a hint as to who wasn't surviving the snap.
The other cast and crew members there, which included Cumberbatch, the Russo Brothers, and Kevin Feige, ribbed Holland about his word choice, calling it a spoiler and jokingly covering his mouth. It isn't until after Cumberbatch comes out that Holland asks if the theater-goers had seen the film yet, realizing his mistake. If fans weren't sure who would survive the battle, they knew that their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man wasn't on the list of survivors.
David Prowse for The Empire Strikes Back
It may feel like spoilers only happen now that social media can spread them quickly, but popular franchises had spoilers even in the mid-20th century. One of the best examples is the iconic reveal that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father in "Star Wars." While Beca in "Pitch Perfect" argues that everyone should've seen the reveal coming, because his name can be translated to mean father, not everyone saw it that way.
A group of "Star Wars" fans in 1978 heard from the late David Prowse, the person to play Darth Vader in the original trilogy, about the familial connection between Darth Vader and Luke. In an old newspaper archived by a fan's mother, the actor said, "Father can't kill son, son can't kill father. So they live again to star in 'Star Wars IV.'" He said this to a group reported to be of over 1,000 fans, and the statement received cheers.
The fan sharing the archival paper stated that the reveal was "quite the shock to [their] 7 year old system" and caused them to ask several questions regarding the authenticity of the spoiler. While this likely didn't get a ton of traction at the time because it was published in a local paper and did not spread to many fans, it is certainly a significant reveal that spoils one of the most important plots of the original "Star Wars" movies.
Anne Hathaway for The Dark Knight Rises
Spoilers for major franchises are always coming out, even when the actors themselves are doing their best to keep the secrets close to their chest. Unfortunately, if fans of Christopher Nolan's "Batman" movies were following the press for "The Dark Knight Rises," they were in for a surprise.
While Anne Hathaway, who portrays Catwoman, was on "Late Show with David Letterman" to promote the film, she was faced with Letterman spoiling the movie and trying to react in the moment. As he discusses the film, Letterman says, "and in the end, Batman is dead." Hathaway's face immediately changes, as she says, "Dave," implying that he was giving something away. Letterman jokes, saying he's not dead, but Hathaway sends Nolan a message during the segment, stating she "had no part in it." People reported at the time that the comments caused a big reaction online, with fans and moviegoers upset with Letterman's lack of tact.
The entire conversation was a spoiler for the end of the film. Batman (Christian Bale) is part of a large explosion at the end of the film, leaving viewers to believe he's dead. Despite everyone mourning his death, it's discovered he's actually alive and in Florence, Italy. Letterman stating that the character was dead and then correcting himself is likely similar to how many felt while watching "The Dark Knight Rises" for the first time.
Channing Tatum for Dog
While spoilers tend to ruin endings for audiences, sometimes knowing a little something ahead of time will put the viewer at ease before they step foot in the theater. Maybe it even ensures they go and see it. That is exactly what Channing Tatum was attempting to do when he spoiled part of the ending for his movie "Dog" while promoting it.
The actor spoke with Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to discuss the film. "I think 'Marley & Me' scarred everyone," Tatum stated on the show. Noting that after people found out he made a movie with a dog, they wanted to know if the dog survived, telling him they wouldn't watch the movie otherwise. He had no problem relieving everyone's worries during the interview. "It's a good ending, so everyone knows," he continued.
Tatum hit the nail on the head with his "Marley & Me" comment. Audiences are incredibly worried about the outcome of dogs, and pets in general, in the media. There's even a website people can use before deciding to watch or read something so they won't have to watch the dog die if they don't want to. The actor simply saved everyone the web search if it meant they'd be more inclined to see his new movie and, in Kimmel's words, he "might be the first guest who's ever come out and told the ending."
Will Smith for I Am Legend
Many movies are adaptations of popular books, giving audiences the chance to compare the two and see how well the story is captured on-screen. However, that doesn't mean an actor should reveal the entire plot and ending of a movie in a press conference, since changes are made and not everyone reads the source material before heading to the theater. Sadly, Will Smith did not get this memo while promoting "I Am Legend."
During the movie's promotional press tour stop in Tokyo, Japan, the actor held nothing back as he shared everything about the plot, including the ending, with the group of reporters, as reported by Reuters. Though Akiva Goldsman, a co-writer on the film, tried to stop Smith, he wasn't able to in time. In addition to sharing the plot, People reported that Smith took photos with a reporter who fell asleep during the conference.
Both the book and film (at least in the theatrical cut) see the actor's character Robert Neville die, but there are several major changes between the mediums. In the film, he uses a grenade to kill both the Darkseekers and himself. However, in the book, the Darkseekers kill him after a trial. Neville does survive in the movie's alternate ending, which was originally scrapped after poor responses in test screenings. The alternate ending is considered canon to allow for future films.
Hugh Jackman for Logan
Sometimes an actor just knows how their character's story should end, especially by the final entry in a series. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hugh Jackman shared how he and the movie's director James Mangold decided that Wolverine would die at the end of "Logan." While the interview was technically published on March 4, 2017, the day after the film's release, if the magazine hit stands early, fans were in for a surprise. "Logan is someone who is most scared of intimacy, and so he wants to be alone and do things for himself," Jackman said in the interview. "The idea that, in the end, he must give his life to save someone else ... I thought that was really powerful." The actor was candid in the interview about Wolverine's fate, which certainly would have spoiled it for audiences if they read it before checking out the new movie.
The actor also shared that, should the decision be made to come back to Wolverine, there was a plan in place to make that happen through the use of alternate timelines. While audiences didn't know it at the time, it may have been a hint as to how Wolverine is able to appear in the new Deadpool movie, "Deadpool & Wolverine" and what audiences can expect with Wolverine's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sylvester Stallone for Creed
With the popularity of social media, it should come as no surprise that an actor has spoiled their movie with a single post before. Sometimes it may be simply revealing a costume piece or prop that is essential to the plot, but in Sylvester Stallone's case, he gave up the ending and shocking reveal for his character in "Creed."
In what was likely meant to be an innocent tweet to show his followers his creative process, the actor posted a photo of his desk with the caption, "Where the screenwriting happens." The picture features several knives, a pair of glasses, a yellow legal pad, and what appears to be a page from the end of the script for "Creed." While it isn't immediately legible at first glance, eagle-eyed fans were quick to decipher anything they could from the page.
While it divulges that Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) wins his match, it also shares that Rocky (Stallone) has been diagnosed with cancer, creating a bittersweet ending for audiences and ruining what would've likely been an emotional reveal for viewers. In "Rocky Balboa," the most recent film in the franchise up to that point, it's shared that Adrianna, Rocky's wife, died of ovarian cancer four years before the events of the 2006 movie. Having his wife die from cancer before being diagnosed himself is a wretched situation for Rocky to be in, and one that was spoiled with a tweet.
Rachel McAdams for The Time Traveler's Wife
Like "I Am Legend," "The Time Traveler's Wife" is based on a book, and much like Will Smith, star Rachel McAdams spoiled nearly the entire plot of the movie while promoting it on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."
Stewart jumps into his questions right away, causing McAdams to reveal the bulk of the plot and the fate of her character Clara's husband, Henry. "He goes as far as his own childhood, and he goes forward as far as his own death," the actress said to explain the time travel in the film. Stewart immediately responds to the statement with a "Whoa!," asking a follow up question to confirm that the husband knows how he's going to die. "Now we've ruined everything," McAdams responded. The two continue to joke, pretending to restart the interview and that what they were talking about before was actually an entirely different movie.
If fans read the book before heading to theaters, they would know how the movie ends, since the adaptation did not change the events that lead to Henry's death, where a tragic accident in the middle of the woods results in Henry dying in Clara's arms. While McAdams spoiled Henry's death but not sharing exactly what happened, at least viewers could still be surprised by how he dies, even if they knew there would be a tragic ending for the time traveler.
Dave Bautista for Avengers: Endgame
Sometimes actors don't have to say anything about the actual plot or movie itself to spoil how it ends. In Dave Bautista's case, revealing he was filming additional movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that would take place after the events of "Avengers: Infinity War" spoiled that his character Drax would somehow come back after being vaporized into dust by the Snap.
"We definitely see more Guardians in the upcoming 'Avengers' movie, which we've already shot," Bautista shared while speaking with Good Morning Britain during the opening weekend for "Infinity War." Quickly realizing what his words reveal, the actor says he had been sharing that he filmed for the fourth "Avengers" movie, and that he was contracted for a third "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie, even before the release of "Infinity War." "I've shot scenes in it, so must come back somehow," Bautista continued.
The reveal not only confirmed that Drax would come back, but that other characters that were snapped, including fellow members of the Guardians, were likely to reappear as well. That spoiled the efforts of Captain America, Bruce Banner, Black Widow, Ant-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Rocket Raccoon, James Rhodes, and Nebula in "Avengers: Endgame." The entire movie hinges on whether or not they can regather the infinity stones to undo the original snap with their own snap. Bautista confirming he would be back in some capacity despite being turned to dust negates the suspense of the journey.
Jason Momoa for Aquaman
While promoting "Aquaman" during San Diego Comic-Con, Jason Momoa may have overshared slightly when telling viewers during a Facebook Live what to expect when the movie came out later that year. The actor was doing a live interview with Entertainment Weekly at the event when he spoiled the ending of the film.
The interview begins with him sharing what audiences will see, noting they will get to learn more about his life and journey. "This whole journey of him going to become the king," Momoa said. "The last frame of this movie, you're gonna see him actually become what he's destined to be." The actor moves on, answering questions coming from viewers, but some may have caught the spoiler right away.
While fans of the characters and comics may have already known this is going to happen at some point, Momoa's statement reveals Aquaman will take the throne and become King of Atlantis by the end of his first solo film. It not only told audiences what would happen at the end of "Aquaman," but it hints at the plot of the movie and that the inevitable conflict would likely end in his favor, even without plot armor on his side.