5. James Franco was supposed to die in Rise of the Planet of the Apes
At the end of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Will finds Caesar in the forest and asks him to come home. When he responds, “Caesar is home”, Will leaves him and it assumed (and then confirmed in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) that Will died with the rest of the human race due to the disease spread.
However, this was not the original ending.
The ending that Rupert Wyatt filmed and edited was to see Will and Caesar doing the “Caesar is home” line but then the army show up and open fire. Will jumps in the way and takes the bullets for Caesar.
However, only a one month before the film was to be released, minds were changed and the desicion was made for Will to survive. This mean that James Franco and Andy Serkis had to re-shoot the scene.
Not sure which ending is better to be honest.
Originally published July 17, 2014. Updated April 15, 2018.
