Imagine a movie ending with a shocking vampire attack – a scene so wild it almost made it to the big screen! That's the story behind 'Marty Supreme,' a film you might not expect to see discussed here on io9 or Gizmodo, and there's a good reason for that. We typically cover technology and sci-fi movies, not period pieces about ping pong players. 'Marty Supreme' focuses on the journey of a man, portrayed by Timothée Chalamet, pursuing his ambitions in the most extraordinary ways. It's a fantastic movie, no doubt, but traditionally outside our usual scope.
But here's the twist: the film almost took a very dark turn. Can you believe that at one point, the script had Marty getting bitten by a vampire?
How could that even fit into the story? Let's dive in. In a pivotal scene, Marty is on the verge of breaking a deal with Milton Rockwell, a businessman played by Kevin O'Leary (known to many as "Mr. Wonderful" from Shark Tank). As Rockwell realizes Marty is about to double-cross him, he delivers a chilling line: "I was born in 1601. I'm a vampire. I've been around forever. I've met many Marty Mausers over the centuries. Some of them crossed me, some of them weren't straight. They weren't honest. And those are the ones that are still here. You go out and win that game, you’re gonna be here forever, too. And you’ll never be happy. You will never be happy."
In the final version of the movie, this is simply a menacing attempt to intimidate Marty, suggesting he's making the wrong choice. It's not meant to be taken literally... or is it? But here's where it gets controversial... In an earlier draft, it was literal.
Josh Safdie, the film's co-writer and director, revealed on the A24 Podcast that 'Marty Supreme' nearly had a drastically different conclusion. (Big shoutout to The Playlist for bringing this to our attention!) The original plan was to show Marty's life after returning to the U.S., depicting his decades of incredible business success. The film would then cut to the 1980s, showing him attending a Tears for Fears concert with his granddaughter.
Safdie explained, "He’s thinking about ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ and youth and what does it mean, and he has this success, but he’s not doing the thing that he believed he was born on planet to do. And you’re on his eyes—we built the prosthetics for Timmy and everything—and Mr. Wonderful shows up behind him and takes a bite out of his neck. And that was the last scene of the movie. And he hasn’t aged. I remember A24, and everyone were like, ‘This is a mistake, right?'"
It sounds like it was a serious consideration, but ultimately, someone wisely decided to scrap the vampire ending. And this is the part most people miss... imagine the implications if they had gone through with it! It would have completely changed the tone and genre of the film. Regardless, it ranks high on the list of the most bizarre alternate movie endings ever conceived.
You can listen to Safdie discuss this scene starting around the 45-minute mark of the podcast.
Now, consider this: Was cutting the vampire ending the right call? Would it have elevated the film to cult status, or would it have been a disastrous misstep? Share your thoughts in the comments! And while we're at it, do you think the metaphorical interpretation of Rockwell's lines is more impactful than a literal vampire reveal? Let's discuss!
