I’m sure I can remember a sci-fi movie that ends with 3 astronauts in a capsule after some sort of adventure that ends with them getting lost in space, and one of them saying “let’s see what’s out there”, before the film ends on an upbeat note of exploration. I was sure the movie was The Black Hole, but this isn’t the way it ends. Was there ever an alternate ending to The Black Hole? If not, has anyone any suggestions for what movie I might be thinking of? The movie would have been from the early 1980s at the latest.
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7"It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy. Let's go exploring!"– DavidWCommented Nov 6, 2023 at 20:43
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1m.youtube.com/watch?v=fjj9gpqmYVI– ValorumCommented Nov 6, 2023 at 20:47
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2I cannot remember the actual quote, but in 1975s The Day After Tomorrow, starring Brian Blessed, and produced by Gerry Anderson of Space 1999 fame, the spaceship passes through a black hole and survives. There was some sort of quip at the end along those lines, I believe.– JohnHuntCommented Nov 6, 2023 at 21:06
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1@JohnHunt that film is available at the internet archive archive.org/details/day-after-tomorrow-airdate-12-9-75 It does appear to have a hopeful ending.– Organic MarbleCommented Nov 6, 2023 at 22:09
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1@JohnHunt. I initially thought of The Day After Tomorrow as well. But I checked and the quote doesn't quite match. Too, as opposed to three astronauts there are actually four family members (mother, father, daughter, son) and and another man in the ship so I don't think that lines up either.– beichstCommented Nov 6, 2023 at 22:09
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1 Answer
I think you may be thinking of an alternate ending to Disney's The Black Hole (and a bit of Star Trek: The Next Generation)
In the original theatrical film, The Black Hole ends with
Reinhardt and Maximilian travel through the black hole in the Cygnus to a hell-like world, while the surviving crew of the Palomino fly through it and encounter a heaven-like universe.
In several adaptations of the film, particularly those for younger audiences, this ending was simplified:
The crew simply flies through the hole, emerging in a new region of the universe, and resolve to explore.
This trimmed ending is seen in the record book for kids (see some images here) and the comic book adaptation (here). While not word-for-word the "let's see what's out there" line you remember, they both involve three astronauts saying something hopeful and inspiring in light of uncertainty.
The line "let's see what's out there" is word-for-word from a similarly optimistic ending to the first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint" (see a video of it here - thanks, Valorum).
answered Nov 7, 2023 at 15:21
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Were these alternate endings ever show in a film version? The question is asking about a film. Commented Nov 7, 2023 at 16:04
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1@OrganicMarble - It's very easy to mix up the events of the novelisation or comic with the events of the film– ValorumCommented Nov 7, 2023 at 16:40
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There was a DVD special feature called "Through the Black Hole" available online here and here, narrated by someone who worked on the special effects along with his father, starting around 4 minutes into the 2nd one he talks about an alternate ending that would have taken place in the Sistine Chapel, says his father did do some shooting there, but they scrapped it. So, the alternate ending of the comic/record was probably not one that was filmed or it would have been mentioned in that featurette. Commented Nov 7, 2023 at 19:12
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@OrganicMarble I don't know for sure if it's a filmed alternate ending, but as Valorum mentioned, it's easy to confuse tie-ins with the original media. I myself grew up with the read-along record book, and didn't remember the arguably bonkers theatrical ending until I watched the film in adulthood. Commented Nov 10, 2023 at 19:22
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1@Vanguard3000 I didn't have a record book but did have a pop up book with colour wheels/pull out tabs etc. and it's possible the page you posted was also in that. However, I was quite surprised when I rewatched the movie and saw the hell scape (I didn't remember that at all) and was also surprised that there was no final word from the surviving Palomino crew, so I can only assume that I saw the trimmed version when I was growing up. It's a shame I can't find a copy of this trimmed ending to verify, but the page image and text you posted reflects what expected to see in the film. Thanks!– SteveCommented Nov 18, 2023 at 20:59