9 Movies That Were Reshot to Please the Viewers

The proliferation of media resources that are focused on covering the comings and goings of Hollywood have exposed all the previously “internal” filming processes. Now, anyone with an internet connection can check on how progress is going on a movie they’re looking forward to. So, whenever we hear the news that a movie is being re-shot, we perk up and try to figure out why.

We know the reason for these movies. Here are 9 movies that were reshot to please the viewers! (The Last Jedi is not on this list because it shouldn’t be. Fight me!)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

This movie is constantly listed amongst the best movies of all time, and it’s consistently at the top of IMDb’s “best movies” list. What you might not know, though, is that the final scene of the movie was reshot in response to the negative reactions of its first test audience.

You see, the director originally wanted the movie to end in a less “clear” way. He wanted to end the movie right without showing Red and Andy meeting, to create the question of whether Red was able to assimilate to life outside of jail after all the years he spent behind bars. Needless to say, the answer was probably “no”, and the test audiences didn’t like it. So, Frank Darabont added a scene of Red meeting Andy after so many years apart.

The Little Mermaid

You know the song “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid? It was supposed to be cut from the movie!

During the original test screenings, the CEO of Disney, Jeffrey Katzenberg, didn’t like that most kids in the audience were getting restless during that scene. So, the composers and animators of The Little Mermaid added a few new shots to that scene to make it more exciting, and the song stayed in the movie. Now it’s a favorite amongst many people who grew up watching Golden Age Disney cartoons.

Back to the Future

Due to a conflict in scheduling, Michael Fox wasn’t the original Marty McFly! Originally, Eric Stoltz was cast, but the director and test audience didn’t respond well to that. The production team and director decided to reshoot most of the movie with Michael Fox as Marty McFly, and now we have the Back to the Future movie that we all know!