11 Hyped Scenes That NEVER Appear in the Movie
#11: Release the Gaga Cut
“Joker: Folie à Deux” (2024)
Todd Phillips’ musical sequel to “Joker” suffered from quite a few missteps– an inconsistent tone, a poorly threaded narrative, and frankly, a lack of a point at all– just to name a few. But arguably the largest disappointment across fans upon seeing the film was the lack of Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn– particularly some missing moments which were widely advertised. Namely, two of Gaga’s moments from the trailer do not appear: a shot of her in Joker makeup in an elevator, and what appears to be a musical number on the courthouse stairs. Also, there were a slew of viral on-set photos from scenes which also had ceased to exist. While we would never claim that these additions would make the film great, some extra Gaga definitely wouldn’t have hurt!
#10: “Don’t Panic”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (2016)
Fans of the Wizarding World franchise are no strangers to seeing scenes in the trailers that magically vanish from the final film. Famously the exchange between Harry and Voldemort from “Deathly Hallows Part 2,” where the dark wizard questions why Harry lives, was left on the cutting room floor. While that moment may have been axed for being a bit too corny and overly-serious, one from the “Fantastic Beasts” trailer was cut for the opposite reason. Facing down a line of police, Newt tells them not to panic and that everything would be alright, before a huge creature attacked. Actor Eddie Redmayne would reveal that the joke didn't fit the tone of the climactic moment.
#9: Newborn Spock
“Star Trek” (2009)
The trailers for 2009’s Star Trek series promised to give the franchise a fresh start by launching a reboot and giving new versions of the original crew. Trailers featured young Kirk and Spock, with scenes set at both of their births, with Winona Ryder appearing as Spock’s mother. While Kirk’s birth survived into the film in a thrilling opening sequence, Spock’s was noticeably absent. The cut scene would have helped establish the half-Vulcan Spock as a child of two worlds, but another moment from his childhood largely performed the same role. The scene being cut also answered why Ryder appeared with such little screen time.
#8: “Things Just Got Out of Hand”
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022)
It’s not unusual for an iconic line from a movie to blow up and become a meme. Sometimes, due to its appearance in trailers, it even happens before the movie’s release. It is strange, though, when that happens for a line that doesn't end up in the film. It’s not hard to see why the line blew up, as in the trailer it reveals a dark and sinister alternate version of Doctor Strange, exciting Marvel and Sam Raimi fans. Of course when that pivotal scene arrived, the meme-worthy line was conspicuously absent. Interestly enough however, another character does reference the cut line.
#7: The Clovers
“Bring it On” (2000)
This fun cheerleading flick details the competition and rivalry between the Toros, a group of predominantly white cheerleaders, and the Clovers, who come from a mostly black school. The film was hailed as ahead of its time for tackling issues including cultural appropriation and intersectional feminism. It helped to launch the career of Gabrielle Union who played Clover captain Isis; however, the film may not have featured as much of her and the Clovers as audiences were expecting. According to Union, after test audiences responded positively to the squad, extra scenes with the Clovers were shot after the film wrapped. However not for the movie, as the new material was only ever intended for the trailer.
#6: The Joker's Dialogue
“Suicide Squad” (2016)
Debuting at Comic-Con 2015, and leaking soon after, the trailer for David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” featured a somber tone. That included hints at a tragic past for Harley Quinn involving the Joker, played by Jared Leto. The first official trailers however, had a much brighter and upbeat tone still featuring Batman’s nemesis. Indecision from Warner Brothers for the final tone of the film led to dueling cuts of and massive reshoots of the third act to make the relationship between Joker and Harley more palatable to teens. The result of this was that much of the heavily promoted material involving Leto was exercised from the final film.
#5: Jillian Murray
“Black Christmas” (2006)
Usually when a scene in a trailer doesn't appear in a given film it's because it was cut because of time, tone, or some other reason it didn’t quite fit into the film. That was not the case for the 2006 remake of “Black Christmas” where, after filming had wrapped, mega producers and world class creeps the Weinstein brothers felt it wasn’t violent enough to sell. This had already led to scrapping the original ending for a more action packed one, but also necessitated pickups where footage exclusively shot for the trailers was filmed. This created a situation where an actress that wasn’t even in the film, Jillian Murray, was prominently featured in the advertising for a film she never stepped on set for.
#4: “Doctor Michael Morbius at Your Service!”
“Morbius” (2022)
For years Sony had sought to replicate the success that Marvel had had with crossing over their various heroes and villains with cool cameos and fun references. Possessing just the rights to Spider-Man characters, Sony used the strategy of creating mostly films centered around his villains, with Venom being the breakout star. The trailer sees Morbius use Venom’s name for himself before quipping that he’s only joking, he’s actually Doctor Micheal Morbius at your service! The bit was genuinely funny and one of the few moments of the trailer that worked unironically. So of course the punchline is cut from the film, replaced with some generic dialogue making the Venom reference nonsensical, and the bit falls flat.
#3: “You Complete Me!”
“Iron Man 2” (2010)
The promotion for the second “Iron Man” film leaned heavily into a scene between Tony Stark and Pepper, who had become his girlfriend at the end of the first film. The couple shares a fun and flirty exchange as he prepares to jump out of an airplane in the Iron Man suit. Pepper kisses the mask before tossing it out with Tony following, quipping “You complete me!” The scene economically established how his relationship with Pepper had grown between films while also cheekily hinting at him only feeling whole in the suit. However, when the scene arrives early on we are literally dropped in with an already suited up Iron Man and no Pepper to be seen.
#2: “No, I’m Killing Boys”
“Jennifer’s Body” (2009)
One of the lasting cultural legacies of “Jennifer’s Body” was the exchange between Needy, played by Amanda Seyfried, and the titular Jennifer, played by Megan Fox. After discovering her friend’s vampiric secret, Needy is shocked to discover that Jennifer is killing people, to which Jennifer gives a now iconic response … Pop star Halsey even named a song after the line. Only problem is the line isn’t in the film. Perhaps partially because of the overwhelming marketing and initial lukewarm reception, the trailer became more famous than the film. While it grew in popularity over the years into a cult classic, that one cut line is still a touchstone associated with it. It was included as a deleted scene on the DVD release.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
“Ant-Man” (2015)
“Is It Too Late to Change the Name?”
“The Transporter” (2002)
Deflecting a Bazooka
“Get Out” (2017)
Skeleton Moose Attack!
#1: The Finale & Various Other Scenes
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016)
In order to hide that Luke wouldn’t be revealed till the end of the film, “The Force Awakens” trailers intentionally misled audiences about his screen time. With “Rogue One” however, a very different cut of the film was seemingly advertised, which isn't far off from the truth. Pivotal lines of dialogue, a standoff with a TIE fighter, Forest Whitaker’s bald head, the ending where characters raced across the beach, and much more, were all absent from the film. This came as a result of extensive reshoots involving Tony Gilroy. However, many of the more cinematic shots from the original cut still found their way into the promotional material.
Which scenes that didn’t make it in should be restored? Let us know in the comments below.