When Fifty Shades Freed wrapped production, the original ending was much darker than what audiences saw. Instead of the sweet montage of Ana and Christian’s family life, the film was supposed to end on a note of uncertainty.
The deleted scene showed Ana alone in the kitchen, looking through Christian’s secret files again—suggesting that he was hiding something even after marriage. It ended with her staring into the camera, silently.
Director James Foley reportedly fought to keep the scene, but test audiences were rattled. “They wanted a happy ending,” a crew member said. “But we wanted mystery.”
Universal demanded it be cut. Foley was devastated. “He cried in the editing room,” one editor recalled. “He said we’d just erased the last bit of depth.”
To this day, fans wonder: What was Christian still hiding?
