Among those who followed the making of The Walking Dead Season 3, it's pretty well known that the ending that aired was different from the way it was first filmed. However, we have brand new details from an article that paints a pretty good picture of how the Season 3 finale was originally planned to end.
Spoiler Warning: Do not read this if you haven't finished watching The Walking Dead Season 3.
After the finale aired, it was revealed that Milton's attack on Andrea had been changed, but the biggest difference was that Tyreese and Sasha discovered Andrea instead of Rick, Daryl, and Michonne. Here's what Dallas Roberts told Entertainment Weekly:
“Originally, the beating scene that started the episode wasn’t there. Originally, I showed up and was led into the room where Andrea was…and then [The Governor] shot me in the stomach, completely unexpectedly.… There was a lot more of Milton trying to open the door and him trying to free her from the chains. And then there was a section where he was going to wrap the chain around the neck and try to choke her to death before he turned so she wouldn’t have to deal with Walker Milton, or Biter Milton, as it were.…They both desperately wanted for that to work but at that point he had bled out so much. So he pulls and pulls and pulls but he doesn’t get it done and he falls against the wall and is passed out. And he never comes back from that until he turns into a walker…And then at the end of that, it was just Tyreese and someone else who found her. Rick and Daryl and Michonne weren’t there. So it was essentially the same idea, except you saw me taking chunks out of Laurie Holden in that version.”
Chad L. Coleman provided some additional details and it was revealed that he killed Milton in the original scene:
“Man, it was awesome. Sasha and I, we were protecting the wall and we heard these screams. We followed the screams, going through the streets with our weapons. I’ve got to kick in this door, which will probably be one of the bloopers. I went to kick the door in and I almost fell backwards down the stairs. Whoever rigged that door, they got me on that one. But, we kick in the door and finally we get to [Andrea], and it was an incredibly powerful, excruciating scene. Sasha and I are doing our best to try and comfort her before she took herself out. I thought there was some great work going on. But I was there for the revision and that was incredibly powerful, and it made all the more sense for it to be full-circle for them. But for us, it was excruciating, and it was really powerful. I hope they dig it up. I’d love to see it.”
It does not appear that this scene will be making it into The Walking Dead Season 3 Blu-ray / DVD release, but we'll let readers know if we hear anything about alternate finale footage. To read what Sonequa Martin-Green had to say about this scene, head over to EW.
After spending more than 10 years as a consultant in the tech and entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his interest in horror and sci-fi. Since then, it has grown into an online magazine with a staff of writers that provide daily news, reviews, interviews, and special features.
As the Editor-in-Chief of Daily Dead, Jonathan is responsible for bringing the latest horror news to millions of readers from around the world. He is also consulted with as an expert on zombies in entertainment and pop culture, providing analyses of the zombie sub-genre to newspapers, radio stations, and convention attendees.
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