China’s ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ Alternate Ending Sends a Main Character to Jail for 20 Years

Apparently, Minions: The Rise of Gru is more despicable than we thought — at least to China. According to several reports and angered Weibo users, the Chinese release of the movie shows an alternate ending that doesn’t quite make sense for the Despicable Me prequel.

The original version of Minions: The Rise of Gru follows a young Gru, voiced by Steve Carrell, as he trains toward becoming a supervillain. Eventually, he becomes friends with supervillain leader Wild Knuckles, who teaches him the ins and outs of villainy. After being caught up in a heist, Knuckles escapes authorities by faking his own death, ultimately riding off into the sunset with Gru.

However, the Chinese version reportedly shows a bit different of an ending, with Gru becoming “dedicated to raising his family” after becoming “one of the good guys.”

As for Wild Knuckles, well, he gets locked up for 20 years in prison after getting caught for the failed heist. Although, while in prison, he discovers the complete opposite of crime — a love for theatre. After all, Minions: The Rise of Gru, a cartoon, may very well be the catalyst that sends the next generation into a crime-ridden frenzy.

This, however, isn’t the first time the Chinese government has censored an American film. Earlier this year, fans noticed the catastrophic end to Fight Club in which the characters successfully destroy a series of buildings was changed to end with a note that said police “rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding,” per the New York Times. Within a couple of weeks, the ending was restored.

On another occasion, the Chinese government allegedly pressured Sony Pictures to remove any sign of the Statue of Liberty from Spider-Man: No Way Home, per the Washington Times. The company did not agree to make the edits.

You can watch Minions: The Rise of Gru now on VOD.