The Original Ending to ‘The Truman Show’ Was Much “Darker” and Set in “An Alternate Version of New York City”

“Good morning! And if I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night.”

Jim Carrey‘s famous catchphrase as Truman Burbank in the 1998 sci-fi drama The Truman Show is one remembered by fans everywhere who watched him slowly realize his whole life has been a reality TV show. However, this quippy quote, along with other key plot details were not initially a part of screenwriter Andrew Niccol’s plan.

Niccol told The Hollywood Reporter that the original screenplay was set in “an alternate New York City” as opposed to the idealized Seahaven Island.

“I always thought the premise was bullet-proof, and even though the original draft is set in an alternate version of New York City — if you can fake it there, you can fake it anywhere — I was happy to embrace Peter’s more idyllic, small-town take on a counterfeit world,” he revealed to THR.

The filmmaker also told THR that he envisioned the overall screenplay to be “something darker.”

“In the original script, there was an innocent passenger attacked on the subway as a way to test Truman’s courage, and Truman had a platonic relationship with a prostitute who he dressed as Sylvia (Natascha McElhone),” he revealed.

As for Carrey’s catchphrase, that was “originally an ad-lib by Jim,” which Niccol noted “the duplicitous Christof seized on it and directed the extras in Truman’s life to pretend to be amused.”

“For a while, I think the last line was, ‘You never had a camera in my head,'” he continued. “Curiously, I have a film in the works where they do have a camera in your head. Kind of.”

The ending, which features Truman exclaiming his famous catchphrase and exiting the soundstage he had believed to be Seahaven Island, was not always set to be that way, either.

“There was a lot of debate about how the mechanics of the set worked,” Niccol said, explaining that “there was even a version where we followed Truman through the sky, and he encountered a studio tour and a souvenir store all devoted to him.”

Ultimately Niccol believes director Peter Weir “made the right decision to end it when he left the set.”

The film, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last month, still holds a startling cultural relevance in today’s society, one which Niccol pointed out to THR.

“When I first conceived of the film, there wasn’t any so-called reality television,” he shared. “I say ‘so-called’ because I’ve always thought Truman is the only genuine reality star.”

He continued, “When you know there’s a camera, there is no reality.I am a bit surprised that we have become our own Trumans, turning the camera on ourselves and cataloging every aspect of our own lives, willingly.”

The Truman Show is available on AMC and Prime Video.