‘Whalefall’ Filmmakers Explain Late Changes to the Ending
Key Takeaway: Test screenings prompted 20th Century Studios to add an epilogue coda to Whalefall; director Brian Duffield and star Austin Abrams, initially hesitant, changed their minds after seeing the footage.
Spoiler warning: this article discusses major plot details and the ending of the film Whalefall.
Moviegoers catching the new survival thriller Whalefall this week might be surprised by its emotional final scenes, which underwent significant late changes following audience feedback. Released on Friday, 16 October 2026, the 20th Century Studios adaptation is directed by Brian Duffield and co-written with novelist Daniel Kraus, bringing the author’s 2023 bestselling book to the big screen. The story follows Iowa college student Jay Gardiner, played by Austin Abrams, who travels to the Central Coast a year after his estranged father Mitt, played by Josh Brolin, died by suicide at sea. According to Deadline‘s set-visit report, Mitt was diagnosed with mesothelioma and drowned in the Pacific Ocean. While searching for his father’s remains near Monastery Beach, Jay is swallowed by an 80-foot-long sperm whale, waking inside its multichambered stomach with an hour of oxygen before escaping via an explosion.
The coda nobody wanted, at first
Originally, the picture concluded abruptly after Jay was rescued from the water. However, according to an interview published on 20 October 2026 by Brian Davids in The Hollywood Reporter, test screenings prompted 20th Century Studios to push for an epilogue coda. Brian Duffield told THR: “That scene at the end was something the studio really pushed for, and Austin and I were both a little like, I don’t know. Isn’t it cool to just end with him getting fished out, seeing that he’s survived, and then be done with it? I love older movies that just end like that,” Initially resistant, the director and star ultimately changed their minds after reviewing the footage. Brian Duffield told THR of the star’s performance: “Austin was so good in that scene that I was just like, Oh, of course this scene has to be in the movie. This is how we see that he has healed into a different man. He may be scarred and missing parts of his body, but there’s a real peace you feel with him at the end.”
The newly added epilogue reunites the surviving Gardiner family and family friend Hewey out at sea, highlighting Jay’s physical healing. Additional photography was captured earlier in the year immediately after Abrams wrapped work on Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, so Abrams sports a noticeably different haircut in the coda to signify the passage of time without relying on wigs. Emily Rudd’s character keeps her back to the camera throughout the sequence, which the THR writer attributed to her commitments on the third season of One Piece. The coda also reveals the severe toll of Jay’s ordeal: part of his left arm missing along with heavy neck scarring, a broken leg, collapsed lungs, blown-out ears, and cracked ribs.
The letter that stays unread
Another major focal point of the final scenes is an unopened letter left behind by Mitt. In the epilogue, the contents are never explicitly revealed or spoken on screen. Brian Duffield told THR: “It’s something that is textually within the movie. We play fair with that. It’s not a big long letter explaining, I was actually the whale. It’s a very short letter,” Austin Abrams told THR of the artistic ambiguity: “If you put your own interpretation on it, that’s potentially going to be more meaningful and interesting than whatever was written.” Josh Brolin adopted a unique approach to the mystery, with THR reporting that he chose never to learn the contents and stated: “I created what Mitt wrote in my head, and I never wrote it down,”
✓ Verified
THR reported the late-ending change on 20 October 2026; the film was released on 16 October 2026 by 20th Century Studios.
⚠ Still needs confirmation
Deadline reported that Mitt’s diagnosis was mesothelioma and that he died by drowning in the Pacific; this detail has not been independently confirmed by a second outlet.
- The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Whalefall’ ending interview (20 Oct 2026)
- Deadline: ‘Whalefall’ father-son themes (16 Oct 2026)
- SYFY Wire: the letter at the end of ‘Whalefall’ (19 Oct 2026)
Editor’s note: This article discusses plot details and the ending of Whalefall. The Austin Abrams image is an illustrative file photo, not a production still.
