Even test screenings proved that it needed to be changed. Owing to the ambiguity and abruptness of World War Z's original ending, Brad Pitt and Paramount's executives were not content with it. When he learns that his wife complied with the paratrooper's twisted demands to keep herself and her children safe, he heads back to the U.S. World War Z's original version ends with Brad Pitt's character gaining access to a phone in Russia after being unable to contact his wife for several months.
Long before World War Z was re-shot to change over 40 minutes of its 2-hour runtime, Matthew Fox was the zombie thriller's antagonist who gets into a relationship with Gerry's wife in the United States while Gerry struggles to fight zombies in Russia. Fox's fleeting appearance in World War Z's theatrical cut is barely noticeable, but he had a relatively more prominent role in the movie's original script. In World War Z's opening arc, Matthew Fox briefly emerges as a paratrooper who rescues Brad Pitt's character Gerry and his family.
