Imagine seeing Timothée Chalamet, the heartthrob of 'Dune' and 'Call Me By Your Name,' suddenly reveal hidden fangs and a thirst for blood! That almost happened in 'Marty Supreme,' and the story behind its scrapped vampire ending is wilder than you can imagine.
Josh Safdie, the director with a knack for the unconventional, initially envisioned an ending so bizarre that it left even the seasoned executives at A24 scratching their heads. During an appearance on the A24 Podcast, Safdie confessed that his original vision for 'Marty Supreme' took a sharp turn into the supernatural, a twist that didn't exactly receive a standing ovation from the studio.
'Marty Supreme,' if you haven't heard, stars Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, a ping-pong prodigy whose journey takes him through the highs and lows of competitive sports. But Safdie's initial plan was to extend Marty's story far beyond the realms of ping-pong glory.
Safdie explained that the original narrative leaped forward to the late 1980s, portraying Marty's transformation into a wildly successful businessman after he hung up his ping-pong paddle. 'He turns that [shoe store] into the most successful shop on Orchard Street. He changes it to Marty Mauser’s Shoes,' Safdie revealed. 'Franchises, franchises again, leaves New York State, becomes a very rich man. All the metrics of success are there. His family grows, he leaves the city, has this beautiful house, and it ends with him at a concert for Tears for Fears with his granddaughter.'
Picture this: Marty, sitting in the front row, reflecting on 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' and pondering the meaning of youth and success. He's achieved everything society deems important, but he's haunted by the feeling that he's not fulfilling his true purpose. A poignant, almost sentimental moment, right? But here's where it gets controversial…
Safdie wasn't content with a simple, reflective ending. He decided to throw in a genre-bending twist, paying off a seemingly throwaway line from earlier in the movie. Remember Kevin O’Leary's character, Milton Rockwell, the ruthless capitalist who casually claims he's a vampire? Well, in Safdie's original ending, that line was more than just a joke.
'You’re on his eyes, we built the prosthetics for Timmy and everything, and Mr. Wonderful shows up behind him and takes a bite out of his neck, and that was the last image. And he hasn’t aged.' Yes, you read that right. Marty Mauser was supposed to be revealed as a vampire, or at least, become a victim of one!
The reaction from A24 was immediate and, shall we say, less than enthusiastic. According to Safdie, their response was a bewildered, 'This is a mistake, right?' Can you blame them? It's a pretty radical departure from the film's overall tone.
But here's the kicker: Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful himself, was fully on board with the vampire concept! Speaking to Variety, O’Leary revealed that Safdie went all-in, even creating visual effects assets for the vampire transformation. 'Went as far as to make digital teeth,' O’Leary said. 'I know that sounds nuts, but to me that would be the right punishment.'
And this is the part most people miss... O'Leary wasn't particularly thrilled with the final version of 'Marty Supreme.' He described himself as 'really unsatisfied' with the ending, arguing that Rockwell gets unfairly punished while Marty and his family get a 'kumbaya ending.' O'Leary believed that Marty's selfish actions deserved a far harsher consequence.
He even pitched an even darker idea: Rachel, played by Odessa A’Zion, should 'die in childbirth' as punishment for Marty's selfishness. Safdie reportedly considered the idea before ultimately deciding it was too 'sick.'
The vampire ending may never have seen the light of day, but it certainly adds a fascinating layer to 'Marty Supreme.' It also demonstrates just how far Safdie was willing to push the boundaries of the film, even if it meant sending A24 into a state of utter disbelief.
What do you think? Would you have preferred the vampire ending, or do you think A24 made the right call? And was O'Leary's proposed ending with Rachel too dark, or a fitting consequence for Marty's actions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
