'Gone Girl' film is reported to have 'a whole new third act'

One of the most talked-about aspects of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling thriller “Gone Girl” was the book’s ending, which divided readers.

So fans will be interested to hear that the film version of “Gone Girl” is reported to have a different ending from the novel.

The screenplay for the movie was also penned by Flynn. Actor Ben Affleck, who is starring in the film as husband Nick Dunne, was apparently taken aback by how different the finale is.

“He would say, ‘This is a whole new third act!’” the movie's director, David Fincher, recalled in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “’She literally threw that third act out and started from scratch.’”

[Editor's note: The original version of this article misidentified the source of this quote.] 

So how different is the ending?

(Warning! Major spoilers ahead for “Gone Girl”....)

Readers who were dissatisfied by the book may be hoping that the film will end with wife Amy coming to justice. As those who read the novel know, it turns out that Amy, the supposedly missing wife of Nick, is alive and has tried to frame him for her murder. However, when she runs out of cash and has few other options (and after killing the man who took her in), she returns home, claiming she was kidnapped. Many readers wanted to see Amy punished for everything she did, but instead, after she becomes pregnant with Nick’s child through her own machinations, Nick stays with her and does not turn her in.

Flynn had previously spoken with Entertainment Weekly about the novel’s conclusion.

“You’re never going to find the aha! clue because she thinks she’s already thought of everything and that’s who she is,” she said of Amy.

So will the movie end with Amy paying for what she’s done? Or will it be a smaller change?

The film adaptation of “Girl” is set to hit theaters on Oct. 3.