A Star Is Born Almost Had 2 Very Different — But Equally Heartbreaking — Endings

Spoiler alert: Be warned, the following contains spoilers regarding the ending of 2018's A Star is Born.

The 2018 classic — it's already a classic, okay? — A Star is Born has a dramatic, heart-wrenching ending. Jackson Maine, played by Bradley Cooper, dies by suicide in his garage, after saying a cryptic good-bye to Ally, played by Lady Gaga. (As many have pointed out, this scene was foreshadowed in the opening minutes of the film, when a neon sign of the item used in Jackson's suicide appeared behind his head.)

This wasn't the only option, though. According to a new profile of Gaga in Variety, the original script had Maine swimming off into the ocean to die, which hews close to the ending of the 1937 original. Then, a later version had Cooper getting in a fatal motorcycle accident, a mockup of the 1976 version.

"The first ending that I read, [Jackson] actually swims out into the ocean, where he commits suicide," Toby Emmerich, chair of Warner Bros, told Variety. He added, "The script that we had when he started shooting, he rides his motorcycle. It was more like the Kris Kristofferson ending [in the 1976 version] with the Ferrari, but with Jackson with the Harley."

Ultimately, though, Cooper went with an entirely new ending, marking a pivot for the franchise. (It's basically a franchise now.)

"Bradley changed his mind and came to see me and pitched the idea of what he ended up shooting. I think he was right. When I watch the movie now, I can’t imagine it ending any other way," Emmerich added.

Meanwhile, Gaga, who's getting Oscar buzz for the role, said that she still thinks about Jackson. The first time she watched the film, she wept throughout. "“I cried the whole time, because I missed Jackson," she said. She and Cooper apparently got "breakup cuts" after production, the heartache was so real. Now, though, that the film is a massive success, Gaga is not the only one who misses Jackson.