Original 'Fight Club' Ending Restored in China After Being Censored (Report)

Fight Club is getting back its original ending in China.

The 1999 cult classic, directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, saw its original ending restored after the Chinese government censored the film's conclusion on the streaming shrive Tencent Video, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Fincher's original ending saw Norton's character, Tyler, killing off his imaginary alter ego (Pitt) and watching as buildings explode across the city as a sign for consumerism to end.

But Tencent altered the original ending, replacing the explosions with a blank screen that read, "The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding. After the trial, Tyler was sent to a lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment."

The film (and the novel it's based on) have been widely discussed and debated over its themes and messages of anarchy and capitalism.

At the time, reps for Disney (the company that owns 20th Century Studios — formerly 20th Century Fox, the film's distribution company) and Tencent Video did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Author Chuck Palahnuick, who wrote the book the film is based on, reacted to the censorship with surprise on his Substack newsletter, according to THR.

"Have You Seen This Sh*t? This is SUPER wonderful! Everyone gets a happy ending in China!" Palahnuick is reported to have written in his newsletter.

"Tyler and the gang were all arrested. He was tried and sentenced to a mental asylum," the author reportedly continued. "How amazing. I'd no idea! Justice always wins. Nothing ever exploded. Fini."

The initial negative reception to the Fincher–directed film came as a surprise at the time to Pitt, 58, who said in 2020 that he recalled seeing audience members "just slowly get up from their seats and no one is talking and they kind of disappear from the screening."

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He added during his interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, "I remember looking at Fincher and being like, 'Oh my God, what the f— did we do? What happened?' I thought that s— was great."

Later that same month, Pitt joked during his Maltin Modern Master Award acceptance speech, "I no longer remember the first rule of Fight Club," referencing the famous line from the movie.