‘Fight Club’ original ending restored in China

China’s Tencent Video has restored the original ending of ‘Fight Club’ after the company faced a backlash following the controversial edit to the film’s Chinese release. The news was announced on the company’s social media accounts over the weekend.

Last month the 1999 film saw its official release on the Chinese streaming service operated by Tencent. However, the final scenes were changed to comply with China’s censorship guidelines, sparking backlash from many viewers who had already seen the original version of the movie.

The original ‘Fight Club’ ending saw the main protagonist shoot himself to kill off his imaginary friend Tyler Durden and then watch a bunch of buildings blow up as a result of an anarchistic scheme to dismantle modern society, which, in the eyes of the film’s protagonists, is based on consumerism. 

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'Fight Club' author reacts to Chinese censorship

The Chinese version cut this scene out altogether and replaced it with a caption that read “Through the clue provided by Tyler, 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. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012.” 

The change sparked outrage from fans around the globe, with many arguing that companies shouldn’t change the intentions and purposes of films just so they can sell in Chinese markets.

Meanwhile however, the author of the original ‘Fight Club’ novel, Chuck Palahniuk, noted the edit was actually more in line with the ending he had initially written in his book. The author also pointed out that the outrage over Chinese censorship failed to take into account the fact that his novels, including ‘Fight Club,’ have been banned in many places across the US.