There has been much fan speculation over the years about the 'missing scene' from the opening of
Escape - a scene outlined in the script in which the Ape-onauts witness the destruction of their planet and begin to travel through time. On the basis of the evidence it seems likely this scene was in fact filmed, but cut from the final edit. The evidence being that an elaborate ship interior was constructed specifically for this scene (it wasn't used again in the movie, but the the interiors were re-used for
the opening episode of the
TV series a few years later, with alterations because the filming was taking place from the front of the ship rather than from the interior). A few photos also seem to show the apes being filmed in the cockpit, but they have their helmets on. Kim Hunter remembered,
"I think they just cut it. I think we did that, as I recall. I remember shots inside... not a full ship, but inside shots that they took and I guess just decided to cut, which probably made sense."[5] Information given on the 2008 Blu-Ray release of
Escape suggested that the scene was shot but that the producers preferred to hold the element of surprise until the apes removed their helmets on the beach, and that they also felt the scene might lead the audience to anticipate that this would be a standard science-fiction film when, in fact, it was primarily a love story - albeit between two apes.
[2] If this scene (and others: see entries for
General Brody,
Hercules &
Brunhilde) was filmed, there is good reason to suppose it may be released eventually, given the recent extended releases of
Battle for the Planet of the Apes and
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. The
Marvel Comics' adaptation of
Escape was based on scripts rather than the finished film, and so included the scene. In fact, it inspired one of the best cover illustrations of the Marvel series (by
Ken Barr). In the final screenplay (reprinted in the comic adaptation), the dialogue ran:
Astronaut 1 (Cornelius): "We made it."
Astronaut 2 (Milo): "So far. But one thing is for certain. Whoever wins the war, there'll be no place on Earth for us."
Astronaut 3 (Zira): "Where are we going?"
Astronaut 2: "Probably to our death."
Taylor: "You...bloody bastard..."
Astronaut 2: "The fools...they've finally destroyed themselves."
Astronaut 1: "My God, the Earth is no more."
Astronaut 3: "And we've escaped."
Astronaut 2: "We have, if we survive the shock wave. -- The shock must have unbalanced the mechanism. I don't understand. -- We've been forced out of orbit."
Astronaut 1: "We're descending."
Astronaut 3: "But where?"
