Sci-Fi Bloopers That Were Too Good To Cut
Science fiction films can take us to galaxies far away and bring the unimaginable to life. It can be easy to fall into the stories and forget that we are watching actors on sets that are grounded on Earth. The reality is these big-budget movies are limited to the same laws of physics that we all experience every day. No matter how far-fetched the concepts can be, sci-fi movie-making can befall the same amount of accidents, mishaps, and reactions that are standard to everyday life on Earth.
Discovering all the bloopers that take place on film sets can be an enjoyable part of the movie-watching experience. Who doesn't love when a comedy rolls credits alongside a reel of the funniest calamities that happened during the filmmaking process? Understandably, sci-fi movies avoid the blooper reel so as to not take the audience out of the otherworldly experience. However, there are times when something so unexpected happens while the cameras are rolling that there is no choice but to include it in the film.
Continue reading to discover some of the best on-camera bloopers from some of your favorite science fiction films that were far too good to be cut from the final movie.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Star Lord's fumble
The first "Guardians of the Galaxy" film captured audiences with its endearing take on the universe. Showcasing quirky aliens, colorful worlds, and light-hearted adventure, the movie expanded the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the far reaches of space. At the center of the story is Peter Quill, charmingly portrayed by Chris Pratt, who has come into the possession of one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy, an orb that audiences would later discover holds one of the six Infinity Stones.
The sought-after, high-priced orb has an array of people hunting for it, including Thanos's followers and The Collector (Benicio Del Toro). While Quill and his new-found acquaintances do their best to protect the powerful artifact, the blundering protagonist comes close to breaking the treasure. After discovering the orb's value, importance, and fragility, Quill fumbles and drops the artifact as a deal is made to sell it to The Collector. It is an iconic moment that defines Chris Pratt's clumsy character — and surprisingly it was not in the script. According to director James Gunn, Pratt's fumble was unexpected and incidental, yet the filmmaker loved it so much, it had to make the film's final cut.
The Martian – Earth gravity
"The Martian" is a wonderful movie about science prevailing in the face of adversity — providing that science is used by the right mind. Based on a novel by Andy Weir, the story follows astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon), as he is inadvertently abandoned on Mars and forced to survive an extended stay while awaiting a rescue mission from NASA. Although Watney proves to be highly capable of exceeding expectations in the limits of the alien atmosphere, things do not go so well back on Earth.
Amidst failed rocket launches, costly bureaucracy, and time limits, scientists on Watney's home planet do what they can to bring him back. One of the star geniuses calculating Watney's alien extraction is Donald Glover's eccentric character Rich Purnell. Among strange traits like sleeping in his office and talking erratically to himself, a defining moment for the character is when he trips on his own feet and quickly recalibrates himself. Hilariously, Glover admitted during an interview on "Conan," that the gravity-laden moment was an honest mishap. However, fitting to director Ridley Scott's style of doing a minimal amount of takes as possible to better capture reality, Glover's fall made the final movie.
Star Wars: A New Hope – Watch the door
The first "Star Wars" movie is undeniably considered a classic. Beloved by fans the world over, "A New Hope" launched one of the biggest franchises the world has ever seen. Beyond the legacy, audiences often forget that the original movie was constructed out of recycled parts duct-taped together to create this galaxy far, far away. "Star Wars: Episode IV" may be considered perfect by many moviegoers' standards, but it is not without its own mistakes, like misunderstanding that a parsec is a measurement of distance.
One of the funniest blunders in "Star Wars" takes place on the galaxy's most dangerous weapon, the Death Star. One stormtrooper can be seen knocking his head on the top of a door as the Imperial army descends on R2-D2 and C-3PO in the control room. Although the upward sliding doors make the Death Star appear futuristic, the bump showcases how flawed these entranceways and low-visual helmets would be in the real world. Somehow landing in the final cut of the film, the Stormtrooper's doorway miscalculation is one of the most famous bloopers to appear in a movie.
Alien – Chestburster reaction
There are times when directors actively try to capture the perfect blooper to get the most genuine reaction from the performers as possible — such as Alan Rickman being tricked by his director and stunt crew during his character's memorable fall in "Die Hard." One of the best examples of this trickery comes from the 1979 space-horror that made Ridley Scott the renowned director he is today, "Alien." Scott made many notable choices that helped make "Alien" the smash hit that it is, including choosing a female heroine over a standard male action star.
Well, fans of "Alien" may be surprised to know that one of the movie's most famous moments involved a nasty surprise for the entire crew of the Nostromo. The film's art director, Roger Christian, explained the momentous scene where an adolescent alien explodes from the chest of officer Kane (John Hurt) in his book "Cinema Alchemist" (via Empire). "Ridley did not want the actors to see the setup," wrote Christian. "Just to experience the horror of the moment the baby alien actually breaks through." The performers were unaware of the velocity and goriness that the xenomorph would burst from the body. Best seen onscreen, the reactions of the actors as the alien violently protrudes from Kane are all genuine, including that of Veronica Cartwright who was so startled she fell to the floor. Meanwhile, the blood-covered look of shock on the rest of their faces remained beyond the director calling cut.
The Avengers – Stark's snacking habit
"The Avengers" was a monumental moment in cinema in 2012. The MCU project brought together characters from multiple franchises into one epic film. Not only that, but the collaboration was between some of the biggest stars in Hollywood. For many of the actors in "The Avengers" it was the performer's first time working with one another. They quickly had to learn each other's acting styles and quirks. Many of the film's co-stars were shocked by a strange trait from Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. It became so commonplace for the actor that his co-stars had to play along and it became a part of the film.
The Iron Man actor has since developed a reputation for hiding snacks throughout the sets of his movies and having a bite whenever he feels peckish. However, back in 2012, Downey Jr's snacking habit was unknown to the cast and crew of "The Avengers" catching many of them off guard. During scenes in Iron Man's lab on the deck of the SHIELD Helicarrier, Tony Stark can be seen not only eating his hidden munchies but also sharing them with his onscreen peers. The Iron Man actor was so consistent with the habit that everybody just had to let it happen, and many of the foods he is eating during the film were ones he brought himself. It became such an iconic quirk of his character that Downey Jr continued the tradition through to his last MCU appearance in "Avengers: Endgame."
Blade Runner – Broken window and elbow
When the original "Blade Runner" was released in 1982, it redefined what science fiction could look like in cinema. Yet another film on this list directed by Ridley Scott, the story is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Featuring a dystopian future plagued with synthetic replicants, the movie follows hardened cop Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he hunts down the advanced robots and uncovers dark secrets about the company that made them.
One of the futuristic replicants that Deckard has been assigned to "retire" is Pris, who is performed by '80s film darling Daryl Hannah. Unfortunately, during one of the movie's more action-packed scenes, the young actress took such a spill she needed medical attention. Chased through the post-apocalyptic world of "Blade Runner" a panicked Pris is seen tripping and falling into a car window. The moment showcases the character's alarm as she gets up and continues running. However, the tumble was unintentional, as the window was not supposed to break. As a result of the accident, the actress had broken her elbow in eight places. Thankfully, Hannah was able to finish the scene with no one the wiser, and her fall made it into the final cut of the film, and all its subsequent re-edited versions.
Back to the Future Part II – Hoverboard accident
The "Back to the Future" trilogy is a beloved take on one of science fiction's favorite themes: time travel. Starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, who accidentally finds himself traversing through time — alongside mentor Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) — the "Back to the Future" movies have become notorious for their charm and sense of wonder. This makes it all that more surprising to discover that during the franchise's second installment, there is a scene displaying such a horrific accident that the actress involved nearly died.
In "Back to the Future Part II," an elaborate stunt featuring the futuristic hoverboards in "Back to the Future 2" resulted in stunt professional Cheryl Wheeler being badly injured. The horrific accident can be spotted in the movie when a group of bullies chases McFly through the streets of the future town. As the trio of intimidators hit a ramp and are launched into a mall window, Wheeler can be spotted missing the mark and crashing into a concrete pillar. Thankfully, the stunt performer survived her injuries, but it remains one of the more terrifying real-life mishaps to appear in a blockbuster.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – K-2SO's slap
"Rogue One" remains one of the most celebrated projects outside of the main "Star Wars" trilogies. Revealing the tale of how the Rebel Alliance came into the possession of the plans for the Imperial Death Star, the movie starred a cast of unique characters, including fan-favorite K-2SO. Performed by Alan Tudyk, the bluntly-spoken droid provides the "Star Wars" film with most of the comic relief. However, not many fans know that many of the robot's most side-splitting lines were improvised by the comedic actor.
In 2017, Tudyk provided an interview for the "Star Wars" Twitter account answering questions from fans. He goes on to share his favorite character moment which involved an impromptu scene of the droid slapping Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) across the face and telling him, "there's a fresh one if you mouth off again." Hilariously, the ad-libbed moment caught Luna off-guard so abruptly that he nearly broke character. Thankfully, the actor held it together as the scene is one of the most laugh-worthy moments in the franchise.
Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Gwen reveals Spidey's identity
Although it may be lauded as the least loved Spider-Man movie, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" maintains some charming moments. Most of the endearing qualities from the action film are thanks to the beloved stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, who portray Peter Parker and love interest Gwen Stacey. Their on-screen chemistry is enhanced by the fact that the pair were a real-world couple during the time of filming. Despite their spectacular performances, it did not stop Emma Stone from making one of her biggest on-screen blunders in her career.
During Spidey's climactic battle with Electro (Jamie Foxx), Gwen insists on helping regardless of the risk it puts on her. Garfield's character is left with no choice but to force her to remain behind by webbing her hand to the hood of a police cruiser. Gwen then yells "Peter!" before promptly covering her mouth realizing that she was revealing Spider-Man's secret identity. Well, according to director Mark Webb's DVD commentary, this was a "happy accident" as Stone's reaction was not scripted. Thankfully, the seasoned actress did not blurt out "Andrew," because the unintentional moment was fittingly placed in the final cut of the film.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – The chatty extra
There are some hilarious moments featuring background characters in cinema history, like the man who unexplainably throws his dog in the water in the background of "Mr. Nanny." Sometimes there are movie extras so good that they earn a credit in the film. Such is the case with one of the most forgettable "Star Trek" movies, "The Voyage Home." The sci-fi film is one of the few in the franchise that features life back on Earth. "The Voyage Home" involves time traveling to the human home planet in 1986 in order to save humpback whales from extinction. As such, extras for the feature could be plucked off the streets without wardrobe changes or excessive makeup.
According to StarTrek.com, one background actor for the film never even intended on appearing on screen, and only took on the day of work after her vehicle was towed by the film's production crew. Appearing in a scene where the crew of the Enterprise is searching for directions, Layla Sarakalo was not supposed to answer the actor's questions. Instead, the impromptu extra answered naturally and honestly. However, the director thought the genuine moment was so good he decided to keep it in the film and subsequently earned her a credit in the movie.
The Fifth Element – Tricky explosion
One of the more ambitious and creative sci-fi movies released in the '90s was "The Fifth Element." Starring Bruce Willis as a taxi driver who is thrown into the most important treasure hunt in the galaxy after a woman literally falls into his cab, the film was the highest-grossing French film for a number of years. Featuring a cast full of eclectic and interesting characters, one of the most memorable was the villain Jean-Baptiste Emanual Zorg, portrayed by Gary Oldman, and his henchmen Left Arm and Right Arm. Unfortunately, much like the on-screen characters, Oldman's actor sidekicks were equally left out of the big boss's nefarious plans when it came to filming the movie.
In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Oldman recalled a specific moment that caught his Right Arm (named Tricky) off guard. At one point, Zorg opts to destroy a building but failed to share his plan with his henchmen. Unfortunately, the actor was just as naïve as to what was about to happen. In the scene, when the building explodes, Tricky can be seen reacting genuinely to the oversized boom happening behind him. Hilariously, Oldman admits that Tricky may have "soiled his costume" while the fire damaged other props.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – Drew Barrymore's ad-libbing
Often considered one of director Steven Spielberg's most magical outings, "E.T." exceeded expectations when it was released in 1982, becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time ahead of "Star Wars" when it came out. While the film has built a legacy as one of the most beloved films of its generation, it is also known for being the breakout role for a young budding actress, Drew Barrymore. Barrymore regularly impressed her famous director throughout the making of the film.
Only six years old during the filming of "E.T.," Barrymore reunited with her director forty years later on the set of her own talk show, "The Drew Barrymore Show." During their interview, Spielberg admitted that Barrymore was responsible for many of the iconic lines of the film. As a young actress, Barrymore's reactions were mostly genuine, including saying, "I don't like his feet." The director admitted that the actress "didn't even care what the film was about." Meanwhile, the interview features an old "Entertainment Tonight" clip of young Barrymore from 1982, with the actress admitting that she was acting like herself the whole time. Many of the impromptu would have been left on the cutting room floor by other directors, but Spielberg found the magic in them and worked the movie around Barrymore's ad-libbing.