Verity director reveals why the movie didn't get its "dark phoenix" ending

Verity director Michael Showalter has revealed why the movie ended the way it did, even though the team had another ending in mind. Based on the novel written by Colleen Hoover, the movie stars Anne Hathaway as Verity Crawford, Dakota Johnson as Lowen Ashleigh, and Josh Hartnett as Jeremy Crawford.

The movie, which revolves around a manuscript, ends with Lowen finding a letter that tells a very different story about Verity. However, she decides to hide it from Jeremy, leaving the ending unsure about what really happened.

Though the director had planned a very different ending for the movie, as he said in a reported statement by Variety:

"We tried a hundred different versions of that — of Verity still being alive, and of Lowen being the dark phoenix, because we liked it and it was really, really cool."

Spoilers ahead!

Verity ending explained: What happens to Lowen and Verity?

A still from the Verity trailer (Image via YouTube/@Amazon MGM Studios)

The movie starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson revolves around Johnson's character, Lowen Ashleigh, who gets a big opportunity as a writer and is asked to finish a book series by a famous author, Verity Crawford. After heading to Crawford's house, according to Entertainment Weekly!, she meets Jeremy and Jeremy's son, Crew. Though Crawford herself was there, she was not in good shape after the car accident. This also meant she couldn't speak or move.

Lowen comes across a manuscript and starts questioning everything she knew after realizing that, according to the manuscript, Crawford hated her children and was jealous of them because of the attention they got from her husband. It also said that she tried to hurt their daughter, Harper, and later caused the canoe accident, which led to their daughter's death.

On the other hand, Jeremy and Lowen grow closer to each other, starting a new relationship. Later, Jeremy finds out about the manuscript through Lowen. He believes that it was his wife who killed their daughter, Harper. He confronts her, and Crawford finally drops her act. But before she could explain what actually happened, Jeremy killed her, and the two later made it look like an accident.

Seven months later, Lowen, with Crew and Jeremy, returns to the house and finds a hidden letter from Crawford, which changes the entire story. According to the letter, the manuscript was only a writing exercise, and she never hurt or was jealous of any of her children.

According to her, Jeremy found the manuscript, believed it was real, and tried to kill her in the car accident. She faked the whole act and was in the wheelchair to stay close and leave with Crew, which never happened. However, instead of showing the letter to Jeremy, Lowen decides to not share the letter with anyone and leaves with Crew and Jeremy. This leaves one big question: whether the manuscript was true or whether it was the letter!

Verity director talks about the alternate ending

SiriusXM's Front Row With The Cast Of "Verity" - Source: Getty

Speaking of the ending, director Michael Showalter, famous for The Big Sick and The Idea of You, said, in a statement reported by Variety, that they tried many different ways to end the movie, adding that finding the right ending was the biggest challenge and the last thing they worked on.

Speaking about one of the first ending options, Showalter said Lowen was shown as the real villain, where she says:

"I don’t know who to believe. One thing’s for sure: Verity was a master manipulator."

In that version, she puts on sunglasses in the car and leaves with a strange, confident look, while Verity is later shown sinking into the lake and opening her eyes, hinting that she is still alive. Adding to the statement, Showalter said they tried many different versions of the ending, including one where Crawford was still alive, and Lowen was the "dark phoenix." He said they liked the idea because it made them wonder if Lowen had been the mastermind all along. He added that this was the ending they had planned from the start, making the decision not to show Lowen putting on the sunglasses a big change.

Showalter said the focus group helped them realize that people wanted Lowen to remain unsure about what really happened at the end. He added that it took them a while to understand:

"The audience isn’t ready to make the kind of decision at the end of the movie that we had been giving Lowen."

He added that the audience wanted Lowen to think about what she had done, and they were not ready to see her put on the sunglasses.

The book and movie have a few changes, including Lowen's sleepwalking being removed, the self-abortion scene being left out, and Chastin's character being cut.

Verity premiered on October 2, 2026, in theaters.