Fringe showrunners and executive producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman are setting the record straight on speculation that an alternate ending was shot for the season four closer in case the Fox drama did not return in the fall.
“No, we did not shoot an alternate ending,” Wyman told reporters on a recent conference call when asked whether the other scene would be on the season DVD set. “We thought about it, but we did not.”
It had been revealed in interviews by cast members that there were two potential endings filmed, depending on the show’s fate.
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The producers shared when and how they found out about the season five pickup, which was given the green light April 26. Pinkner and Wyman said that they knew of the renewal four hours before the news went public.
“I was actually getting a guitar fixed,” Wyman recalled. ” I got a call, and it was all these very happy voices. It was an incredible call because it was [unexpected]. It was music to my ears.” Pinkner, on the other hand, had just dropped off his kids at school when he got a call from the studio and network.
The producers are aware of how the ultimate story will end.
“We definitely know where the series is going to end and how it’s going to end and what we’re saying with the final season,” Wyman said.
They also revealed that a revisit to 2036 could happen in season five, that there are “no plans right now” to bring back Sam Weiss (Kevin Corrigan) and that they would love to have Leonard Nimoy return to reprise his role as William Bell.
Also, if there is “a significant story” that isn’t fully covered by the time the series ends, the producers are open to the idea of continuing the arc via comic books.
