How Luca Guadagnino’s ‘After the Hunt’ Ending Changed the Leaked Script

by

Luca Guadagnino’s newest film, *After the Hunt*, feels very much in line with his previous work: visually stylish, featuring well-known actors, and likely to spark debate. The movie, set in the world of high-level university life against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement, centers on two potential sexual assault cases. Ayo Edebiri plays Maggie, a driven student who has become overly involved with her professors, Alma (Julia Roberts) and Hank (Andrew Garfield). These professors are also competing for a permanent position in their department and share a complex personal history.

After a party attended by all three characters, Maggie tells Alma that Hank behaved inappropriately while driving her home. The film, “After the Hunt,” raises more questions than it resolves, focusing less on *who* did something and more on the *consequences* of their actions. The ending leaves viewers pondering what exactly happened and what it all means.

A Major Revision Leaves One Ending Ambiguous

The Original ‘After the Hunt’ Script Was Very Different


Amazon MGM Studios

The main question raised by the controversial film, *After the Hunt*, is who is being honest: Maggie or Hank? Maggie claims Hank pursued her relentlessly at her apartment despite her rejection, while Hank insists she’s falsely accusing him because he raised concerns about her work at school. The movie deliberately avoids providing a definitive answer, leaving viewers to decide for themselves.

The film’s initial screenplay was written by Nora Garrett, an actor making her debut as a screenwriter. It impressed both studio executives and director Luca Guadagnino and actor Julia Roberts, and their support was crucial in getting the movie made. However, the original script became available online, and those who have read it alongside the finished film will likely notice significant differences. Garrett explained to IndieWire that she reworked the story with Guadagnino, who requested changes to make it more realistic.

The first version of the story made it clearer that Hank attacked Maggie and falsely accused her of plagiarism to hide his actions. It also directly showed a past sexual relationship between Hank and Alma. This version forces Alma to confront her flawed support of Hank, especially as she begins to doubt his story and acknowledge her own affair with a manipulative man. In the film, Maggie and Hank both appear equally untrustworthy. The audience has witnessed Maggie acting deceptively and seen Hank’s inappropriate behavior and anger, which means viewers must decide for themselves who to believe, and Alma finds herself in the same uncertain position.

Hank faces the same consequences in both versions of the story: he’s damaged by the scandal and loses his job at Yale. However, the outcomes are very different for Alma. While the central storyline focuses on the events between Maggie and Hank and the resulting drama, it’s actually the secondary plot – revealing Alma’s hidden past – that ultimately brings the story to a resolution.

Alma’s Ending Gets a More “True-to-Life” Update


Amazon MGM Studios

Early in the story *After the Hunt*, Maggie stumbles upon an old newspaper article while at a party. This article and the photo accompanying it hint at a significant event that will become important later. The article reveals that Alma had an affair with an older man, and when he ended it, she falsely accused him of rape out of spite. She later admitted the accusation was false, but the man, a close family friend, tragically took his own life. This event left Alma with a damaged reputation, deep guilt, and a struggle with substance abuse. As a result, she’s understandably much more cautious than most people when it comes to getting involved in situations with conflicting accounts.

Originally, the story ended with Alma admitting her affair to her husband, Frederik, who was already aware of it. She then returned to Sweden, hoping to find peace by talking to the mother of the man she had the affair with. However, that meeting didn’t happen, and her parents simply told her that everyone makes mistakes and that people don’t truly get over them.

Okay, so the movie centers around Frederik desperately trying to get Alma to realize she was manipulated as a teen by a friend of her father – that she wasn’t at fault for what happened. It really emphasizes how vulnerable she was at that age, unable to fully understand the situation. Then, the film jumps ahead five years and we see Alma and Maggie reconnect. It’s awkward, to say the least. Alma’s really thriving – she’s not just tenured, she’s *dean* of the department. But Maggie seems determined to rub it in, flaunting her engagement ring and pointedly telling Alma that she ‘won.’ It’s a pretty tense and unsettling reunion.

Garrett explained that Guadagnino pushed for significant changes to the last 20 pages of the script, feeling that a character like Alma wouldn’t give up so easily. The script leaves her feeling lost both professionally and emotionally. The film shows that the issues with Maggie and Hank, while challenging, didn’t ultimately prevent her from achieving her goals. If Garrett and Guadagnino aimed for realism, both endings could be seen as believable reflections of life.

Some people, like the character Alma in the movie, manage to move past controversies, with their actions either forgiven or simply forgotten. But for others who’ve faced public backlash – being “canceled” – the repercussions can be permanent. Even if careers and relationships survive, these experiences can still be deeply damaging. Alma is clearly struggling with self-destructive tendencies, stemming from her past, regardless of how she views her own role in it – as a victim or a perpetrator.

The movie concludes with the director calling “cut,” a deliberate choice that acknowledges the story isn’t reality, but a work of art. It’s designed to get viewers thinking about themes like gender, wrongdoing, and the consequences of public shaming. Regardless of your interpretation of what happened with Maggie, Hank, and Alma, or whether you enjoy the film itself, *After the Hunt* will undoubtedly spark conversation. You can see *After the Hunt* in theaters now.

Read More

2025-10-18 02:03