Don’t Look Up: Netflix film originally had a different credits scene that changes Meryl Streep’s storyline

***This article contains spoilers for ‘Don’t Look Up’***

Don’t Look Up director Adam McKay has said that the Netflix film’s post-credits scene was almost completely different.

The sci-fi comedy stars Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as astronomers who struggle to warn political leaders about an impending comet that will obliterate the earth.

***Warning: spoilers ahead***

The film’s ending is very bleak. In the closing scene, a 9km-wide comet collides with the planet and destroys most of humanity, apart from a handful of rich people who manage to flee in a spaceship.

In the mid-credit ending scene, set over 22,000 years later, the group arrive on a new planet, but it’s not long before President Orlean (Meryl Streep) is eaten alive by an alien creature called a brontaroc.

McKay has now revealed that they also shot an alternate scene involving billionaires, including Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance), competing with each other.

“The original ending was, ‘Oh, let’s start building our houses,’” he told Variety. “And then someone says, ‘Oh, the pod carrying all the workers blew up.’

“And then it was Mark Rylance going, ‘I’ll give anyone who builds me a house a billion dollars.’ And then the guy next to him was like, ‘I’ll give $2bn.’ And then you realise they’re all billionaires.

“They’re going, ‘I’ll give $5bn! $10bn!’ And we just pulled out on that.”

Meryl Streep as Janie Orlean in 'Don't Look Up' (Niko Tavernise/Netflix)

Last month, McKay admitted that DiCaprio “had a problem” with the scene in which Streep is eaten alive.

In the sequence, her character is naked (but played by a body double).

“She is fearless,” said McKay. “And yes, that is a body double. But you know who had a problem with it? Leo [DiCaprio]. Leo just views Meryl as film royalty… although maybe royalty is not a compliment… but as such a special figure in the history of film.”

Don’t Look Up is available to watch on Netflix now.