Instead of treading the same path as Inception and repeating its controversial storytelling approach, Christopher Nolan‘s $681 million movie etched its own unique idenтιтy in the sci-fi genre. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Inception remains one of the most imaginative and mind-bending sci-fi movies of all time. Although it has been over a decade since its release, Inception is still a cultural touchstone and one of the finest displays of Nolan’s ability to paint complex ideas onto the box office canvas.

Inception is highly acclaimed and boasts an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 87%. The film also always earns its rightful place among Nolan’s best works. However, despite this, the film’s ambiguous ending was the topic of controversy for quite some time. While some viewers agreed that it gave Cobb a fitting ending, others could not help but question whether leaving things to a viewer’s imagination was necessary. Nolan’s next sci-fi movie after Inception could have repeated the ending approach, but instead, it keeps things relatively simpler.

Interstellar’s Ending Was As Straightforward As Possible

Interstellar’s Final Arc Does Not Leave Much To A Viewer’s Imagination

Interstellar‘s climactic ending is not entirely bereft of ambiguities. Like Inception, the space opera leaves viewers with many questions to ponder while its credits start rolling. For instance, the movie only shows Cooper setting out to reunite with Brand without revealing whether they meet again. However, compared to Inception, Interstellar‘s ending seems far more conclusive and simple. In the film’s final arc, Brand saves the day and ends up reuniting with his daughter at Cooper Station.

Before the movie ends, it also reveals that Brand’s intuition about Edmunds’ planet being habitable was right. With so many conclusive story elements in its final moments, Interstellar establishes that all ends well for its main characters, even though they endure many trials and tribulations throughout their journeys. Interstellar introduces its own set of twists and turns along with many high-concept sci-fi elements. However, unlike Inception, it does not intentionally leave any major plot points lingering.

Many Went Into Interstellar Waiting For Plot Twists (Because Of Inception)

Inception Set Some Expectations, But Interstellar Defied Them

Inception proved Nolan’s ability to deliver one compelling plot twist after another, which made many believe he would pull off something similar with Interstellar. The director did not disappoint as Interstellar, too, is jampacked with many unforeseeable plot points, including the one that reveals Matt Damon’s Mann as the villain. Like most Christopher Nolan movies, Interstellar also has a high rewatch value where the viewer would likely learn something new about the film’s story every time they end up seeing it again.

However, while Inception leaves viewers with a mᴀssive mystery surrounding Cobb’s fate, Interstellar ends with no major cliffhangers surrounding its main characters. Inception leaves an air of ambiguity surrounding whether Cobb is still dreaming or has actually reunited with his children. Although audiences initially expected Interstellar to pull off something similar, the movie defies the expectations set by Inception and delivers a more well-rounded and less inconclusive ending.

Why An Open Ending Would Not Have Worked For Interstellar

The Movie Was Originally Meant To Be Much Darker & Open-Ended

Interstellar‘s co-writer, Jonathan Nolan, revealed (via Nerdist) that in the movie’s original ending, the Einstien-Rosen bridge (the wormhole) was supposed to collapse when Cooper tried sending data back to his daughter. This ending would have left Cooper’s fate ambiguous because, after the wormhole’s collapse, Cooper would never be able to return and see his daughter again. Not to mention, his potential failure to send data back to his daughter would also doom humanity.

Even if Cooper’s data had somehow reached Murph in the original script’s narrative, the movie would have ended on a bittersweet note where Cooper would have perished in his pursuit to save humanity. Thankfully, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan eventually did not go with this ending, and, instead, delivered something far more optimistic and certain. In hindsight, it is hard not to see how Interstellar‘s original ending would likely have ruined the film by making it a little too dark.

By explicitly portraying how Cooper, Murph, and Brand “rage against the dying of the light” to eventually save the day, the movie maintains a consistency of themes and leaves one with a strong sense of hope. Its well-rounded and positive ending also perfectly establishes how “love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends time and space.” If the film had risked being like Inception in its final moments, it probably would not have been considered one of the most emotionally resonant sci-fi flicks of modern times.

Christopher Nolan Has Thankfully Never Tried To Imitate Inception’s Ending

The Director Has Always Kept Things Refreshing & Non-Redundant

Inception‘s baffling ending might have been a little divisive, but it worked wonders for the film. One common interpretation of the closing scene in the film is that it does not even matter whether Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb is dreaming or awake because he is finally where he wants to be: with his children. The Schrödinger’s cat of an ending perfectly establishes that, by choosing to walk away from his totem and refusing to learn whether he is still dreaming, he finds peace in where he is and wishes to embrace the moment instead of questioning the nature of his reality.

The same ending, however, would not have worked for any other Christopher Nolan films. For instance, The Dark Knight Rises almost pulled off a similar closing trick by leaving Bruce Wayne’s fate ambiguous. Fortunately, before its credits rolled, the superhero movie confirmed that Christian Bale’s character was alive and well. Even in his future projects, it seems unlikely that Christopher Nolan will rely on familiar narrative devices that have been adopted by Inception and avoid leaving audiences with uncertain conclusions unless it is absolutely necessary.