'Titanic' Fans Have Just Realized There's an Alternate Ending—Which Changes the Entire Film

Titanic is arguably one of the most famous movies in the world, but it could have looked very different.

The 1997 blockbuster, which tells the doomed love story of fictional characters Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson, begins by reminding viewers of the very real tragedy which occurred in 1912.

Filmmakers show the shipwreck, which lies around 400 miles off the Canadian coast in the north Atlantic, at the bottom of the ocean.

Director James Cameron spent days at the site—longer than the Titanic passengers did—after completing 12 dives in 1995, according to CBC.

After showing footage of the jubilant passengers waving as the Titanic leaves port on its maiden voyage, the movie cuts to Brock Lovett, played by the late Bill Paxton, and his team who are trying to locate a diamond necklace, called The Heart of the Ocean.

As he searches fruitlessly for the gem, the story of the ship, sinking and passengers is brought to life by Rose, now 101-years-old.

The segments aboard the Titanic are essentially Rose's memories, as she narrates the journey and recalls the fateful events.

The script cuts back to the modern day throughout the film, constantly reminding viewers the elderly Rose is currently at sea with the search crew.

It's only at the very end, as 17-year-old Rose finally makes it to America and stands looking up at the Statue of Liberty, that she puts her hand in her coat pocket—where her former fiancé Cal placed The Heart of the Ocean.

This is when we realize she's had the jewel all along, and Brock's search is essentially pointless.

While many assume she will return it to him, instead she climbs the railings—reminiscent of her younger version in the film, played by Kate Winslet—and tosses the priceless diamond into the ocean.

This may have been an unsatisfying ending for many, but it turns out there is an alternate ending—but sadly Jack, played by Leonardo DiCaprio—still doesn't survive.

Instead the alternate sees Brock and her granddaughter, Lizzy Calvert, spotting Rose as she climbs the railings. As they rush towards her, she tells them: "Don't come any closer."

She holds up the blue gem and threatens "I'll drop it." As Brock spies his prize, he declares: "You had it the entire time?"

Rose explains she did consider selling it in the years after the sinking, but adds: "Every time I thought about selling it, I thought of Cal. And somehow I made it without his help."

And she reveals her true purpose for the trip, saying: "I've come all the way here to put it back where it belongs."

Brock pleads to hold it just once and she allows him to touch the gem, while not letting go of the chain.

"You look for treasure in the wrong places Mr Lovett, only life is priceless. And making each day count," she tells him, echoing Jack's mantra.

She tosses it overboard, prompting an outpouring of shock and swearing from members of Brock's team, who have also gathered on the deck. "That really sucks, lady," shouts one, peering over the edge.

The same scene of the gem hitting the water and sinking is used in the ending which made the cut, before the camera pans back to Brock and Rose. He laughs and points at his team, before asking Lizzy to dance.

The alternate ending was recently posted by TikToker Jo Hathaway, who shared the snippet on the social media site on Sunday. It's since been watched more than 130,000 times. The video can be seen here.

She captioned it: "How did I not know this!" And it seems she's not alone, as numerous fans expressed their shock at the alternative script. The majority claimed they preferred the ending we all know and love over the cringeworthy scene.

Alex Gardham commented: "How anybody wrote this down and filmed it without cringing to death is hardly comprehend-able."

John Waite agreed, saying: "So glad they didn't use this ending."

"Damn Rose at least donate it to a museum," Daniel Cloutt thought.

While RuthieRae joked: "I want an alternate ending where she shares the door with Jack!!"

Over the years the alternative has resurfaced online, and was shared on Twitter by Pat Brennan earlier this year, and watched 1.4 million times.

Brennan uploaded the full 10-minute long ending, saying: "The alternate ending to Titanic is hilarious. This would have absolutely ruined the film for me."

And it seems most people agree, as the Titanic picked up a whopping 11 Academy Awards. It's one of only three films to achieve that accolade, showing the majority preferred the ending Cameron chose.

Numerous scenes were deleted for the final cut—precisely two hours and 40 minutes—the exact time it took for the Titanic to sink.

These include the backstory to the elderly couple seen hugging each other on their bed as waters rush in, who were real-life passengers Ida and Isidor Strauss. In the cut scene we see the pair arguing over the lifeboats, before Ida tells her husband: "Where you go I go."

Before Rose's infamous suicide attempt, we see her sat at dinner before running along the deck. But a scene in-between shows her throwing items around her cabin in distress.

A love story between Jack's friend, Fabrizio, and a Norwegian woman, Helga, is omitted, as he teaches her how to pronounce his name before finally telling her "I'll never forget you" as they part ways when the ship sinks.

A memorable moment comes when Rose shuns the shackles of first class to enjoy a night of revelry with Jack in the third class quarters, but she visits it during the day too. She goes down to speak to Jack, prompting stunned silence from the passengers as they see her walking through the rat-infested cabin.

Another magical moment is Rose and Jack singing "Come Josephine" as they stand on the bow of the ship. A cut scene shows the pair singing the song in full as they promenade on the deck. And their love story has a few more chapters to it, as their cinematic run through the boiler room ends in a steamy kiss.