 SPOILER: To appease the producers, who wanted to soften the dramatic  ending a bit, an alternate version of the ending was storyboarded,  with Somerset saying that he "wants out", and killing John Doe,  thereby preventing Doe from winning, and Mills from ending up in  jail. In the mean time, the crew shot a test ending, which is  basically the theatrical ending without some of the dramatic shots.  This finale was so well received in screenings that it convinced the  producers to go along with it, and not even film the alternate  ending.