China censors film Fight Club with a 'dystopian' ending of its own making

Looks like China wasn't all that happy with how the 1999 film Fight Club ends — it has removed the original ending for viewers in the country, replacing it with a message about how the authorities ultimately win.

According to the BBC, Fight Club has recently been added to the Chinese streaming platform Tencent Video with changes made to the ending. In the original ending, Edward Norton's character kills his imaginary alter-ego Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, and witnesses multiple buildings being bombed as society is reordered through Project Mayhem. In China's version of the ending, a screen message appears before the bombings occur, telling viewers how "through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding".

"After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012," the message concludes.

Netizens took to social media to share screenshots of the message in the censored version of the movie.

The news has since gone viral on social media, with various public figures commenting on the censorship move. Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote the book Fight Club which was adapted into the movie, tweeted about the changed ending.

US senator and Republican Ted Cruz also tweeted on the matter. "The second rule of Fight Club is 'we will do and say whatever the Chinese communist censors tell us to do and say',” he posted.

The Human Rights Watch described the new ending as "dystopian".

According to the BBC, while it's common for Chinese censor to make cuts to Western films, changing an entire ending is a rare occurrence.