Summary
David Fincher’sSevenis celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025 and in honor of the milestone the director has revealed what was really inside the infamous box on the day of shooting.
Se7enis a seminalcrime thrillerfrom 1995 starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as an unlikely pairing of detectives who hunt down a sadistic serial killer who has been killing victims according to the seven deadly sins.Sevenwas a surprising hit at the box office when it was released 30 years and has withstood the test of time to become one of the all-time best crime films and one ofFincher’s most iconic works. In honor of its 30th anniversary, Fincher has overseen a 4K remaster ofSe7enwhich was recently released in theaters.
This article contains spoilers for the plot and ending of Seven.
What’s In The Box (Really)?
In conjunction with the re-release ofSeven, Fincher spoke about the film, reflecting on some lessons learned and revealing behind-the-scenes secrets. One aspect that Fincher addressed was the contents of the box inthe finale of the film. Of course, viewers who have seen the film know what the contents of the box are in the context of the movie (spoiler alert: Tracy’s head). However, a long-standing rumor aboutSevenis that the box actually contained a physical prosthetic replica of Gwenyth Paltrow’s head, despite it never being physically shown on-screen.
Fincher dispelled this rumor, tellingEntertainment Weeklythat the story was “entirely ridiculous.” However, the director did reveal that a fair bit of research went into calculating the weight of the box. “I think it was a shot bag and a wig, and I think the wig had a little bit of blood in it,” Fincher revealed.
“No, it’s entirely ridiculous. I think we had a seven- or eight-pound shot bag. We had done the research to figure out, if Gwyneth Paltrow’s body mass index was X, what portion of that would be attributable to her head. And so we had an idea of what that would weigh, and I think there was a weight in it. And we did put a wig in there, so that when Morgan rips the box open if there were some of this tape that was used to seal the box — I think it was a shot bag and a wig, and I think the wig had a little bit of blood in it, so some of the hair would stick together. Remember, I think Morgan opened 16 or 17 of those things. But as I always say, you don’t need to see what’s in the box if you have Morgan Freeman.”
The Ending of Seven Was Almost Very Different
It’s well-known that Fincher had to fight quite hard for the ending ofSevento remain as shocking as it is. The finale of the film sees John Doe organize a courier to deliver a box to Detective Mills, containing the severed head of his wife. With Doe in their custody at the time, after learning of his wife’s demise Mills ignores Somerset’s pleas and shoots Doe in the head, succumbing to his deadly sin of wrath. Apparently, the studio believed this ending was too dark and wanted Mills to be posited as more of a hero by not shooting Doe. They also suggested making thehead in the box of one of Mills’ dogsrather than his wife. Pitt fought to keep the darker ending, tellingEntertainment Weeklyhe threatened to walk from the film unless “the head stays in the box.” Pitt explained. “He’s got to shoot the killer in the end. He doesn’t do the ‘right’ thing, he does the thing of passion.”
This was a point that was worth fighting for in the end, asSevenwent on to shock and thrill audiences with its twists and tone and has been hailed as one of the best crime thrillers of all time.
