Was the ending to Limitless reshot?

I love the 2011 movie Limitless. In the last scene, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro talk about Bradley becoming president and how Bradley has made his intelligence permanent. Does anyone know whether that was the original ending, or was it a new scene based on feedback from test audiences? It seemed kind of "tacked on", both in terms of the storyline (though Bradley's presidential ambitions are foreshadowed) and in the way it was shot.

Best Answer

Well, there is an alternate ending, which is available on the DVD release.

From Kotaku.com (there is a video of the alternate ending on the site):

In the theatrical version, Eddie has apparently managed to kick the brain-enhancing drug, although we're never entirely sure if he's grandstanding. After Robert De Niro threatens Cooper's new political career, Cooper basically goes full-blown superhero on him and tells him to piss off, because he doesn't need the fancy drug.

In this alternate version, the sentiment is still the same. But we think the underlying message is that Cooper has gone off the rails. Specifically with this line, "Who says I can't ask the drug how to get off the drug... Ask the drug to tell the drug to fuck itself." We know that the director might have been trying to show some sort of self restraint developed over time in Cooper, but honestly we think he's gone off into the deep end. Talk to the pills? No thanks.

From TVTropes:

However, in the alternate ending of the film, things are less upbeat. In this ending, it turns out Eddie is still on NZT and his stash isn't going to last forever, which makes Carl's ownership of the supply a lot more threatening in the future. It ends with Eddie telling himself he needs to find a way to get off the drug.