Soon after Secondhand Lions was released theatrically in September 2003, word got out that there was an entire alternate ending to the movie that had been filmed. Fans all over the world waited in great anticipation for the release of the Secondhand Lions DVD in the hope that we would get to see the original ending, and happily, it has been included as a deleted scene.

Although the ending of Secondhand Lions as originally scripted in the screenplay was filmed , Tim McCanlies decided that a shorter ending was better because he felt that the audience would have become attached to the characters played by Robert Duvall, Michael Caine and Haley Joel Osment , and once they left the screen, it would be hard for the audience to connect with a totally new cast playing the adult Walter and his family.

The new ending was thus filmed, winding up the story much more quickly, but keeping the key elements and emotional tone of the original ending.

The original ending, 9 minutes 27 seconds long, featured :

The adult Walter,played by Josh Lucas

Walter's family

The adult Hoods

A touching eulogy in the cornfield

The sudden appearance of a mysterious cavalry

And even the appearance of the aged Evil Sheik !

The final ending that appeared in the film was much shorter, and worked much more effectively without compromising anything that Tim McCanlies had wanted to say, but the opportunity to see the original alternate ending was great.

The original ending showed how successful Walter had become in life and in his career . From a scared , wimpy, confused young boy scarred by a broken family, he grew up to become a successful artist with a stable, loving family, and it was all due to his uncles Garth and Hub, whom he paid the highest tribute to, by naming his sons after them.