Credit: Paramount Pictures“In case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.” That’s the iconic catchphrase spoken by Jim Carrey’s Truman Burbank in one of the final scenes of The Truman Show (1998). And we don’t see him again. So what happens to him once he exits the “dome”? What’s waiting for Truman on the other side of the wall?
The Truman Show is one of Jim Carrey’s best performances and films. Directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Nicol, it follows Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), a seemingly ordinary man living an idyllic life in the harbor town of Seahaven Island. But in an attempt to start seeing the world, Truman is suddenly met with all sorts of obstacles.
To Truman, these obstacles become increasingly frustrating, but the more they happen, the more he realizes that something strange is afoot. And he’s right, because his entire life has been the subject of a ground-breaking reality television show viewed by the whole planet. And his hometown? A massive, domed set so big it can be seen from space.
The Truman Show grossed $264.1 million worldwide, was met with critical praise, and earned numerous award nominations. Now, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter as part of the film’s 25-year-anniversary, screenwriter Andrew Nicol has revealed that The Truman Show was initially intended to be a much darker story.
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“I did envisage something darker,” Niccol said. “In the original script, there was an innocent passenger attacked on the subway as a way to test Truman’s courage, and Truman had a platonic relationship with a prostitute who he dressed as Sylvia. I always thought the premise was bullet-proof, and even though the original draft is set in an alternate version of New York City — if you can fake it there, you can fake it anywhere — I was happy to embrace Peter’s more idyllic, small-town take on a counterfeit world.”
But what actually happens to Truman once he manages to escape Seahaven Island?
The Truman Show ending explained
After learning that his whole world is a lie (although, at this point, he still doesn’t know he’s part of a reality television show designed for the masses), Truman Burbank makes several attempts to flee Seahaven Island. But he doesn’t yet realize that his hometown is a gigantic domed set.
He eventually deceives “the crew” and his “co-stars” — who are watching his every move and have been his entire life — and makes it out to sea (an artificial body of water) on a sailing boat. Here he confronts his fear of the ocean after his father was “killed off” the show as a child, an attempt by the showrunners to stop Truman from ever wanting to travel.
The “director,” Christof (Ed Harris), tries to kill Truman while he’s out at sea by using the dome’s artificial weather system, but Truman survives. Finally, he arrives at the dome’s edge; a wall with the sky painted on it so that it appears as the horizon from a distance.
As Truman is about to leave, the director speaks to him, telling him that there’s no more truth in the real world than in Seahaven Island. But after appearing hesitant, Truman utters his iconic catchphrase, opens a door on the wall, and walks through.
Over the years, there’s been plenty of debate about what happens to Truman when he enters the real world. While we now know that the original script was bleaker than what we ended up with, it’s hard to imagine that things will be easy for Truman in the real world.
In a 2020 interview with Collider, while discussing the possibility of a sequel to The Truman Show, Jim Carrey said, “I often think, and am asked about, what would have happened to Truman when he goes outside the wall. It took me a while to realize that, basically, he was alone out there, too, because everybody went back inside. They all wanted to be in the dome.”
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Of course, it’s suggested that Truman will at least be reunited with the love of his life, Sylvia/Lauren Garland (Natascha McElhone), but as the most infamous man on Planet Earth, does Truman ever really leave Seahaven Island? After all, nothing is waiting for him but a sea of paparazzi and an army of fans, no matter where he goes. In many ways, Truman never leaves the reality show he’s starred in his entire life.
Unless, of course, he makes it to Fiji with Sylvia. We think we’ll go with that one.
The Truman Show stars Jim Carrey (Truman Burbank), Laura Linney (Hannah Gill/Meryl Burbank), Ed Harris (Christof), Noah Emmerich (Louis Coltrane/Marlon), Natascha McElhone (Sylvia/Lauren Garland), and Paul Giamatti (Simeon).
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