How to Write Dialogue FOR ENDINGS (Writing Advice)

Learn how to write dialogue for your story's ending. Examples from The Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings, John Wick, Groundhog Day, and more!

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0:00 Intro
1:13 What's in an Ending?
2:39 #1 Sense of Conclusion
4:49 #2 New Status-Quo
6:52 #3 Future Conflicts
8:32 #4 Transformation
10:35 #5 Poetic Language for Impact
12:40 Outro

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[Franco]

"Mr. Hammond, after careful consideration, I've decided not to endorse your park. So have I." You're right, that whole ending checks all the boxes!

[PhoenixCrown]

I love the ending of the Matrix. 1) It "calls" back to the very beginning, the machines listening through the phoneline. 2) It sums up the new status quo, The One is here, and things are going to be different now, and 3) It creates a wonderful stand-alone ending (that probably should have been left at that) but leaves so much room for the future of the characters and world.

[LordBaktor]

The theatrical version of Terminator 2's ending always struck a chord with me. Not the one with old Sarah and grown up John but the one with a voice over on a dark road. "The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope."

[UrobourosZero]

“James… you made me happy.”

Silent Hill 2 is just such a great story, that simple line always chokes me up.

[ellennewth]

Favorite ending dialogue is from "Gone With the Wind." Scarlet pleads with Rhett asking "What shall I do? Where shall I go?" and he responds "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." I also like the last moment from the original "Back to the Future". Marty tells Doc there isn't enough road to get to 88 mph and Doc calmly replies "Where we're going we don't need roads."

[ungratefulpeasant]

The thing that made the Lord of The Rings trilogy great was that nobody else could have wrote it. Each of the Characters in the series was a personality that Tolkien knew from his time in the trenches. Frodo represented his struggle with ptsd, Sam the undying bond and selflessness of fellow soldiers, Aragorn a Leader that kept the men together and their fear at bay, Boromir the soldier who honored his oath and fought against all odds. There is so much from Tolkiens experience in WW1 written into tha characters that I understand now after my service than when I read it as a child that was so far over my head. Tolkien was fleshing many of his own demons out in that story and it resonated because although it was fiction, it was grounded in a dark reality.

[MichaelJPartyka]

Minor spoiler warning for "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl":

Johnny Depp's recitation of the pirate song lines at the end of "Pirates of the Caribbean" is a favorite bit of ending dialogue of mine because it establishes a sort of "Everything's finally good now, on to new adventures!" vibe.

[Dark_Peace]

OMG that's exactly what I needed right now ! I'll watch it right before writing.

[ludovico]

I love how the first Godfather ended. The dialogue between Michael and Kay shows how much the characters and their relationship have changed. It's both heartbreaking and chilling.

[BelieveInImagination]

Oh gosh I have to say James Cameron's AVATAR (1) has a brilliant tribal song & ritual calling to their deity to accept the protagonist's body into his new one. Even before that was a clever line about 'birthdays' because he would essentially be killed and reborn if the ritual works. My favourite movie hands down. Endings are quite emotional it makes you love and hate writing them.

[tiarailic]

"Bond, James Bond" from Casino Royale. That was badass🤟😊

[WriterBrandonMcNulty]

What's your favorite dialogue exchange from a movie's ending? Let us know, and be sure to mark for SPOILERS!

[homoduplex]

Dredd: "She's a pass."

Concludes the hero's journey for both Dredd and Anderson, shows how he has changed due to the adventure and gives a glimpse into the new future where she's a judge and he's less, well, judgmental, lol. Awesome movie, awesome ending.

Edit: I realized it's not that good an example. The last words of the movie are some voiceover narration about the city and the work of the judges. The "She's a pass" dialogue wouldn't work as final words, I guess because they're still part of the story. They create the new situation rather than commenting on it. The narration adds some buffer between the story and the closing credits without which the ending would be too abrupt.

[jhnc]

Endings hint at new problems to come - very interesting

[d.b.cooper]

Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship! 😉

[doormatt]

Hearing at ~9:54 "the fellowship started as a group of 10" was like nails on a chalkboard to me. haha. There was a lot of significance to the number 9 throughout the books and movies.

[Kyrogus]

My favorite ending dialogue is from the Dark Knight. Glad to see it featured in this video!

[HandGrenadeDivision]

I always loved the last scene of Patton. The script originally called for a shot of Patton's grave in Luxembourg, with a camera pulling out to reveal him laid to rest with thousands of his soldiers. They wisely abandoned that instead for a shot of the General walking off into the countryside, telling the story of how Roman emperors returned from the wars, taking part in triumphal parades, clad in ceremonial robes, with a slave on the chariot with him, whispering the warning to him that "all glory is fleeting."

[ilke]

Concise, relevant advice. I'd expect this to have more views, definitely underrated. I hope this comment helps video to get traction.

[cmkelly]

The ending phone call in the Bourne Supremacy, and Clive Owen’s monologue from the Inside Man