Probably the question that every Dawn fan would literally die to know is:

“Does the tragic ending exist?”

Basically this involved the last two characters committing suicide - Peter shooting himself in the head and Fran, in a far more subtle way, putting her head into the revolving blades of the helicopter.

From what we know, some footage was shot.

Tom Savini, Ken Foree and George Romero, to name a few, have all admitted or hinted that it was shot. Although he greatly denies it now, Romero quoted in Document of the Dead that the crew did shoot the alternative finale as he “… was not willing to give up the tragic ending.”

Many rumours have flown about regarding this ending, some folks claiming that it was supposed to be included in the supplementary material on the Anchor Bay laser disc, only to be ommitted due to a contractual dispute. However, there is no rock hard evidence to say that the footage exists nowadays.

The fact remains though that at least some of the downbeat ending was shot, whether it was as a test or for real, we still don't know. And, as we pull further and further away from the magical year that was 1979, the chances of finding the most sought after piece of Dawn memorabilia are getting slimmer by the day...