With a cocked gun in his hand, in the middle of nowhwere, detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) asks his senior and colleague, Detective Somerset William (Morgan Freeman), “What’s in the box?
” William evades the answer, and perhaps dodges a bullet (pun intended). “What’s the in f—ing box?
” screams Mills again. He knows what is in that goddamn box. After all, how can you not? What Mills was seeking from William was an assurance. That his hunch was wrong. Of course, it was not.
That four-word phrase from David Fincher’s second feature, Se7en
, has stayed with movie geeks. It has unnerved and unraveled them, and Brad Pitt is no exception. In a recent chat with Jake Hamilton, Pitt went back to the iconic scene and shared his thoughts.
Brad Pitt reflects on his iconic Se7en line
Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem appeared for a candid chat on Hamilton’s channel, Jake’s Takes,
to promote their upcoming film, F1
. The conversation veered toward Se7en
when Hamilton wanted to know Pitt’s experience of shooting that scene with Freeman in the deserted east of Lancaster, California. “‘What’s in the box’ is one of the most heartbreaking movie lines ever
,” said Hamilton. Pitt agreed. “It’s certainly shocking. It’s really upsetting
,” nodded the two-time Academy Award-winning actor.
Brad Pitt’s Terrific Performance in SEVEN pic.twitter.com/tCTbBF7e3Q
— Cinema Connoisseur (@MovieEndorser) March 5, 2024
Se7en
is a textbook psychological detective thriller (one that was reported to be turned into a Netflix series
) that stays within the genre’s boundaries, and at the same time leaps out of that porous border at its own will. The killer in Se7en
kills to impart a lesson, a Biblical lesson, if you will. Of the seven deadly sins. The last is the hubris of Detective Mills.
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There is no argument about that. But Pitt believes the line resonates more with the audience because it speaks more than just to the character. Drawing examples from his own life, Pitt explained in Jake’s Takes, “In my own life, whenever I have fallen short or made a mistake, it’s usually hubris in the way. Something I assumed was this way, and this detective is the ultimate example of that
.” Perhaps, because of that, Pitt was adamant on keeping the scene as it is, and so much so that he got it signed as a clause in his contract.
Brad Pitt ignored every request to change that scene
The head should stay in the box. That was Brad Pitt’s few criteria to sign for Se7en
. In the interview with Hamilton, Pitt revealed that it was suggested to put the dog’s head inside the box, instead of Mills’ pregnant wife Tracy’s. “Nope,”
was Pitt’s short response to that modest suggestion.
Mind blown – When Brad Pitt signed on for the movie Seven, he had it written in his contract that the ending says as it is. Before it was released, the studios tried to get it removed but Pitt pointed to his contract and basically said ‘Nope’. pic.twitter.com/tzZnSX3T1Q
— dolemitedawiz (@NoFilterGames) June 19, 2025
“I got it in my contract that the ending has to stay,
” Pit added. Before shooting Se7en
, Pitt had the experience of a viral scene getting trimmed out in the final cut because of possible controversy. That is the last thing Brad Pitt wanted in Se7en
. And he made sure that never happened.
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Do you think the ending of Se7en
is the most brutal climax of a movie ever? Let us know in the comments below.