Why The Mist's Original Opening Scene Was Never Shot [Exclusive]

While the residents of Bridgton are trapped at the local supermarket, they spend much of their time speculating on what exactly lurks in the haze that besieges them, including where it comes from . It is revealed by Private Wayne Jessup (Sam Witwer, seen above) that the shady experiments at nearby Arrowhead Base have opened an interdimensional portal and, in true cosmic horror fashion, rolled out the red carpet so that unfathomable abominations can enter it.

The opening of Darabont would have anticipated this moment, and all the speculation that precedes it, with a first-hand look at the first emergence of the mist and its occupants. Several people involved in the film offered their comments to Darabont; Rohn Schmidt tells Eric Vespe that he was looking forward to shooting the scene as "this absolutely absurd '50s location. Vespe himself was asked about it when he visited the set in 2007, and he pointed out that King didn't explain much in his novel. But the ultimate voice of reason came from Andre Braugher, whose character doesn't even get out of the first act. He tells /Film:

"I said, 'It's better not to film it.' He was puzzled. He said, 'Why?' I said, "Well, if you know the military did it, that means everybody in the showcase who speculates on their cause, we already know they're wrong. So we are ahead of them, as an audience. ' So I said, 'You can actually save a day, and I think you'll make a better movie, by not filming that rather than filming.'