All the ways Netflix film Leave The World Behind differs from the book it’s based on

The new Netflix apocalyptic thriller by Sam Esmail Leave The World Behind has shot right to the top of the Netflix charts, thanks to a decent critical reception and an all-star cast consisting of Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali. Not only all that, but Leave The World Behind was an acclaimed book when it released in 2020, and the film adaptation is a pretty faithful adaptation but still has some massive changes. Here are all the differences between the new film version of Leave The World Behind and the book it’s based on.

GH and Ruth are an older couple in the book

Mahershala Ali and Myha’la play a father and son duo of GH and Ruth in the Sam Esmail Netflix film, but in the original book these two are an older married couple. The film and the book both keep the context of the two being Black characters with a lot of wealth, but in the film GH’s wife and Ruth’s mum is working overseas in Morocco.

The Friends plot isn’t in the book at all

A huge part of the Leave The World Behind Netflix film is Rose’s obsession with Friends and her frustration that she can’t finish the final episode. This is an invention from Sam Esmail for the film, and never featured in the book at all – which is weird considering how memorable and integral it feels in the film.

Via Netflix

The Tesla crash scene isn’t in the book

A lot of the more thrilling cinematic moments of the apocalypse aren’t actually detailed in the book. The Tesla crash scene, one of the highlights of the film, never happened. The other stuff like the blackouts, the piercing noise, the deer and the flamingos all feature in the book.

The ending is completely different in the book

The end of the film sees Rose settle down in the bunker and finally get to finish Friends – like she’s wanted to literally all of the movie. Of course, as I’ve mentioned, the Friends plot isn’t in the book at all – so what happens in the climax there?

In the book, Rose still goes missing and still arrives at the bunker house, but rather than settling down to get Friends finished she just gathers supplies and heads off back to GH and Ruth’s house. Honestly, I prefer the Friends ending.

Leave The World Behind is streaming on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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