The Pitch Perfect 3 Scene Anna Kendrick Refused To Shoot

anna kendrick in pitch perfect 3

We're getting into Pitch Perfect 3 spoilers in this article, pitches. If you haven't caught the flick yet, now may be a good time to check out one of our other wonderful articles.

By now, if you've seen Pitch Perfect 3, you may know the franchise really reverts back to a major focus on Beca, who uses her uncanny knack for creating beats to catch the eye of DJ Khaled's music producer. Instead of starting a romance with the character, whose name is Theo, Beca is her charming-yet-standoffish self, but apparently the plot wasn't originally conceived that way. Originally, the writers really wanted Pitch Perfect 3 to have a romantic payoff between Beca and Theo, and it was only after Anna Kendrick refused to shoot a scene at the end of the movie that involved her kissing her work pal that the particular plotline got cut. As the actress tells it...

Originally the music executive was supposed by my romantic interest but I said no to that, because I thought that would be kind of fucking problematic. I was like, 'Can no one else [see it]?' Once I said it, everybody was like, 'I guess so.' And they still wanted to have a version at the end when we kissed, and I still said no.

Per Anna Kendrick, getting jiggy with the guy who was willing to give her a big break based on her talent and not just her looks would have been sending a message to the audience the actress really didn't want to send. Having seen the movie, I personally feel this was the best call for the script. Just in terms of the humor in Pitch Perfect 3, it's way funnier to see Beca spurn Theo's advances over and over again than it would have been to see her cutely melt into his arms at the end of the movie. It even leads to a really funny gag during the end, where Theo and Beca see another couple making out and he tries to lean in, only to have her brightly turn him down so they can discuss her being a handful to work with.

Pitch Perfect 3 has plenty of romance even without Beca and Theo panning out. Brittany Snow's character, Chloe, falls for the young serviceman Chicago who is escorting the formerly-of-Barden Bellas around. The quiet Lilly also has her eye on one of the young men performing on the USO tour. They end up hitting it off without ever really having to speak to one another. So, did Pitch Perfect 3 really need to shoehorn a romance in for Beca, too?

Anna Kendrick also told Harper's Bazaar that she was surprised the new movie opted to give Beca a music career when she had spent so long trying to be a producer, but that the film really worked to make that plotline make sense. So instead of focusing on a romance, the movie gave her a career path than the level she was at as a producer.

Universal has been advertising Pitch Perfect 3 as the last in a trilogy of films, and although the movie could potentially get another sequel if it does well at the box office (it's done OK so far), this movie really raps up what the Bellas are going to be up to moving forward. If this is the final note that Beca and co. go out on,

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways. 

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