Julia Roberts Says Richard Gere’s Pretty Woman Character Is Dead

Julia Roberts: Apparently not as big a fan of happy endings as you might expect!

Roberts is out promoting her new movie, and did an interview with CBS Mornings where she was asked what she thought some of her more famous characters might be up to in 2023. Of My Best Friend’s Wedding, for example, Roberts’ thinks Dermot Mulroney is still faithfully married to Cameron Diaz’s character, while Jules might have started a DIY show on HGTV with George, Rupert Everett’s character.

When the conversation turned to Pretty Woman, the fairy tale about a sex worker (Roberts) who falls for her latest client (Richard Gere) she gave a surprisingly bleak response: Gere’s Edward is dead.

“I think he passed away peacefully in his sleep from a heart attack, smiling,” Roberts told Gayle King. “And now she runs his business.”

This shocking postscript is perhaps less out of character for Pretty Woman than you initially might suspect. While Pretty Woman ended with Roberts and Gere’s characters getting together, the movie was originally intended to be much darker. The first script — titled $3,000 after the price Edward pays for Vivian’s company — depicted Vivian as a struggling drug addict. In the end, when Vivian can’t stay sober Edward dumps her and moves on with his life. As the project evolved and the filmmakers recognized the chemistry between Gere and Roberts, they decided to rework the ending to give it a happily-ever-after twist.

So really, Roberts’ speculation here is only correcting things back to the way they should have been all along. Sorry Edward! Rest in peace.

Roberts’ latest movie, Leave the World Behind, is now streaming on Netflix.