"Sharknado 3" ended on quite the cliffhanger as a piece of space shuttle wreckage came hurtling toward April, played by Tara Reid, and audiences will help determine whether she lives or dies.
The Syfy network movie cut to black at the end followed by a message to fans that read, "You decide if #AprilLives or #AprilDies." A voice over then explained, "Now's your chance to be part of 'Sharknado' history! You decide if April lives or April dies by tweeting your choice now or by going to Sharknado.syfy.com to vote."
It concluded, "Her fate will be revealed in 'Sharknado 4... because we're not done yet!"
Director Anthony C. Ferrante originally conceived a happily-ever-after ending for Fin (Ian Ziering) and his family, but Syfy wanted the franchise to continue beyond the trilogy.
"I wanted to take a page out of some of the classic television stunts that have been done and contemporize them," Chris Regina, senior VP of program strategy at Syfy and "Sharknado 3" associate producer, told The Hollywood Reporter. "We needed to do something that was going to keep the audience in jeopardy and want to come back for another 'Sharknado.' That led to the idea that I came up with in having the audience vote."
Most shocked by the cliffhanger ending was Tara Reid, whose fate rests in the hands of the people.
"I think that's going to be a big turning point for the franchise. It gives it some excitement, and it's giving the fans a chance to interact," Reid said. "Not only is it something to involve the fans in, but it's immediate, so it's exciting to see how they're going to react. No matter what happens, I'm proud to be a part of this phenomenon."
So far, it looks as though April will survive the falling space debris. In the first two and half hours, the hashtag #AprilLives has racked up nearly 18,700 tweets compared to the 10,300 tweets for #AprilDies, according to the Twitter analytics service Topsy.
Reid's co-star Ziering believes the actress has nothing to fear and will be back for "Sharknado 4."
"It's not likely that she won't return," he told The Hollywood Reporter. 'I mean, c'mon: if she can give birth in space in a f-ing spacesuit, only to have the baby emerge from a shark ... [Laughs.] You really have to have a huge leash for creativity and imagination as a viewer to think that you've seen the end of April Shepard."
"Sharknado 4" will air in 2016.
