Cast away ending explained: The crossroads of a new life

Cast Away is a 2000 film starring Tom Hanks that has him play Charles "Chuck" Noland, a FedEx analyst who ends up stranded alone on a deserted island after a plane crash. Being the sole survivor of the crash, he's forced to fend for himself while knowing that he may never get rescued.

Cast Away ends with Chuck being rescued at sea and finding his way back to civilization, only to find that nothing in his life is the same. His girlfriend, Kelly, who he planned to propose to, has married another man, and he decides not to pursue her again.

The final scene of Cast Away has him delivering a FedEx package with angel wings painted on it, which is the only package from the plane he never opened. As he departs from the house he delivered it to, he finds himself at a crossroads, free to decide where to go next.

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Cast Away follows Chuck's journey as a marooned islander

While marooned, Chuck becomes attached to a Wilson volleyball for company. (Image via 20th Century Fox)

At the start of Cast Away, Check is shown to be a FedEx analyst whose professional commitments have strained his relationship with his girlfriend, Kelly. While the two have considered getting married for a while, the strain on their relationship prevents them from going through with it.

On Christmas, Chuck gets called away to an assignment in Malaysia, causing him to leave in a hurry. Kelly gives him her grandfather's pocket watch as he leaves, and he gives her a secret present, implied to be an engagement ring, that he asks her not to open until New Year's Eve.

The plane Chuck is traveling on gets taken down because of an unexpected storm, causing it to crash land. Everyone on board except for Chuck dies, leaving him the sole survivor on a deserted island.

Chuck then tries to survive on the island using whatever resources he can put together. This includes opening up the FedEx packages that were there on the plane and sorting them out to see how useful they'd be. The one package he doesn't open has angel wings painted on it.

Chuck then tries to make his escape using a life raft, only to be swept back by the tides, causing his leg to be injured. He then cuts his hand while trying to start a fire, and begins throwing stuff from the FedEx packages in frustration, culminating in his blood getting on a Wilson volleyball.

Chuck uses this blood to draw a face on the volleyball and begins talking to it in an effort to stave off the isolation. Resigning himself to remaining trapped on the island, Chuck tries to adapt to a solitary life and uses a rock and ice skate to perform a dental extraction on himself.

Chuck remains marooned on the island for the next four years. He finally gets a break when debris from a portable toilet enclosure washes up, allowing him to construct another life raft to attempt an escape.

Chuck is marooned for 4 years before making his escape. (Image via 20th Century Fox)

He takes his belongings, the unopened FedEx package with angel wings, and the Wilson volleyball with him on the journey.

However, he soon finds himself weathering a storm, where he loses Wilson to the ocean. Crushed by this loss, he's on the verge of succumbing to despair before finally getting discovered by a cargo ship.

Thanks to this rescue, Chuck finally finds his way back to civilization and his hometown of Memphis, Tennesee. While his coworkers give him a hero's welcome, he realizes that his girlfriend has now married another man. The two reconnect and consider running away together, but decide against it.

Chuck then makes his delivery of the unopened FedEx package, leading to the ending scene of Cast Away.

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Cast Away was distributed by 20th Century Fox, and was a major commercial and critical success upon release.