Aahana Swrup
Disney+’s ‘Crater,’ directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, is a sci-fi adventure movie. It stars Mckenna Grace, Isaiah Russell-Bailey, and Billy Barratt, among others. The film follows Caleb Channing and his friends Dylan, Marcus, and Borney, who all live in a Mining Colony on the moon. After Caleb’s father’s death, his friends recruit the help of the new “Earth Girl,” Addison, and break out of their base in the middle of a meteor shower warning. Hellbent on seeing a crater Caleb’s dad used to talk about, the kids set out on a road trip across the moon. If you’re curious to find out how this adventurous journey changes Caleb and his friends’ lives, here’s everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Crater.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
Crater Plot Synopsis
Far into the future, Caleb Channing lives in a Lunar Mining Colony in the year 2257. Before his father, Michael, dies in a mining accident, he makes Caleb promise him that he’ll travel out to a crater that his mother always wanted him to visit. However, after Michael’s death, Caleb discovers he’ll leave for a new idyllic planet, Omega, in three days as per his father’s death benefits. In order to help Caleb fulfill his father’s last wish, his best friend Dylan devises a plan to sneak out of their Dome and travel out to the restricted eighth quadrant.
The same day a meteor shower warning sends the whole colony into lockdown. As such, it presents the perfect opportunity for Caleb and his friends to steal a rover without being noticed. The boys prepare to leave in the night, and at dinner, Dylan recruits the help of Addison Weaver, whose father works in the science department. Addison agrees to share the security codes to the garage with Dylan in exchange for tagging along to the trip.
Soon, the five kids break into the bases’ garage. Dylan successfully hotwires a rover, and the gang leaves the Mining Colony’s perimeters. On the road, Borney and Marcus ask Addison questions about the Earth. Eventually, the kids decide to exit the rover and explore the moon’s surface with their space suits on. Out on the surface, Dylan invents a game in which he uses oxygen tanks as jetpacks while tethered to the ship. The kids all take turns flying around in space recklessly.
However, soon during Borney’s turn, his cable comes loose. As he floats out into space, Dylan, Marcus, and Caleb retrieve other oxygen tanks and take off after him. Though they manage to save Borney, they lose two oxygen tanks in the process. As such, Addison realizes they should return to the Dome since they no longer have enough oxygen for their trip. Unwilling to give up, Caleb suggests refilling up on supplies by taking a detour to an old and abandoned outpost nearby.
When the kids arrive at the outpost, they realize it’s actually an old model home filled with luxuries and comforts lacking in the Dome. The kids refill on supplies and spend the night in the house before leaving for the crater the next day. As the trip continues, the rover breaks down a mile from the crater. Addison realizes they’ll get stuck in the middle of nowhere without outside help and sends out a distress signal.
However, the rescue party won’t arrive until the lockdown ends. As such, the kids decide they have enough time and oxygen to make it to the crater in time and return to the rover. After walking a mile on the moon, Caleb and his friends finally reach their destination.
Crater Ending: What Is Inside The Crater?
After reaching the crater, the kids find tall structures and a central cube inside. As they look around, they find the entryway to an underground bunker. When Caleb’s father talked about the crater, he made it sound like a special place. However, once inside the bunker, Caleb and his friends only find a leafless tree in the center of a large empty room. Near the tree is a plaque that reads, “On gilded wings, we have reached the stars, but let us never forget the skies we left behind.”
While the boys take in the anticlimactic end of their trip, Addison goes around the place, knocking on the walls. Eventually, she finds a hidden button on the wall. After Addison presses the button, the bunker transforms into a holographic forest from Earth. None of the boys have ever seen anything like this before, and they take in the marvelous sight of the birds, trees, and the blue sky in front of them.
Caleb notices a brook similar to the one his father once told him about. As Caleb follows the split in the brook, he finds a compartment on the floor with a star carved onto it. The holograph abruptly shuts down, and Caleb pries open the hollow floorboard. There, Caleb finds a photograph of his parents and his mother’s ashes. Caleb places his father’s ashes under the floor and takes the photo with him.
Does Caleb Go To Omega?
Sometime before Michael died, he talked to Caleb about how despite his best efforts, he failed to secure a good future for Caleb. The miners in the Colony sign a deal with the authorities to acquire transportation for them and their families to Omega. According to the deal, the miners work for 20 years, and once they pay off their time, they’ll leave for Omega. However, once people sign up, they find out that any sick day or late arrival costs them added years into the contract. As such, the Mining Company exploits its workers and passes their debts down through generations.
Michael and his wife, Grace, planned on sticking to a tight schedule in order to serve their time before Caleb turned 18. However, after Grace’s health declined, they fell behind on their hours, and time ran out. After Caleb finds his mother’s ashes in the bunker, he realizes his father’s death wasn’t an accident. Michael knew about the death benefits and sacrificed himself for Caleb’s future. As a result, he tells Dylan that he’ll reveal the information to Colony head Slater, and maybe he won’t have to leave the moon.
Caleb values his friends dearly and doesn’t wish to leave them behind. After losing his parents, Dylan, Marcus, and Borney are all Caleb has left. However, if he travels to Omega, Caleb will go into cryo-sleep, and by the time he wakes up, his friends will either die or grow old. Nevertheless, Dylan makes Caleb realize that his father wants a promising future for him. Unlike his friends, Caleb finally has a way out of this place, and Dylan convinces him to take it.
However, soon, Marcus collapses due to his heart condition. The kids decide to leave at once to get him to his medication in the rover. On the walk back to the rover, the meteor shower finally breaks out, sending jagged space debris falling on the moon’s surface. The kids make it back to the rover’s shelter, but Dylan’s suit takes some damage.
Moreover, as their oxygen steadily runs out, they realize the rescue party won’t come looking for them until the meteor shower is over. Eventually, the oxygen levels decrease to the point where the kids pass out in their suits without the energy to stay lucid anymore. Nevertheless, the rescue vehicles find them before any casualties and take them to the Dome. The next time Cabel wakes, it’s 75 years later on Omega.
What Happens To Caleb’s Friends?
After Dylan and the others return to the Dome, they pack Caleb’s bag with memorabilia while he goes into cryogenic sleep for his trip to Omega. Addison also talks to her father and convinces him to let Dylan send transmissions to Caleb once a year. As such, when Caleb wakes in Omega, he’s crushed that he never got to say goodbye to his friends, but he has several messages from them.
In the messages, Dylan tells Caleb about everything that happens as each year goes by. After Caleb leaves, Addison starts protesting for the miner’s rights and convinces the Mining Company to change the loopholes in their contracts. As a result, miners no longer pass down their debts, and families don’t have to stay on the moon for generations. Likewise, Borney helps Addison commission the old unfinished structures on the moon, to improve living conditions and provide entertainment value.
Marcus starts his own baseball league and has a caring team looking after him. Meanwhile, Dylan, who grows up to be a miner, marries Addison and becomes a father. Eventually, he takes his grandkids to the Crater and tells them stories about their childhood adventures. By leading his friends on that road trip 75 years ago, Caleb changed their lives and inspired them to dream big. As such, they all went on to live happy, fulfilling lives.
Inversely, on Omega, Caleb tracks down Addison’s brother, Charlie, who moved to Omega with his mother after she divorced Addison’s dad. Charlie recognizes Caleb from Addison’s messages and asks him questions about the road trip to the Crater. In the end, Caleb finds a new friend and prepares for new adventures.
Read More: Where Was Disney+’s Crater Filmed?
