Summary

• The unopened FedEx package in Cast Away symbolizes hope and the belief that the character can one day escape the island.
• The third draft of the script reveals that the package contained salsa and a letter from a woman trying to save a failing marriage.
• While fans have speculated about the package's contents, the filmmakers intentionally left it a mystery, adding to the film's appeal and forcing viewers to think for themselves.

The 2000 film Cast Away still sits as one of the best showcases of Tom Hanks' acting, with him carrying almost the entire film by himself. However, one mystery still lingers over the movie: what was in the FedEx package Hanks' character refused to open on the island? While there's not much to go on, there are still theories based on hints scattered throughout the film.

The mysterious opening of the movie shows a FedEx van picking up a package from an artist's ranch. The box has a winged logo, which is also on one of the packages that wash up on the island with Hanks' character, Chuck Noland. Despite opening all other packages for resources, Chuck decides to keep this one package unopened. While Chuck may have seen the winged logo as some sign of staying alive, the package was a symbol of hope. By keeping it closed, he still believes he can one day get off the island and deliver it — but opening it would symbolize his acceptance that he'll never leave.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on March 27, 2024: Over twenty years after Cast Away first hit theaters, the classic survival film remains one of the best entries in Tom Hanks's already stellar filmography. Filled with memorable moments, harrowing adventures, and compelling drama, Cast Away has stood the test of time for multiple decades. Even so long after its release, the Robert Zemeckis-directed film still leaves many mysteries on the table that viewers are still debating to this day. Among these is the long-questioned FedEx package which, despite appearing in the very first moments of the film, is never opened.

Cast Away's Package Was An Attempt To Save A Failed Marriage

An Early Draft Of Cast Away Reveals What Was In The FedEx Package

After Chuck's plane crash and harrowing survival story, the package stays with Chuck all the way to his arrival home, with him even painting the winged logo on his Porta-Potty sail as he finally sets out to sea. Once the box is finally delivered, the contents of the package are never seen. However, the third draft of the Cast Away script reveals there was another plan for this box: Chuck opens this mystery package, finding two bottles of salsa and a letter inside that reads:

"You said our life was a prison. Dull. Boring. Empty. I can't begin to tell you how much that hurt. I don't want to lose you. I'm enclosing some salsa, the verde you like. Use it on your sticky rice and think of home. Then come home to me. We'll find the spice in our lives again. Together. I love you always. Bettina."

While this is a moving moment for Chuck, this Bettina character actually ends up being the woman Chuck meets and follows at Cast Away's end, donning the same winged logo on her truck. This gives the mysterious FedEx package an element of tragic romance, symbolizing a relationship doomed to fail. Despite the salsa and letter not making it into the movie, there are other suggestions that the package had to do with Bettina's failing marriage, as the winged FedEx box she ships at the start of the movie is sent away and delivered to a man and woman.

This man opens it and says, "It's from my wife," to the woman, suggesting Bettina's husband is having an affair. Another hint of this occurs when Chuck delivers the package to the ranch. Part of the ranch's name has been removed from the entrance, which was likely the name of Bettina's cheating husband.

This lingering mystery is part of what makes Cast Away one of the best survival movies ever. Before the rise of massive franchises and cinematic universes in which every detail is made to set up a sequel or spinoff, standalone movies allowed some questions to remain unanswered. This is precisely what Cast Away did with the unopened FedEx package. This forces the viewer to think for themselves, not only about what was really in the package, but what the package actually represents to Chuck. Although Cast Away very nearly revealed what was inside the box, the filmmakers clearly saw that it would be far more effective to leave its contents a mystery.

FedEx's Cast Away Parody Commercial Was A Gut Punch

In 2003, FedEx Poked Fun At Cast Away's Lingering Mystery

On the more comical side of things, a 2003 FedEx commercial featured Tom Hanks himself as his character, Chuck Noland. Airing during the Super Bowl, the ad parodied Cast Away's ending (though this answer to the package's contents is "hopefully" not real). In this commercial, Chuck delivers the package to a woman and asks what's inside. The woman replies, "Just a satellite phone, GPS locator, fishing rod, water purifier, and some seeds. Just silly stuff." The scene ends with a defeated-looking Chuck, making for an especially comical moment that surely resonated with fans of the original movie.

As entertaining as the FedEx Super Bowl commercial was, it likely wasn't meant to be taken as canon to the events of 2000's Cast Away. While the ad serves as a hilarious parody of a classic movie, it doesn't really answer the question about what was in the FedEx package. For one thing, the various items that the woman lists off most likely wouldn't all fit in a package of that size.

As hilarious as it may be to imagine that Chuck could have had a much easier time surviving on the island had he simply opened this box, it seems far more likely that the FedEx package's contents were indeed what were listed in the original script: a few jars of salsa from a woman trying to save a failing marriage.

Will There Ever Be A Sequel To Cast Away?

Tom Hanks And Robert Zemeckis Have Never Made A Sequel Together

For a film as popular and transcendent as Cast Away, a sequel would be a no-brainer. Although the original film never teased a sequel, there is always a chance to return to the story of Chuck Noland, perhaps as he falls into another survival situation. Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis have worked together four times over the last three decades, but have never made a sequel to one of their hit collaborations. A sequel to Cast Away could put Chuck Noland in a very different life-or-death situation, playing into the endless possibilities presented by the survival genre.

Conversely, Cast Away could follow in the footsteps of many other popular films and franchises in recent years by undergoing a soft reboot. As hit-or-miss as some of Hollywood's recent reboots have been, Cast Away would actually be a very interesting film to remake with a new main character besides Chuck Noland. A reboot of the 2000 film could explore what being cast away on a deserted island would be like in the modern-day.

With the rise of technology capable of tracking down a missing person, the likelihood of being rescued would be far greater. Conversely, with the decline of natural skills, an individual stranded on an island may have a difficult time trying to survive the elements. As such, an updated version of Cast Away could actually be an interesting exploration of how civilization — and individual people — have changed over the last few decades.

While the idea of a Cast Away sequel may be controversial for fans of the original film, it may not prove to be much of an issue at all. As of today, there have been no indications that a sequel to Cast Away is, or ever has been, in development. The film was always intended to be a standalone project, and it would appear that neither Robert Zemeckis nor Tom Hanks has changed his mind on that fact.

Even 20th Century Fox has refrained from attempting to revitalize the franchise, though this can always change now that the studio is owned by its former rival company, Disney. Even so, twenty-three years after Cast Away's initial release, there are no solid plans to continue the franchise in any way, shape, or form.

As the best survival film in the last several decades, Cast Away leaves some mysteries unanswered, including the question of the curious FedEx package. No matter the contents of the package, however, the most important thing is the hope that it provided to Chuck. And with the package's delivery eventually leading Chuck to meet Bettina, it seems like it was a much-needed good-luck charm all along.