Surprising, daring movies that subvert audience expectations have long since been a staple of film-making. Few of these subversions come as more of a surprise than when a major actor is killed off in the movie far earlier than expected, with typical narratives making viewers assume that big-name stars will survive to the end of the story. By pulling a metaphorical rug out from underneath these audiences and killing off a major actor, these movies end up ingraining themselves in viewers’ minds by re-establishing just what is at stake in the plotline.
Whether the actor was a large part of a movie’s promotional material, or had been tipped to be the main protagonist early on in the film, these major deaths have left a lasting impression on cinema. Sometimes, the death of the actor early on serves as a way to enhance one’s viewing experience by keeping them on the edge of their seat, while other times it can seem like the movie is full of wasted potential. Whatever the enduring effects of these early deaths, there is no denying the legacy that they all maintain to this day.
12 G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
Channing Tatum
After playing a leading role in 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Channing Tatum was expected to play a part of equal, if not more importance, in the 2013 sequel, Retaliation. Tatum even features prominently on Retaliation‘s poster, leading many audiences to believe that his character, Duke, still had more of a story to tell. However, Duke is killed within the first 10 minutes of Retaliation, in an airstrike that also wipes out much of his team.
While this airstrike and the death of Duke is what sets the narrative of Retaliation in motion, seeing Tatum depart the franchise so suddenly still comes as a shock. Tatum has confessed that he was reluctant to play Duke in the first movie, and only agreed to return in Retaliation if he could be killed off immediately. It was a bold move to kill off Duke so early, and while it allowed Dwayne Johnson’s Roadblock to take center stage, it nevertheless leaves many viewers feeling disappointed at such a sudden departure.
11 Superman (1978)
Marlon Brando
Richard Donner’s Superman is arguably the most influential superhero movie ever made, and continues to be revered almost 50 years after its release. A major part of its appeal when it was released in 1978 was the casting of two-time Academy Award winner, and the Godfather himself, Marlon Brando as Jor-El, Superman’s father from Krypton. However, despite his top billing, Brando’s screen time is very short, appearing only in person in the movie’s opening sequences before being killed when Krypton is destroyed.
Brando’s legacy as Jor-El far outlives his short screen time, and has ultimately played a major role in establishing superhero movies as one of the most impactful genres in history.
Despite this brief role, Jor-El’s presence haunts the narrative (indeed, he reappears as a hologram later on in the movie) and drives the plot forward. He is a guide for Superman’s (Christopher Reeve) journey of heroism, and is proof that even the smallest movie role can have the biggest impact. Brando’s legacy as Jor-El far outlives his short screen time, and has ultimately played a major role in establishing superhero movies as one of the most impactful genres in history.
10 Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Mark Hamill
One of Kingsman: The Secret Service‘s opening scenes sees Mark Hamill play James Arnold, a university professor who studies climate change. He is being held hostage, and is almost rescued by Kingsman Agent Lancelot (Jack Davenport) before the latter is killed by Gazelle (Sofia Boutella). However, Arnold survives this encounter, and seems poised to take on a leading role in the movie’s story. Nevertheless, when Harry (Colin Firth) tries to interrogate him later on, he is killed when a microchip planted in his neck explodes.
Arnold’s death, while very shocking, set the brutally slapstick tone that the entire Kingsman franchise would base itself upon. Hamill’s cameo in The Secret Service was actually a nod to the comic books that the movie was based upon, where the actual actor appears in a very similar role. This adds another comedic twist to the sudden death, and while it could have been interesting to see more of Hamill in the franchise, it’s still an incredibly memorable moment that helped establish Kingsman as one of the most refreshing takes on the spy genre.
9 Psycho (1960)
Janet Leigh
Tipped to be the main protagonist in Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic horror movie, Janet Leigh is perhaps one of the earliest examples of a movie killing off a major actor insanely quickly. In Psycho, Leigh plays Marion Crane, a real estate secretary whose story dominates much of the movie’s first act as she stays at the Bates Motel after stealing $40,000 from her employer. In one of the most iconic movie scenes of all time, Marion is murdered in Psycho’s famous shower scene, cementing her legacy as one of cinema’s earliest scream queens.
By killing off the character whom, up until the shower scene, was the main protagonist, Hitchcock once again re-invented the very meaning of suspenseful cinema. It was a bold risk to kill off such an iconic actress, but one that has certainly paid off. Audience expectations were shattered with every thrust of the knife in the shower, and Marion’s death ultimately changed the tone of the movie to focus more on the psychological mystery of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), redefining horror movies forever.
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7 The Suicide Squad (2021)
The Original Squad
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad was the director’s attempt to right the wrongs of the misguided 2016 movie, Suicide Squad, and it certainly achieved this. One of the main ways in which this was achieved was in The Suicide Squad‘s opening scene, which sees a squad of supervillains who were teased heavily in promotional material, instantly wiped out in a beach massacre. In this squad was the familiar face of Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), as well as fresh A-Listers such as T.D.K (Nathan Fillion) and Blackguard (Pete Davidson).
By opening the movie with such a shocking scene, Gunn was able to instantly reinvent The Suicide Squad and provide audiences with plenty of action and entertainment. While there was likely some disappointment that viewers did not see some of these heavily teased characters play larger roles, the beach massacre is nevertheless a masterclass in superhero satire. It had two major effects – reinventing the franchise and also signaling that nobody was safe in this chaotic and over-the-top world.
6 Godzilla (2014)
Bryan Cranston
When shooting Godzilla, Bryan Cranston (who plays scientist Joe Brody) was at the very peak of his fame, with his iconic role as Walter White on AMC’s Breaking Bad reaching its climax. Cranston’s casting in Godzilla brought a true sense of gravitas to the movie, especially due to his prominence in the marketing material. Cranston delivers an emotionally charged performance, making it all the more disappointing when Joe is killed off in Godzilla’s opening act.
While Godzilla still remains a fun movie to watch, it is hard to escape the feelings of disappointment when Joe reaches his untimely demise.
Coming off the success of Breaking Bad, Cranston’s underutilization in Godzilla was a major source of contention for the movie, and appears like a classic case of wasted potential. Cranston himself even said on a podcast that he believed the filmmakers’ decision to kill Joe off so early was a telltale sign of a “bad narrative” (via The Independent). While Godzilla still remains a fun movie to watch, it is hard to escape the feelings of disappointment when Joe reaches his untimely demise.
5 Alien (1979)
John Hurt
When Ridley Scott’s sci-fi/horror classic Alien hit cinemas in 1979, it was to be the big break for the movie’s star, Sigourney Weaver (Ripley). However, Alien also included John Hurt (Kane), by this time a well-established British actor, who was eventually labeled by director David Lynch as “the greatest actor in the world” (via Rolling Stone). Kane’s death in Alien is one of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history, with the character convulsing on a table as an alien bursts through his chest.
The scene shocked audiences and has since become a watershed moment for both the horror and sci-fi genres. Hurt’s early exit from Alein remains one of the most brutal and terrifying deaths ever put on film, and introduced audiences to the true horrors of the Xenomorph. What makes this death even more shocking was that Kane had just been suffering an ordeal with a face-hugger, and seemed to be making a full recovery before the alien burst from his chest.
4 X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Patrick Stewart
X-Men: The Last Stand acts as the final installment in the original X-Men trilogy, a movie franchise that had firmly established Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) as one of the main protagonists. The Last Stand was seen as a major failure compared to the previous two installments, and one of the reasons why was their handling of Xavier’s character. In one of the movie’s most shocking moments during the second act, Xavier is disintegrated by Jean Grey (Famke Janssen).
Xavier had been one of the most interesting characters of the
X-Men
trilogy, and “killing” him off before the end of the trilogy, only to bring him back in later installments, feels like lazy writing.
While Stewart ended up reprising his role as Professor X multiple times after, and the character himself did survive the disintegration by transferring his consciousness into a comatose patient, this does not take away the shock of the moment. Killing off Professor X before the movie’s climax meant that, while the stakes were raised and Jean was established as very dangerous, audiences were left disappointed nevertheless. Xavier had been one of the most interesting characters of the X-Men trilogy, and “killing” him off before the end of the trilogy, only to bring him back in later installments, feels like lazy writing.
3 Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Tom Hiddleston
In the opening scene of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos (Josh Brolin) finally gets his chance to shine after ten years of the MCU teasing the supervillain. He makes his presence in Infinity War heard loud and clear when he brutally chokes Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to death. Loki had “died” numerous times in the MCU before this point, but this one was actually real, and in the words of Thanos himself, there would be “no resurrections this time.”
While the separation of timelines means that we eventually see Loki reappear in his titular series, this doesn’t make his death in Infinity War any less heartbreaking. Loki had just rekindled his friendship with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) after the events of Thor: Ragnarok and was finally on his way to becoming a hero. Hiddleston’s abrupt exit as the God of Mischief may be a gut-wrenching scene to watch, but was nevertheless a necessary way for the stakes of Infinity War to be set out, and to establish Thanos as the deadliest threat to the MCU yet.
2 Scream (1996)
Drew Barrymore
When Scream hit cinemas in 1996, it rewrote the script for what a slasher movie could be, taking a meta approach to the genre. However, one of the major subversions of audience expectations came in the movie’s opening scene. Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) is home alone when she answers the phone to an unknown caller. The caller, who is eventually revealed to be Ghostface, threatens her life, killing her boyfriend at the same time, and eventually stabs Casey to death.
Barrymore had been the face of Scream‘s marketing campaign, with her face taking up most of the movie’s theatrical release poster. While her death helps set the narrative of Scream in motion, this does not make it any less shocking. It was a bold move that paid off, making Scream one of the most iconic slasher movies of all time and cementing Barrymore’s place in horror movie history.
Sources: The Independent, Rolling Stone.