10 Movies That Killed Main Actors Shockingly Fast

Surprising, daring movies that subvert audience expectations have long been a staple of filmmaking. Few of these subversions come as more of a surprise than when a major actor is killed in the movie much earlier than expected, with typical storylines that make viewers assume that big-name stars will survive until the end of the story. By pulling a metaphorical rug from under the audience and killing off a main actor, the movie embeds itself in the viewers’ minds by reestablishing exactly what is at stake in the plot.

Whether the actor was a big part of a movie’s promotional material, or he was tipped to be the main protagonist early in the film, major deaths have left a lasting impression on cinema. Sometimes, the death of the actor early serves as a way to enhance the viewing experience by keeping them on the edge of their seat, while other times it may seem like the movie is full of wasted potential. Whatever the enduring effect of these early deaths, there is no denying the legacy that they all hold to this day.

10

GI Joe: Retaliation (2013)

Channing Tatum

After playing a leading role in 2009 GI Joe: The Rise of CobraChanning Tatum was expected to play a part of equal, if not more importance, in the 2013 sequel, retaliation. Tatum even features prominently on retaliations poster, leading many audiences to believe that his character, Duke, still has more of a story to tell. However, Duke was killed in the first 10 minutes of retaliationIn an airstrike that also wipes out much of his team.

While the airstrike and the death of Duke is what sets the story of retaliation In motion, seeing Tatum leave the franchise so suddenly still comes as a shock. Tatum admitted that he was reluctant to play Duke in the first movie, and only agreed to return retaliation If he can be killed immediately. It was a bold move to kill off the Duke so early, and although it allowed Dwayne Johnson’s Roadblock to take center stage, many viewers felt disappointed with such a sudden departure.

9

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 its top billing, Brando’s screen time is very short, he is only in person in the opening sequences of the movie before being killed when Krypton is destroyed. Despite this brief role, Jor-El’s presence haunts the narrative (indeed, he reappears as a hologram later 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 brief screen time, and ultimately played a major role in establishing superhero movies as one of the most influential genres in history.

8

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Mark Hamill

one of Kingsman: The Secret ServiceIn the opening scenes, Mark Hamill plays Jacob Arnold, a university professor who studies climate change. He is held hostage, and is almost saved by Kingsman agent Lancelot (Jack Davenport) before the latter is killed by Gazelle (Sofia Boutella). However, Arnold survives the encounter, and seems ready to take a leading role in the movie’s story. Nevertheless, when Harry (Colin Firth) later tries to interrogate him, he is killed when a microchip planted in his neck explodes.

Arnold’s death, while very shocking, set the brutally slapstick tone that the whole Kingsman Franchise would base itself on. Hamill’s cameo in The Secret Service was actually a nod to the comic books that the movie is based on, where the actual actor appears in a very similar role. This adds another comedic twist to Sudden Death, and while it might 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 names on the spy genre.

7

Psycho (1960)

Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh, who was the main protagonist in Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic horror movie, is perhaps one of the earliest examples of a movie killing off a lead actor insanely quickly. In Psycho, Leih plays Marion Crane, a real estate secretary whose story dominates much of the movie’s first act when she stays at the Bates Motel after stealing $40,000 from her boss. 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 the character, who until the shower scene was the main protagonist, Hitchcock reinvented the very meaning of suspense cinema. It was a bold risk to kill off such an iconic actress, but one that certainly paid off. Audience expectations are shattered with each thrust of the knife in the shower, and Marion’s death finally changed the tone of the movie to focus more on the psychological mystery of ​​Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), redefining horror movies forever.

6

The Suicide Squad (2021)

The original squad

by James Gunn The Suicide Squad was the director’s attempt to right the wrongs of the misguided 2016 movie, Suicide SquadAnd it certainly achieves this. One of the main ways this was achieved was in The Suicide Squadopening scene, Which sees a squad of supervillains that were heavily teased in promotional material instantly wiped out in a beach massacre. The squad included the familiar face of Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), as well as recent A-listers such as TDK (Nathan Fillion) and Blackguard (Pete Davidson).

By opening the movie with such a shocking scene, Gunn is able to instantly reinvent The Suicide Squad and provide audiences with plenty of action and entertainment. While there was likely some disappointment that viewers didn’t get to see some of the heavily teased characters play bigger roles, Beach Massacre is nonetheless a masterclass in superhero satire. It has two main effects – reinventing the franchise and also signaling that no one is safe in this chaotic and over-the-top world.

5

Godzilla (2014)

Bryan Cranston

IIBryan Cranston (who plays scientist Joe Brody) was at the peak of his fame when shooting Godzilla.With his iconic role as Walter White on AMC’s Breaking Bad reaching its climax. Cranston’s casting in Godzilla brought a real sense of gravitas to the movie, especially due to its prominence in the marketing material.

Cranston delivers an emotionally charged performanceMaking it all the more disappointing when Joe is killed off in Godzilla’s opening act. After the success of Breaking Bad, Cranston’s underutilization in Godzilla was a major source of contention for the movie, and appears as a classic case of wasted potential.

Cranston even said on a podcast that he believed the filmmakers’ decision to kill Joe off so early was a sign of a “Bad story telling“ (via The Independent). While Godzilla still remains a fun movie to watch, it’s hard to escape the feelings of disappointment when Joe reaches his untimely death.

4

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, Foreign 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). No death in Alien is one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, with the character collapsing 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 the death even more shocking was that Kane had just suffered an ordeal with a face hugger, and seemed to make a full recovery before the alien burst from his chest.

3

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 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 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 Gray (Famke Janssen). While Stewart ends up reprising his role as Professor X a few more times, and the character himself survives the disintegration by transferring his consciousness into a comatose patient, it doesn’t take away the shock of the moment.

While Stewart ended up reprising his role as Professor X a few more times, and the character himself survived the disintegration by transferring his consciousness into a comatose patient, That doesn’t take away the shock of the moment. Killing off Professor X before the film’s climax meant that, although the stakes were raised and Jean was established as very dangerous, audiences were still disappointed. Xavier was 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.

2

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Tom Hiddleston

In the opening scene of Avengers: Infinity WarThanos (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 as he brutally chokes Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to death. Loki had “died” several times in the MCU before this point, but this was real, and in the words of Thanos himself, it would be “No resurrections this time“.

While the separation of timelines means we’ll eventually see Loki reappear in his titular series, that doesn’t make his death in Infinity War any less heartbreaking. Loki has 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 sudden exit as the God of Mischief may be a gut-wrenching scene to watch, but is nonetheless a necessary way for the stakes of Infinity War to be set, and to establish Thanos as the deadliest threat to the MCU yet.

1

Scream (1996)

Drew Barrymore

when scream In 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 opening scene of the movie. 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 was the face of screams marketing campaign, with her face taking up most of the movie’s theatrical release poster. While her death helps set Scream’s story in motion, it doesn’t 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.