Authors Lost they originally planned to kill off their main character, Jack Shepard, in the pilot episode (and if they had done that, the series would have been much worse). When Lost was first in development, with Michael Keaton cast as Jack. In the original script, Jack was the pilot of the plane, not one of the passengers, and he did not survive the first episode. The idea was to shock viewers by killing off the cast’s biggest star—the one they thought would become the series’ main character—in the very first episode.
In the end, the writers decided not to kill off Jack because they were afraid that audiences would give up if they became attached to a main character who didn’t even live to see the first episode. This caused Keaton to turn down the role, as he did not want to be involved in the ongoing television series (which would run for six years and 121 episodes). But even though the show cost the most famous cast, it was probably the right choice. Lost things would have been different if Jack hadn’t led the group, or if he hadn’t been played by Matthew Fox.
Can’t imagine being lost without Jack Matthew Fox
Jack became the heart of the show
After Lost ran for six iconic seasons with Fox taking center stage as Jack, it’s impossible to imagine the series without him. It’s like imagine The Walking Dead without Rick Grimes Andrew Lincoln or Peaky Blinders without Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby; they are the charismatic stars of the show and the glue that holds the vast ensemble together. Jack became the heart Lost — he cared deeply for his fellow survivors and did everything he could to keep them safe, but he also struggled with his own inner demons..
Jack was the closest person Lost was supposed to be a generic protagonist, but Fox brought enough depth and nuance to the character to keep him consistently compelling. In the hands of a lesser actor, Jack could have become Lostthe most boring character, but Fox always insisted that there was more to Jack than just heroism.. After Fox directed the cast throughout the series, it’s hard to imagine that Lost it would be without him – but it probably wouldn’t be so great.
What would have happened to Lost if it had followed Jack’s original plan
Kate would be a leader in Jack’s place
If Lost carried out his original plan and killed Jack in the first episode, and then the survivors would need another leader to take charge. The burden would likely fall on Kate. She is arguably the second most important character after Jack and the second most important character suitable to lead the group. In Season 1, Sawyer was too lone wolf to mobilize everyone, in Season 1, Hurley was well-meaning but rather incompetent, and in Season 1, Charlie was suffering from a heroin addiction, so… Kate could take over as leader in Jack’s absence.
In the first season, Sawyer was too lone wolf to mobilize everyone, in the first season, Hurley was well-meaning but rather incompetent, and in the first season, Charlie suffered from a heroin addiction, so Kate had to become the leader of Jack’s group. absence.
But that would make Kate a much less interesting character. Once the other survivors learned that Kate was a fugitive on the plane being taken to prison, they became wary of trusting her. Kate had to spend the entire first season earning the trust of her fellow survivors. But if Jack had been killed off in the first episode and the plot required Kate to step up and lead the way, then the writers would likely have taken shortcuts to earn that trust, and it would have made the storyline much less compelling.
Killing Jack in the first episode wouldn’t add much to the loss
This would add shock value, but would hurt the show in the long run
Killing Jack in the first episode Lost it added little to the series other than the initial shock. In retrospect, the writers’ initial rationale for wanting to kill Jack doesn’t hold water. The idea was to show that anyone on this show could die, but that never happened. LostThis is the biggest selling point anyway; shows how Game of Thrones, Breaking BadAnd The Walking Dead kept viewers on the edge of their seats by promising that no character would be safe, but Lost The main characters defied death at every turn so the show could keep them to itself.
Certainly, Lost killed off a lot of the main characters along the way and got some of the most shocking moments out of those characters’ deaths, but it wasn’t such a signature part of the show that it needed to be included in the pilot. The island’s secrets were a big part of the show’s appeal, but LostThe film’s popularity was largely due to its lovable characters. If these characters were being killed off left and right, it would be harder for audiences to form a strong emotional connection with them.