Top 10 Movie Deaths That Also Killed the Franchise

#10: Steven Hiller

“Independence Day: Resurgence” (2016)

In “Independence Day” humanity takes the fight to alien invaders to win the day, but in "Resurgence” they’re back for round two. This time though Will Smith’s Captain Steven Hiller is nowhere to be found. Due to real-life scheduling conflicts, Smith couldn’t come back to film the sequel, meaning Hiller wouldn’t be returning. To explain the captain’s absence in the story, Steven was shockingly killed offscreen. They then brought in Hiller’s stepson Dylan to act as the captain’s replacement. Fans wanting to see Will Smith return universally rejected this creative choice, and the movie flopped at the box office because of it. Instead of propelling the franchise forward with a new sense of direction, “Resurgence” was instead killed unceremoniously along with Hiller.

#9: Mako Mori

“Pacific Rim Uprising” (2018)

If you loved Mako in “Pacific Rim”, the movie about giant monster-fighting robots piloted by humans, you were probably disappointed by “Uprising”. Mako Mori was a fan-favorite who many expected to be the lead for the sequel since Raleigh Becket wouldn’t be returning. Instead she was barely in the movie and when she did show up she was axed in a helicopter mishap. Let’s just say fans were furious. “Uprising” already had things going against it like Guillermo del Toro and Charlie Hunnam not returning, but Mako’s mistreatment was the final nail in the coffin. Director Steven DeKnight later expressed regret over Mako’s story but it was too little too late. In the end fans formed an uprising of their own against this disastrous sequel.

#8: Gwen Stacy

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (2014)

The death of Gwen Stacy is a unique situation. Peter Parker’s lowest point is actually this divisive movie’s best moment arguably. It’s a gutwrenching cinematic catastrophe unlike any other. Gwen wasn’t killed off in an unsatisfying way though, instead she was given a heartbreakingly emotional sendoff. Her death actually elevated the story, but it also signaled that this was the end, even if that wasn’t actually the intention. This was the final film in Andrew Garfield’s spider-saga and Gwen’s exit more or less showed that time was up for this franchise. Upsetting box-office numbers and corporate politics are largely considered the reasons we never got “The Amazing Spider-Man 3”. However, Gwen’s death undeniably marked a closing chapter to this specific version of the wallcrawler’s world.

#7: Luke Skywalker

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017)

Look, it’s a stretch to act like “Star Wars” is ever going away. That being said, it’s not the cinematic juggernaut it once was. The sequel trilogy killed off and arguably wasted several characters like Han Solo, General Hux, and Kylo Ren, but the biggest offense is Luke Skywalker. He’s a main character in this universe but he’s disillusioned and killed off in “The Last Jedi”. It’s been almost a decade and fans are still voicing their anger about this. Luke’s death is one of the biggest reasons why the sequels got so much backlash. After that trilogy wrapped up, “Star Wars” basically became a TV-only franchise and they’ve only now started returning to the big screen. Honestly, “Star Wars” just hasn’t been the same.

#6: Morpheus

“The Matrix Resurrections” (2021)

Considering that he was such an important part of the “Matrix” movies you’d think Morpheus would get a better ending. That being said, his death failed to do him justice. For starters, it happened in a tie-in game called "The Matrix Online”! If you were expecting this franchise to bring closure to his bizarre death you’re out of luck. In “Resurrections” Morpheus is essentially remodeled into a new version played by Yahya Abdul Mateen the Second. Look, Yahya’s great but he’s not Laurence Fishburne. In fact, Fishburne was just as confused as all of us by this weird creative change. “Resurrections” ultimately failed to bring “Matrix” back to life because of how poorly they handled Morpheus and the rest of the lore altogether.

#5: Superman

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)

This might be the exact moment where all the DCEU’s problems started. In “Batman v Superman” the Man of Steel is shockingly killed by Doomsday. It’s a moment that poorly tries to adapt “The Death of Superman”. You see, DC wanted to catch up to Marvel, but the DCEU rushed building their universe. They crammed this movie with too many of their heroes and tried to make it the on-ramp towards “Justice League”. But by killing Superman in his second DCEU appearance they effectively shot themselves in the foot. If you want to argue that the DCEU was fine after this, alright, we can have that conversation. But regardless, Henry Cavill’s chances at a proper “Superman” franchise absolutely tanked because of this poorly done death.

#4: Tom Hagen

“The Godfather Part III” (1990)

Never underestimate the power of the voice of reason. The “Godfather” movies are mostly remembered for the acting heavyweights like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Marlon Brando. But Robert Duvall can’t be ignored either. The third movie actually did ignore Duvall’s character Tom Hagen and suffered greatly. Because of money disputes Duvall decided not to return, which led to Hagen dying offscreen of cancer. You can feel Hagen’s absence throughout the whole film. For a series all about navigating power dynamics of the criminal underworld, Tom Hagen represented order. He was a familiar face who could keep others in check, and when he left it threw everything out of balance. “Part 3” wrapped the Corleone saga up but did it clumsily without Tom Hagen.

#3: Cyclops

“X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006)

There’s characters who are disrespected and then there's characters like Cyclops who are extremely disrespected. When it comes to those original early 2000s “X-Men” movies this goat is slandered hard. He’s consistently getting pushed aside in order to prop up Wolverine and once we get “The Last Stand” things take a turn for the worst. While sharing a moment with newly-resurrected Jean Grey it’s revealed she’s possessed by the Phoenix Force. As a result she shockingly kills Scott. This movie was bad. Cyclops’ mistreatment as well as the bland story led this universe to stumble for a few years until they had to do a soft reboot with “First Class”. In the end, “Last Stand” proved to be the last straw for many fans.

#2: Newt & Hicks

“Alien 3” (1992)

The deaths of both Newt and Hicks are a real one-two punch of pain. The duo were incredibly important to “Aliens” but in “Alien 3” they were killed off without a care in the world. The move was done for shock value but it had consequences. “Alien 3” made money but had a story that simply failed to resonate with audiences. Newt and Hicks’ death pissed off not only diehard fans but also the people who were involved with making the movies. As recently as December of 2025, James Cameron has reminded us that he thinks this was one of the stupidest decisions ever. Sure, the “Alien” franchise has continued since “Alien 3”, but the deaths of Newt and Hicks did some long-lasting brand damage.

#1: John Connor

“Terminator: Dark Fate” (2019)

If you thought Sarah Connor dying offscreen was bad, well…it still really was, but that’s not the only piece of blasphemy that this sci-fi IP has committed. They did her son dirty too. 2019’s “Dark Fate” actually brought Linda Hamilton’s Sarah back which made fans happy, unfortunately they also had the T-800 kill young John Connor in the movie’s opening sequence. Even if you know nothing about “Terminator” you know John’s a big deal. So needless to say getting rid of him in such a terrible way was a major burning of the bridge. We haven’t had a new Terminator movie since “Dark Fate”, and John’s death is easily the main reason why. The “Terminator” film franchise will not be back for a while.

Are there any franchise-killing deaths we forgot? Let’s all mourn in the comments!