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Killing a fan-favorite character, be it the hero or the antagonist, is always a gamble. The fans may appreciate the unorthodox step, or they can decide the film is no longer worth watching without that character. Some movies can take this one step further, killing their primary protagonists long before the story ends.
This is no new step, but it still often surprises the audience. Most viewers go into a film automatically presuming the protagonist will survive, especially if they're played by a well-known actor. Some of the bravest, most iconic movies of all time have risked this step. The films below all used this device to great effect, using the plot twist to keep the story going despite the key character's absence.
9 Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock killed his Psycho protagonist early in the iconic film, long before most of the others on this list. The well-known Janet Leigh played Marion, who goes on a long journey after stealing money from her boss. She makes the fateful mistake of stopping for the night at the Bates Motel, where she meets her end there just 47 minutes after the film starts. In one of the most famous scenes in history, she is stabbed to death in the shower.
The film then switches focus on Marion's sister Lila and Marion's boyfriend Sam, who come to Bates Motel to look for Marion. They have no idea that they're in mortal danger. Psycho is considered the originator of this film trope, so it caused quite a shock for viewers at the time.
8 The Godfather (1972)
This mafia classic spanned three iconic movies. However, it originally had a very different main character: Don Corleone, played by the Hollywood legend Marlon Brando. However, Don Corleone gets shot in the first film, dying in a hospital. His criminal empire then goes to his son Michael (Al Pacino) who originally wanted nothing to do with the family business. Michael eventually goes on to become even more ruthless than his father was.
The film puts emphasis on the importance of family, and the strength of the bonds between family members. Considering these themes, it makes sense to kill off the father and have his son take up the mantle.
7 The Lion King (1994)
In many ways, The Lion King is similar to The Godfather. Like the mafia film, this animated classic originally focuses on the father, Mufasa, only to switch to his son, Simba, after he dies. Simba does his best to follow in his dad's footsteps, but it's a real challenge for the young lion.
Since its release, the film has become a beloved classic. The moment of Mufasa's death easily makes the audience cry, even after nearly 30 years since the film's creation. It's proof that killing off a protagonist is always an emotional moment.
6 Scream (1996)
This instance is similar to Janet Leigh in Psycho: a big-name actress meets her end early in a horror movie. Drew Barrymore's character, Casey, dies even faster in the now-iconic horror movie Scream. The jaw-dropping moment occurs less than 15 minutes into the film, as the masked killer finds Casey in her home and kills her.
Nobody expected Casey would die so soon, especially since Barrymore was on a poster for the film and was already a famous face by then. The shock of the twist and the ruthlessness with which it was executed kept audiences on the edge of their seats throughout.
5 X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Superhero films often kill characters, but usually not the main heroes (unless Thanos comes onto the scene). However, X-Men: The Last Stand killed not just one, but two major characters. The first one who dies is Cyclops, played by James Marsden — but there's an even bigger twist.
Tue main character who dies is Sir Patrick Stewart's Professor X — the man who kickstarted the whole series, alongside Sir Ian McKellen's Magneto. Jean Grey, who has succumbed to the Dark Phoenix's power, kills her mentor in this unforgettable scene. Luckily for all Professor X fans, he later returns to the franchise.
4 The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)
The most common course of action with this movie twist is to focus on the character's friends or relatives after they die, as with several films above. The Place Beyond the Pines follows this formula to a certain degree.
Ryan Gosling was already a major star by the time he appeared in the film so nobody expected his hero Luke would die before the film's end. Yet, that's exactly what happened when a policeman shot him. The film then skips ahead in time and switches its perspective to the man who killed Luke, as well as Luke's now-teenage son.
3 G. I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
In the second G. I. Joe movie, Channing Tatum reprised his starring role of Duke. But unlike the first movie, which saw him survive countless challenges, Duke dies early on in the second film, in an airstrike on the G.I. Joe base.
Reportedly, Channing Tatum wasn't excited about the creators' decision to kill his character. Not to mention, everyone who liked seeing Duke's ascendance to becoming a leader of the team must have been just as unpleasantly surprised — but it was an emotional moment that gripped viewers.
2 Godzilla (2014)
The new version of Godzilla has been heavily anticipated — not just among monster-film fans, but those eager see Bryan Cranston in a major movie role. Initially, it seemed like Cranston's scientist John Brody would be the main human character in the movie (though of course, the true main character is Godzilla). However, he later dies, and the film switches focus to his son Ford, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Cranston later commented on his character's untimely death, saying he wasn't a fan: "That character dying at that time was a mistake. I knew it when I read it. When I read it I said, 'Oh, page 50 this character who was the emotional core at the center, that was guiding the audience in the story up to that point — he dies?' What a waste."
1 The Hateful Eight (2015)
Quentin Tarantino is no stranger to killing characters in his movies. The Hateful Eight seems like an ensemble piece, but Kurt Russell's John Ruth appears to be the main protagonist. Yet when he's trapped in a lodge with a bunch of outlaws, he ends up poisoned and one of them shoots him.
This comes as a surprise, especially to Daisy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) whom Ruth captured and was transporting to justice. From there on, the already tense relationships between the characters become even tenser, as Ruth's death makes it clear not everybody will make it out of the lodge alive.