10 Major Death Scenes In Movies That Were Later Undone

Warning: This article contains spoilers for several major movie franchises.

Fake-out deaths are commonplace in action franchises that want to establish real danger within the setting but also want popular heroes and villains to remain a part of the story. However, a character’s “resurrection” minimizes the impact of their death scene. These character returns are commonly accompanied by a convoluted explanation or no explanation at all. The writers or producers or directors want the character to return, and so it will be, even if it makes no sense at all.

However, reversed character deaths can work if they are logical, or if it is what the audience expects. Some franchises, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Fast & Furious, and most superhero series, are notorious for regularly bringing back characters they previously killed off. Nonetheless, there are a select few character resurrections that contribute to quality storytelling.

10 Colonel Quaritch Is Killed By Jake & Neytiri

Avatar (2009)

Jake and Neytiri have an intense final fight sequence with Avatar’s main villain, Colonel Miles Quaritch. They struggle to overpower Quaritch in an AMP suit, but he is eventually shot by Neytiri. Technically, Quaritch’s human body did die. However, Quaritch returns in Avatar: The Way of Water when the RDA creates Avatar bodies for him and other military personnel. It is also revealed that Quaritch uploaded his memories before he was killed in the battle with the Na’vi. James Cameron suggests that he always planned for Avatar to be a franchise, but the Na’vi’s victory and Quaritch’s demise still give the impression of being a definitive ending in Avatar.

9 Captain Barbossa Is Shot By Jack Sparrow

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)

In the final battle of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Captain Barbossa is shot by Jack Sparrow moments before the Aztec curse is lifted. Barbossa then dies of a bullet wound. People have pointed this out as one of Pirates of the Caribbean movies’ plot holes, arguing that Jack and the other undead pirates should also have died from their wounds once the curse was lifted.

Barbossa returns in the final moments of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. The next movie explains that Tia Dalma was able to resurrect Barbossa and not Jack because the latter is trapped in Davy Jones’ locker. While Barbossa’s surprise return might have been a fun twist at first, the franchise has rendered all death scenes meaningless with constant resurrections. For instance, no one believes that Barbossa’s second death in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will stick.

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8 Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez Is Decapitated

Highlander (1986)

John Wick director Chad Stahelski and Henry Cavill’s Highlander reboot is on the way. They will hopefully be able to avoid repeating the massive failure of the Highlander sequels, which included an insane character resurrection. In the first Highlander movie, Connor MacLeod’s mentor Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez is beheaded by the villain the Kurgan. However, Connor is able to resurrect him in Highlander II: The Quickening with poorly explained magical powers. Granted, this movie is heavily criticized for many other reasons.

7 Gisele Falls Off A Plane

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)

During the runway scene in Fast & Furious 6, Gisele Yashar lets go of a speeding plane to free her hands, so she can shoot one of Owen Shaw’s men to save Han Lue. The audience never sees Gisele’s body, indicating that she could return. Gisele returns in Fast X, but the movie does not explain how she survived. However, this is not unusual for the Fast & Furious franchise. Multiple characters have come back from the dead with increasingly less explanation. The point isn’t for it to make sense, but for the audience to enjoy the character’s presence in the movies once again.

6 Harry Hart Is Shot In The Head

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Harry Hart, the mentor of Kingsman: The Secret Service’s protagonist Eggsy Unwin, is shot at point-blank range by Richmond Valentine. However, shortly after the movie’s release, it was announced that Colin Firth would return for the sequel. It is revealed in Kingsman: The Golden Circle that Harry was saved by “Alpha Gel” technology, which stabilized his injury until he could be treated with more advanced medicine. However, he does suffer from amnesia because of the injury. Harry’s survival might have been worth diminishing the emotional impact of his death if he and Eggsy could have had the same mentor-student dynamic in the sequel, but the amnesia storyline mostly prevents this.

5 Trinity Dies In A Crash Landing

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

Trinity flies Neo to the Machine City close to the end of The Matrix Revolutions, resulting in a crash landing. Trinity is impaled by rebar and dies of her injuries, a fate which was hated by fans who have seen her triumph in countless fights. Neo also dies soon after by allowing Agent Smith to assimilate him in the Matrix and sacrificing himself to destroy Smith. However, both of them are revealed to have been resurrected by the Analyst in The Matrix Resurrections. While this allows Trinity and Neo to be in the sequel, some people still believe that The Matrix could have handled Trinity’s death and resurrection better.

4 Spock Dies Of Radiation Poisoning

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)

In Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Leonard Nimoy’s Spock manually repairs the warp core of the Enterprise, allowing the ship and its crew to escape the explosion of the Genesis Device. He then succumbs to the core’s radiation. Spock’s Wrath of Khan death was intended to be permanent, and the writers wanted to give the character a proper sendoff. However, they did end up making a sequel and Nimoy was eager to return.

In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Spock is revealed to have survived by transferring his katra, or living soul, to Dr. Leonard McCoy. This sends Captain Kirk on a mission to reunite Spock’s body and soul. Spock’s return in The Search for Spock possibly undermines one of the Star Trek movies’ most famous and emotional moments – but what is Star Trek without Spock?

3 Han Is Killed During A Race

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Han’s character was first introduced in the third Fast & Furious movie that was released, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. In this movie, Han is apparently killed in a car crash during a race. He then appears as a member of Dom’s crew in Fast & Furious 4, 5, and 6, which chronologically take place before Tokyo Drift.

However, as Han’s character became increasingly popular, the Fast & Furious franchise was loath to let him go. In the post-credits scene of Fast & Furious 6, it is “revealed” that Han was killed by Deckard Shaw in Tokyo Drift. When he subsequently returns in Furious 7,Han reveals in the barest terms that Mr. Nobody helped him fake his death. This also demonstrates how Fast & Furious’ resurrections have become more and more vague as the series continues, with Letty Ortiz, Han, and Gisele’s returns.

2 Half Of The MCU Is Wiped Out

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Thanos uses the Infinity Stones to kill off half of the main characters at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, setting the survivors on a course to bring everyone back in Avengers: Endgame. These deaths build up to a powerful return in Endgame’s final battle. Thanos’ plan to wipe out half of all living things actually working was shocking, although many fans suspected that the lost characters’ return was inevitable. Endgame manages to slightly subvert expectations with the five-year time skip during which the remaining Avengers are forced to come to terms with their loss.

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1 Emperor Palpatine Is Thrown Down A Reactor Shaft

Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi (1983)

Emperor Palpatine is famously killed by Darth Vader, who throws his former master down a reactor shaft to save his son. Palaptine’s death was undisputed for decades, until his unpopular return in Star Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker. How Palpatine returns is only loosely explained as being another use of the Dark Side of the Force. His resurrection is generally considered poor writing, which undermines the end of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Retconning character deaths can work if the audience is willing to ignore logistics for the sake of entertainment. However, Palpatine and some other characters’ returns involve such sloppy writing that they will always be criticized.