Characters Who Were Supposed To Die In Scrapped Movies

Movies often contain deaths that surprise audiences. But what's just as surprising are the deaths planned in movies that never end up seeing the light of day. Here's a list of characters scheduled to take the big dirt nap, but who were saved at the last minute when the movies got cancelled. Spoilers ahead...sort of.

M has been James Bond's boss and the closest thing Bond's ever had to a confidant for quite a while. That's why it's such a surprise to learn that not only was M, portrayed by Dame Judi Dench, always meant to die, but at one point, Bond was supposed to kill her. According to The Guardian, Peter Morgan, writer of The Queen, once wrote a Bond script called Once Upon a Spy. The script involved M having an illegitimate son who blackmails her, and Bond having to deal with it. And for some reason, through all the events that occur in the film, Bond is forced to kill M. Stories about the script are unclear as to why he kills her though. Though the movie never happened, elements of the story found their way into Skyfall.

In a Batman vs. Superman movie that probably would've been way different than what Zack Snyder has planned for us, Batman mainstays Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, and Commissioner Gordon all would've died. Well actually, they would've all been dead when the movie picked up, five years after Batman had retired. But during the events of this cancelled movie, Batman would have been on the verge of getting married, only to have his wife murdered by the Joker. But for some reason, Batman blames Superman for her death, which is how the whole Vs. thing comes into play. Probably not the best recipe to kick off a Justice League franchise.

In Quentin Tarantino's plans for his multi-film epic, he planned to kill off the protagonist from the original film, Uma Thurman's Beatrix Kiddo, a.k.a. Black Mamba, a.k.a. The Bride. While multiple versions of plot details exist out there, in one version, Vernita Green's daughter, who witnessed her mother's death at The Bride's hands in Vol. 1, grows up to seek revenge on her mother's killer. After she takes her revenge on The Bride, The Bride's daughter B.B. then goes out seeking revenge on her mother's killer in an endless cycle of revenge. And we realize this one is a bit of a cheat, since Quentin Tarantino's plans for Kill Bill 3 are still kind of up in the air. But he said he wanted to wait ten years or so before he made this one, and it's been a bit more than ten years now. Still no solid evidence of it happening...

There are a few different versions of what Ghostbusters 3 would've been. One involved the Ghostbusters going to Hell to battle ghosts. Another featured the original Ghostbusters in advisory roles training cadet Ghostbusters. But the one we're interested in would've featured Dr. Peter Venkman, played by the brilliant Bill Murray, as a ghost, according to an interview Sigourney Weaver gave to the UK's Channel 4 in 2009. The movie would've also featured Oscar, the baby from Ghostbusters 2, grown up and having become a Ghostbuster himself. Unfortunately, with the death of Harold Ramis, this movie will never happen now, which is too bad.

One of several abandoned Superman movies, J.J. Abrams' Superman: Flyby would've featured the death of the Man of Steel. Among the many out-of-the-ordinary plot details, Superman would've died after being stabbed with a piece of kryptonite while fighting evil Kryptonians. At the same time, Superman's old man Jor-El would've committed suicide in a Kryptonian jail. They'd then both meet up in the afterlife, and somehow prompt Superman's resurrection. It also featured a UFOlogist Lex Luthor and something called "Kryptonian Kung-Fu". Interesting side note, both Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill auditioned to play the Man of Steel in this movie. Strange as it sounds, maybe after seeing what he's done with Star Trek and Star Wars, Warner Bros. is sorry to have passed on Abrams' ideas here.

Here's another one where Supes would've bit the big one. This one would've been the fifth movie to feature Christopher Reeve in the titular role. Pitched by comic-book writer Cary Bates, the film's villain would've been Brainiac and the story would've been a full-on science fiction slugfest between the two. The fight would leave Superman dead, only to be later revived in the bottle-city of Kandor. It also would've saved the franchise, according to an interview Bates gave to Newsarama, as the plan was to pick up from Superman II, and pretend the abysmal third and fourth movies never happened. While Superman V never happened, the script is available to read online. And it's kind of okay!

Tough times for Clark Kent; here's yet another film where people wanted to kill Superman. This time, it was written by Kevin Smith. Tim Burton signed on to direct, with Nicholas Cage cast as Superman. It was also supposed to have a giant robot spider, a gay R2-D2 sidekick, no flying, and no red cape, according to Smith. Ultimately, Burton threw out Smith's script, in favor of another. It got as far as test shots of Cage in costume being taken, but ultimately, everyone left the project. The story of how this movie went down in flames has since been told in the 2015 documentary, The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened?