Devon Sawa Was Never Paid For Final Destination 5 & Didn't Even Know He Was In It

Plenty of skeletons have been coming out of Hollywood's closet lately concerning the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike and why many members have a grievance. However, Devon Sawa has had an incredibly unique experience that speaks to the rise of AI within the special effects field and how it can be used to make actors appear in things against their will or without their knowledge.

While the ending of "Final Destination 5" is often noted as one of the best twists in the series, for Sawa, it was a different kind of surprise to see the film when he was invited to the premiere. Namely, because he had no idea that he was even in the sequel.

"I never got paid a cent for 'Final Destination 5,'" wrote Sawa in a since-deleted tweet that Comic Book captured. "They didn't even tell me I was in it when they invited me to the premiere." Though many actors have similarly disquieting stories about their experience working for major studios, the actor's recounting of being surprised to see himself on screen is especially troubling.

As many have noted, certain studios' plans to capture images and scans of actors and use them in perpetuity without further compensation have come across as particularly dystopian amid the SAG-AFTRA strike. Still, it sounds like Devon Sawa was among the first to experience it firsthand when "Final Destination 5" was released in 2011.

Memorably, the film's ending sees surviving characters Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto) and Molly (Emma Bell) get on a plane to escape all the story's blood and carnage. Only, they are troubled to see Alex (Sawa) and his friends from the first movie being dragged from the plane, revealing that "Final Destination 5" is actually a prequel.

"In the first contract for part one, there was a section [that] stated they owned the footage and could use it in the future. I assumed for press. I was wrong. This has nothing to do with the filmmakers, by the way. I loved 'FD5.' I love them all, to be completely honest. And I'm super excited to see number 6."

While this is preexisting footage rather than the announced plan to scan actors and use their likenesses, it's still somewhat troubling. How long the strike will continue and whether demands will be met remains to be seen, but stories like this help explain the strike's context.