Early drafts of Star Wars: The Force Awakens had Poe dying during the opening crash on Jakku. Oscar Isaac personally asked director J. J. Abrams to let the character live, pointing out that many of his recent roles had ended with an early death. Abrams agreed, and Poe survived, much to Isaac’s delight, and the sequel trilogy’s benefit. | © Walt Disney Pictures
When the Joker first appeared in the pages of Batman, he wasn’t meant to stick around. The writers planned to kill him off immediately, worrying that a recurring villain would make Batman look incompetent. Editorial stepped in at the last second and added a quick extra panel showing he survived, a decision that turned him into one of the most iconic villains ever, and sparked endless debates about whether Batman should have ended it when he had the chance. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Early ideas for Iron Man 3 had Happy going down for good during a brutal fight with one of the villains. The plan was to kill him off and raise the emotional stakes around Tony Stark. Instead, director Jon Favreau’s character ends up in a coma and wakes up by the end, giving the story tension without losing one of Stark’s closest allies. | © Walt Disney Pictures
The original plan for Homeland had Brody meeting his end at the close of season one. The story was built around that shocking finish, tying up his arc early. But showrunner Alex Gansa was won over by Damian Lewis and his electric chemistry with Claire Danes, so Brody stayed, and the show shifted with him. | © Showtime Networks
Daryl wasn’t even part of the original comics, and early plans for The Walking Dead didn’t guarantee him a long future. He was introduced as a rough-edged side character who easily could’ve been killed off in the show’s early seasons. Instead, Norman Reedus’s performance struck a chord with fans, and Daryl survived long enough to become one of the franchise’s central faces. | © AMC
The original pilot for Lost had a shocking twist planned, Jack was supposed to die in the very first episode. The idea was to kill off who seemed like the main character and throw viewers completely off balance. Studio head Steve McPherson stepped in and convinced the writers to keep Matthew Fox’s character alive, which changed the entire shape of the series. | © ABC
Early drafts of Stranger Things didn’t have Steve making it very far. He was introduced as the typical high school jerk, and the plan was to write him out sooner rather than later. Then Joe Keery brought unexpected charm to the role, fans responded, and Steve stuck around long enough to become one of the show’s most beloved characters. | © Netflix
When Stranger Things was first mapped out, Eleven wasn’t meant to survive beyond season one. The idea was for her story to end there, closing the Upside Down chapter in a much more final way. Once the Duffer Brothers saw how essential Millie Bobby Brown’s performance was to the heart of the show, they reworked the plan and kept her around. | © Netflix
Early on in Breaking Bad, Jesse wasn’t meant to stick around for long. The original plan had him killed by a drug dealer in season one, which would have pushed Walter further into darkness. But Aaron Paul’s performance changed everything, and the writers kept Jesse alive, turning him into one of the show’s emotional core characters. | © Sony Pictures Releasing
There was a point during the planning of Breaking Bad when Skyler wasn’t meant to make it out alive. The writers considered having her take her own life in the final season, pushing the tragedy of the White family even further. The idea was eventually dropped, and Anna Gunn’s character survived the fallout instead of becoming another casualty of Walter’s choices. | © Sony Pictures Releasing
In the original First Blood by David Morrell, Rambo doesn’t survive the story. He takes his own life at the end, a bleak finish that underlines the damage the war left behind. The 1982 film adaptation starring Sylvester Stallone changed that completely, letting Rambo live, and that single decision opened the door to an entire action franchise. | © Orion Pictures
Screenwriter Shane Black originally planned for Riggs to go out in a blaze of glory at the end of Lethal Weapon 2. The idea was a fatal shootout that would give Mel Gibson’s reckless LAPD sergeant a tragic, almost poetic ending. Producers had other plans, though; they wanted more sequels, so Riggs survived, and Black walked away from the franchise soon after. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Early ideas for Alien didn’t end with Ripley drifting safely into space. Director Ridley Scott once considered a shock finale where the Xenomorph kills her outright, even biting off her head before mimicking her voice to send a final transmission. The plan was scrapped, thankfully, and that decision allowed Sigourney Weaver’s character to become one of sci-fi’s most enduring survivors. | © 20th Century Fox
During early drafts of Return of the Jedi, Han wasn’t meant to make it to the celebration on Endor. Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan pushed for a heroic death to raise the stakes, and even Harrison Ford liked the idea of giving the smuggler a meaningful exit. But George Lucas reportedly shut it down, joking that there wasn’t much future in dead Han action figures, so the galaxy’s favorite rogue survived. | © Walt Disney Pictures
In early plans for Rocky V, the Italian Stallion wasn’t meant to walk away from that brutal street fight with Tommy Gunn. The idea was for Rocky to die in the end, closing the chapter on Sylvester Stallone’s most iconic role in a tragic, full-circle moment. Then director John Avildsen got a call from studio executives who weren’t ready to bury the franchise, and Rocky lived on, which eventually made room for the later sequels and the Creed era. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Sometimes the story almost ended very differently. Major characters were meant to die early, often for shock value or dramatic impact. Then plans changed, and those last-minute decisions reshaped entire franchises.
