History Main / ContractualImmortality

* ''{{Series/CSINY}}'' characters Danny and Lindsay were known to survive the season 6 cliffhanger because their actors had already contracted for the next season.

'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

->'''George:''' No, wait, I've got it! Quick, stand next to me!\\
'''Proto Man:''' Why?\\
'''George:''' My name's in the title of the comic! I can't die!
-->-- ''[[Webcomic/BobAndGeorge Bob and George]]''

*** One season featured Nick quitting, but Geoerge's contract made it clear he wouldn't stay away from the job.

** Though the show is named ''Series/{{Castle}}'' and not Beckett, did anyone really expect that Beckett would die after being shot at the end of Season 3?

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'':

* Amelia of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' seems to end up grievously injured in order to [[KickTheDog demonstrate the evil of the villains]], but given that her voice actress is always signed on for full seasons (and given that the fans would revolt were she to actually die) she is profoundly unlikely to ever actually be in anything resembling true mortal peril. This can actually apply to any characters in the series that isn't a major villain or a minor ally (such as Zelgadis' henchmen [[ThoseTwoGuys Zolf and Rodimus]] in the first season); however, this is averted in the LightNovel series in regards to Luke and Millina, two major allies of Lina and Gourry for the second half of the books.

* One of the villains of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'', the Mobius member X, appears (in a villainous role) in a party member's personal quest while also having a big role in the main story. Since the second ''Xenoblade'' game sidequests [[AntiFrustrationFeatures never expire]], which means that, since this quest can be done at any time after it unlocks, X cannot die during the main story barring a PointOfNoReturn.

[[folder:Film]]

* We knew Comicbook/{{Wolverine}}, Comicbook/{{Sabretooth}}, and William Stryker would all survive in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', since they appeared in the original movies.

* Amelia of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' seems to [[StuffedIntoTheFridge end up grievously injured]] in order to [[KickTheDog demonstrate the evil of the villains]], but given that her voice actress is always signed on for full seasons (and given that the fans would revolt were she to actually die) she is profoundly unlikely to ever actually be in anything resembling true mortal peril. This can actually apply to any characters in the series that isn't a major villain or a minor ally (such as Zelgadis' henchmen [[ThoseTwoGuys Zolf and Rodimus]] in the first season); however, this is averted in the LightNovel series in regards to Luke and Millina, two major allies of Lina and Gourry for the second half of the books.

** The death of Steve Trevor in ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'' didn't prevent Creator/ChrisPine from returning in ''Film/WonderWoman1984'', though there's a twist regarding Steve's apparent return.

** The spin-off novel ''Harry Sullivan's War'' originally ended with the titular companion being killed off, but Target wanted him to live in the hope of a sequel. Sadly, Ian Marter's death prevented this from happening.

** Played straight with the companions, although the latest seasons [[FromACertainPointOfView do their best to play with it.]]

* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' shockingly ended with the deaths of many of Marvel's characters at the hands of Comicbook/{{Thanos}}. While the deaths of the lower-tier heroes like Comicbook/TheVision, Comicbook/TheFalcon, [[Comicbook/BuckyBarnes Bucky]] and Comicbook/ScarletWitch might have been believable (and even ''those'' became unlikely when it was revealed in late 2018 that Creator/DisneyPlus was developing shows for [[Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier Falcon]] and [[Series/WandaVision Scarlet Witch]]), the fact that certain characters with hit solo movies like the Comicbook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy (save for Comicbook/RocketRaccoon), Comicbook/DoctorStrange, Comicbook/SpiderMan and Comicbook/BlackPanther (whose [[Film/BlackPanther2018 first movie]] brought in over ''one billion dollars'' at the box office) were ''also'' killed off pushed the ending into LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt territory for quite a few fans. The fact that a ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' sequel was already announced before ''Infinity War'' was released pretty much ensured that the deaths (or at least most of them) would somehow [[DeathIsCheap be undone]] in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''. Sure enough, this was the case.

* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' shockingly ended with the deaths of many of Marvel's characters at the hands of Comicbook/{{Thanos}}. While the deaths of the lower-tier heroes like Comicbook/TheVision, Comicbook/TheFalcon, [[Comicbook/BuckyBarnes Bucky]] and Comicbook/ScarletWitch might have been believable (and even ''those'' became unlikely when it was revealed in late 2018 that Creator/DisneyPlus was developing shows for Falcon and Scarlet Witch), the fact that certain characters with hit solo movies like the Comicbook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy (save for Comicbook/RocketRaccoon), Comicbook/DoctorStrange, Comicbook/SpiderMan and Comicbook/BlackPanther (whose [[Film/BlackPanther2018 first movie]] brought in over ''one billion dollars'' at the box office) were ''also'' killed off pushed the ending into LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt territory for quite a few fans. The fact that a ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' sequel was already announced before ''Infinity War'' was released pretty much ensured that the deaths (or at least most of them) would somehow [[DeathIsCheap be undone]] in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''. Sure enough, this was the case.

* Marvel teased that there would be a "big death" in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''. The problem is, the majority of the characters had already been confirmed to survive thanks to casting news for ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', while the only actor not confirmed for future movies was Creator/AaronJohnson. It was ultimately ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} who bit the bullet during the final battle, to the surprise of no one (or at least nobody who knew about ''Civil War'').

* Lucy's death in the TV show ''Series/{{ER}}'' counts as an inversion. There was an issue of a tv guide-esque magazine that came out the week "Be Still My Heart" aired in which it revealed that Kellie Martin had asked to be written out of the show. Needless to say, the only true surprise in the cliffhanger of the episode was that the producers actually had her die instead of just writing her off.

** It was obvious that Data wasn't dead in "{{Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E22TheMostToys}} The Most Toys]]". Seeing the shuttle explode, however... was still pretty convincing.