History SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome / LiveActionFilms

* Several major characters have died in the ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' sequels. Rocky's coach Mickey died of a heart attack in ''Film/RockyIII'', his former rival turned best friend Apollo Creed is beaten to death by Ivan Drago in ''Film/RockyIV'', his wife Adrian dies of breast cancer prior to ''Film/RockyBalboa'', and Paulie passes away prior to the events of ''Film/{{Creed}}''.

* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInMexico'' killed off Carolina, the LoveInterest from ''Film/{{Desperado}}'', in a backstory event that didn't get revealed until the end of the second act of the film. She and Mariachi had a kid before it all went down, which made things extra tragic, since the little girl wasn't spared either. Marquez, the killer and the Dragon for the movie's BigBad, is Mariachi's main target for revenge during the movie.

* Alice, the FinalGirl of ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'' who killed Pamela Voorhees, becomes the very first victim of Pamela's son Jason at the beginning of ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPart2 Part 2]]''. Jason's next victim, Crazy Ralph, also survived the first movie.

* Alice, the FinalGirl of the first ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'', becomes Jason's very first victim at the beginning of ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPart2 Part 2]]''. The next person to die, Crazy Ralph, also survived the first movie.

** David Tapp, whose fate was unclear at the end of the first movie, is confirmed to be dead in ''Film/SawV''. A similar fate for Tapp is shown in the canonical ending of the first video game.

* ''Franchise/{{Saw}}''
** ''Film/SawII'' revealed that Adam, one of the main characters from the original, had died, showing us his corpse. In ''Film/SawIII'' not only showed his death scene (in a flashback) but it also killed off early on Detective Kerry, who had been investigating the Jigsaw case since the beginning.
** Detective David Tapp, whose fate is unclear in ''Film/SawI'', is revealed to be dead in ''Film/SawV'' and his fate is shown in the canonical ending of the [[VideoGame/{{Saw}} video game]].

* Vanessa in ''Film/{{Deadpool 2}}'', who marketing made a big deal out of but who dies in the prologue. By the end of the film, her death seems to have been reversed by Wade's time travel antics.

* Wilmer Cook in the 1941 classic ''Film/{{The Maltese Falcon|1941}}'' is arrested (off-screen) by police at the end when Creator/HumphreyBogart calls them. He returns in the comedy sequel, ''The Black Bird'', with George Segal in Bogart's role of Sam Spade; Cook is still in search of the elusive Maltese Falcon but gets killed this time around.

** T'Challa dies offscreen of a mysterious illness in the first scene of ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever''.

** T'Challa dies offscreen of mysterious illness in the first scene of ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever''.

* ''Film/TheFlyII'': In the opening scene Veronica Quaife suffers DeathByChildbirth and the remainder of the film chronicles the resultant SpinOffspring. Also counts as TheOtherDarrin since she is played by Saffron Henderson due to Creator/GeenaDavis didn't want to reprise her role just for that (earlier concepts for the sequel gave Veronica significantly more to do).

* ''Film/TheFlyII'': In the opening scene Veronica Quaife suffers DeathByChildbirth and the remainder of the film chronicles the resultant SpinOffspring. Also counts as ActorLeavesCharacterDies since Creator/GeenaDavis didn't want to reprise her role just for that (earlier concepts for the sequel gave Veronica significantly more to do).

* ''Film/TheFlyII'': In the opening scene Veronica Quaife suffers DeathByChildbirth and the remainder of the film chronicles the resultant SpinOffspring. Also counts as TheOtherDarrin since Creator/GeenaDavis didn't want to reprise her role just for that (earlier concepts for the sequel gave Veronica significantly more to do).

** The Other is Thanos's right hand man, who serves as both a communication between Loki and Thanos, and as a way of hiding Thanos's identity from the audience until TheStinger of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', he shows up just long enough to be killed by [[TeamKiller Ronan the Accuser]].

* Creator/SarahMichelleGellar survived ''Film/TheGrudge'' and was soon killed off in the sequel, to be replaced by her sister Creator/AmberTamblyn.
** The only suvivor of the second, Jake, quickly dies in the third.

* In ''Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe'', as a parody of the above James Bond example, Austin's love interest in the first movie, Vanessa, is revealed to be a fembot and is quickly destroyed. To make the revelation [[RuleOfFunny even more absurd]], Basil admits that they'd known all along. Austin mourns her death for all of three seconds before realizing he's single again, which makes him so happy it leads to a choreographed dance number. None of this (except for Austin's joy at being single again) makes the least bit of sense, even by Austin Powers standards, but it's not ''supposed'' to.
** Interestingly enough, Vanessa ''was'' meant to continue to be alongside Austin in the plan for the second film, but Elizabeth Hurley having scheduling issues meant that this happened.

* ''Film/XXxStateOfTheUnion''
** Vin Diesel's character from the first ''Film/XXx'' is mentioned in passing as having been killed by a guerrilla ambush in the beginning of ''xXx: State of the Union,'' to make way for Ice Cube as the new xXx. Ice Cube is smart enough not to stick around for his turn, and retires at the end of the film so a new xXx can appear in the sequel without requiring his death.
** The Director's Cut DVD actually includes a short movie showing the death itself... sort of. Xander is played by Vin Diesel's stunt double, never showing his face, and with dubbed lines from the first film. There's an explosion that apparently leaves behind only a tattooed flap of skin slaps down.
** What's really interesting is that Vin Diesel returns as Xander Cage in ''Film/XXXReturnOfXanderCage''. The title seems to make it clear that the film will not be a ContinuityReboot. It looks to treat Xander's death as CanonDisContinuity or a ReWrite in which he survives.

*** Wow, Brenda just can't catch a break. Everyone just keeps killing her! No wonder [=MacLeod=] always looks so pissed throughout the series.

* Kirsty Cotton from the ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' series consistently averts this, after appearing as a character in three movies and as cameos in others. Every time, she gets a little bit craftier at dealing with Hell.

* Nancy Allen, who played Officer Ann Lewis in the ''Franchise/RoboCop'' trilogy, is dispatched less than halfway through ''Film/RoboCop3'', largely due to her own incompetence (she goes to a suspected resistance hideout by herself and [[TooDumbToLive does't bother wearing body armor]], which leads to her being gutshot). However, this is because Allen [[KilledByRequest asked the producers to write her character out of the franchise]].

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'', Indy's dad is revealed to have died offscreen prior to the events of the movie, thanks to Connery declining to appear in the film. Henry Jones was already old in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' and the fourth film takes place eighteen years later, so many viewers probably saw his death coming anyway.

* Kraven, the ManipulativeBastard who survived all the reversals and betrayals of ''Film/{{Underworld}}'', dies barely 10 minutes into ''Film/UnderworldEvolution'' when Marcus, the new big bad, learns of his treachery and gruesomely slaughters him.
** He also slaughters everyone else in the mansion, albeit off-screen, including Erika.

* ''Film/BillAndTedFaceTheMusic'': Rufus is mentioned to have died during the 28-year interim since the last movie. This is due to Creator/GeorgeCarlin's real-life passing.

* ''Film/ClerksIII'': Becky Scott is revealed to have suffered a BusCrash in-between sequels. Dante Hicks, the main character of the trilogy, dies at the end of this film of a heart attack.
* ''Film/BillAndTedFaceTheMusic'': Due to Creator/GeorgeCarlin's real-life death, Rufus is mentioned to have passed away during the 28-year interim since the last movie.

* ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' brings back several of the surviving team members from [[Film/SuicideSquad2016 the first movie]], only to [[DroppedABridgeOnHim kill off Captain Boomerang during the opening skirmish]] and then have Rick Flag die during a fight with Peacemaker.

* ''Film/{{Scream}}'':
** Randy, the horror movie buff who identified all the tropes in the first ''Film/{{Scream 1996}}'', gets killed halfway through ''Film/{{Scream 2}}'', though he is GenreSavvy enough to make a VideoWill to dispense some final advice for ''Film/{{Scream 3}}''.
** Cotton Weary, a recurring character who helped Sidney in the second movie (despite the fact that she mistakenly sent him to jail about a year before the first) and killed the BigBad, died in the first 10 minutes of the third movie to enforce one of the "rules" of a threequel: In the third movie all bets are off and AnyoneCanDie.
** After surviving four films suited up in PlotArmor, Dewey Riley, one of the trinity of heroes of the franchise, bites the dust in [[Film/Scream2022 the fifth film]], in which he dies trying to shoot the new Ghostface in the head, [[DeathByGenreSavvy knowing that they never die without a headshot]]. Earlier, the film also kills off Sheriff (previously Deputy) Judy Hicks, a surviving new character from ''Film/Scream4''.

** Frigga, Thor and Loki's mother and Odin's wife, is murdered by Malekith and Kurse when she refuses to give up the whereabouts of Jane Foster in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''.

** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'': Thanos, the victorious BigBad of the previous film they'd been building up to since ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' seven years ago, is executed by Thor early into the film after a brief confrontation. Partially averted, as the film's BigBad is an alternate timeline version of himself, leading to the ultimate climactic battle.

* ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries'' :
** ''Film/ResidentEvilExtinction'' did this twice. First, LJ gets bitten by zombie and eventually turns and gets killed by Carlos. Carlos, however, gets bitten by LJ before killing him, and he later performs one hell of a HeroicSacrifice [[DyingAsYourself so he doesn't turn into a zombie]].
** ''Film/ResidentEvilAfterlife'' killed off ''all'' of the Alice clones found at the end of the third film in the first ten minutes.
** ''Film/ResidentEvilTheFinalChapter'' kills everyone besides Alice and Claire Redfield.

* ''Film/TheBourneSeries'' pulled it twice, first in ''Film/TheBourneSupremacy'' with Marie (who in the original novels lives through the end), motivate Bourne to come out of hiding, and then in ''Film/JasonBourne'' with Nicky.

* Commissioner Loeb is one of the Joker's first major victims in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', while Mayor Garcia is one of the first ones to get killed by Bane in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. Bruce Wayne's love interest Rachel Dawes from ''Film/BatmanBegins'' also dies in ''The Dark Knight'', but makes it to about the halfway point of the film and her death is a major element of the plot.

* The murderous Firefly family makes it through ''Film/HouseOf1000Corpses'' without a single casualty. Come Film/TheDevilsRejects, Rufus, Mama, Tiny, Otis, Baby, and Captain Spaulding are killed off. Furthermore, Grandpa Hugo apparently passed away offscreen due to the death of his actor and there was a deleted scene featuring the death of Dr. Satan.

* ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'' sees Jasmine and Whitmore die either as a SacrificialLamb or HeroicSacrifice, albeit with the latter's death not happening until the film's climax. Before the events of the movie, Steven Hiller was killed in a training accident, and a supplementary novel states that Constance had died in an accident. Subverted with Julius, who initially appears to die in the tidal wave caused by the mothership's landing, but later turns up alive and well.

* ''Film/Coming2America'' does this to the former king and queen of Zamunda from the [[Film/ComingToAmerica first film]]. Though due to the three decade gap between the two films (both in-universe and real life) the "sudden" part is justified.
** King Jaffe Joffer is terminally ill and passes away a few minutes into this film, allowing Akeem to become the new ruler of Zamunda.
** Queen Aoleon died some time before the events of the film [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim due to Madge Sinclair's death]] in 1995.

* In ''Film/TopGunMaverick'', it was mentioned that Rooster's mother, Carole, [[BusCrash passed away several years before the events of the film]], while Iceman later passes away from throat cancer.

** Marcus also dies between ''Crusade'' and ''Crystal Skull'', due to the death of actor Denholm Elliot.

** And Laurie Strode's death in ''Film/HalloweenResurrection''.

** ''Film/HalloweenKills'' takes this UpToEleven, killing not only most of the surviving new cast introduced in the previous film (Karen Nelson, Cameron Elam, the old woman who led the British podcasters to the Haddonfield graveyard, and even the the doctor and nurse couple who appeared in a brief cameo) but also legacy characters from the 1978 film (Tommy Doyle, Leigh Brackett, Marion Chambers, and Lonnie Elam). Aside from Laurie, the only major characters who survive are Lindsey Wallace, Frank Hawkins, and Allyson Nelson.

** After surviving four films suited up in PlotArmor, Dewey Riley, one of the trinity of heroes of the franchise, bites the dust in [[Film/Scream2022 the fifth film]], in which he dies trying to shoot the new Ghostface in the head, [[DeathByGenreSavvy knowing that they never die without a headshot]]. Earlier, the film also kills off Sherriff (previously Deputy) Judy Hicks, the only surviving new character from ''Film/Scream4''.

* [[StuffedIntoTheFridge Vanessa]] in ''Film/{{Deadpool 2}}'', who marketing made a big deal out of but who dies in the prologue. By the end of the film, her death seems to have been reversed by Wade's time travel antics.

** Elena Neves, who debuts in ''Fast Five'' and survives the next two sequels, gets StuffedInTheFridge in ''Film/TheFateOfTheFurious''.

** ''Film/HalloweenKills'' takes this UpToEleven, killing not only most of the surviving new cast introduced in the previous film (Karen Nelson, Cameron Elam, the old woman who led the British podcasters to Michael's grave, and even the the doctor and nurse couple who appeared in a brief cameo) but also legacy characters from the 1978 film (Tommy Doyle, Leigh Brackett, Marion Chambers, and Lonnie Elam). Aside from Laurie, the only major characters who survive are Lindsey Wallace, Frank Hawkins, and Allyson Nelson.

* Rachel Carruthers was the FinalGirl of ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'', and was killed by Michael Myers in the first act of [[Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers the fifth movie]].

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'': Letty is KilledOffscreen within the first twenty minutes of ''Fast & Furious''. Doubles as BackForTheDead since this is her first flick in nearly eight years, having skipped the intervening two films. Subverted later when TheStinger of ''Fast Five'' reveals that she is NotQuiteDead. She joins the series again as a main character in ''Fast & Furious 6'' and has stayed since.