History TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter / LiveActionFilms

** ''Film/TheWolverine'': The decision to have the Silver Samurai [[spoiler: be the old BigBad guy, when they had TWO characters who could have made for a really BadAss PoweredArmor warrior for Wolverine to face and have a real adamantium fight with (those two being Harada and Shingen)]] annoyed some fans.

** Captain Phasma from ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. Despite having an awesome costume and being played by ''GameOfThrones'' 'Gwendoline Christie, does absolutely nothing of note. (WordOfGod, or at any rate Gwendoline Christie, confirmed that she'll be back in the next film as an AscendedExtra, however.)

** The two crime gangs that confront Han & Chewie, [[http://oi65.tinypic.com/351tufq.jpg The Guavian Death Gang]] and [[http://oi63.tinypic.com/2qsw27l.jpg Kanjiklub]] (the latter containing three guys that were in TheRaid). Both look mysterious and badass, but instead of a long awesome scene with them fighting, it's mainly them getting eaten by monsters that Han was transporting.

** Malekith the Accursed in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' never managed to be more than just a GenericDoomsdayVillain. What makes it painful is that he's played by Creator/ChristopherEccleston and he was originally supposed to have more screen time.

* ''Film/{{Taken 2}}'': [[BigBad Murad]] could have been a sympathetic AntiVillain as an [[AvengingTheVillain avenging]] PapaWolf if more time had been spent on showing his relationship with his family, including the late son he's avenging, as well as keeping it professional. Redshirt deaths were inevitable, and we could have tolerated the torture of [[spoiler: Jean-Claude]] as fair payment for what Bryan had done in the first film. He could have shown that Bryan's didn't have to be the right way and injected some moral ambiguity. However, he quickly proved himself every bit the scumbag [[LamarckWasRight his son had to have learned from]], [[MoralEventHorizon and then there was no turning back.]]

* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'': Anamaria, the PirateGirl in the first movie, who never appeared again afterward. She was originally meant to appear in the sequels but actress Zoe Saldana apparently had such a horrible time filming the first one - that she declined the offer to return. It seems she also may have felt this trope herself, as Anamaria's screen time would not have been much more than the first.

* ''Film/{{Taken}} 2'': [[BigBad Murad]] could have been a sympathetic AntiVillain as an [[AvengingTheVillain avenging]] PapaWolf if more time had been spent on showing his relationship with his family, including the late son he's avenging, as well as keeping it professional. Redshirt deaths were inevitable, and we could have tolerated the torture of [[spoiler: Jean-Claude]] as fair payment for what Bryan had done in the first film. He could have shown that Bryan's didn't have to be the right way and injected some moral ambiguity. However, he quickly proved himself every bit the scumbag [[LamarckWasRight his son had to have learned from]], [[MoralEventHorizon and then there was no turning back.]]

*** [[spoiler:Baron Strucker]] is basically an extended cameo, and is murdered by Ultron at the end of the first act. A shame, as he had the potential to be a recurring antagonist and the MCU is now unable to delve into his rivalry with NickFury.

* ''Film/Halo4ForwardUntoDawn'' builds the backstory for young Thomas Lasky, future Captain of the UNSC ''Infinity'', who learns to shoulder responsibility in the face of doom thanks to the example of Master Chief. As for his supportive best friend Chyler Silva, she gets promoted to his girlfriend for forty minutes before getting abruptly StuffedIntoTheFridge. ''{{VideoGame/Halo 4}}'' then introduces Sarah Palmer, the chief officer of the SPARTAN-IV Program [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute who is also]] TheLancer to Lasky. Rather than relegate Chyler to be a sudden casualty for Lasky to mourn over, why not have had ''her'' also learn to become a great leader and become the lead Spartan of the UNSC? That would have allowed them to also continue their relationship formed in ''Forward Unto Dawn''.

*** [[spoiler:{{Quicksilver}}]] dies during the final battle. This provoked backlash from some fans and audiences, as this was only [[WeHardlyKnewYe his first real appearance]] after the stinger of ''The Winter Soldier''. It also meant that he couldn't take part in the film version of ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar Civil War]]'', despite the interesting directions that could've been taken with his character. What makes it worse is that he's a long-serving Avenger in the comics, having joined the team back in the 1960's and appeared in numerous stories with them.
*** [[spoiler:Baron Strucker]] is basically an extended cameo, and is murdered by Ultron at the end of the first act. A shame, as he had the potential to be a recurring antagonist and the MCU is now unable to delve into his rivalry with Fury.

** [[TheDragon Karai]]; after years of only appearing in cartoons, one of the most interesting and morally ambiguous villains in TMNT finally gets an appearance in a live-action movie... and she ends up being merely used as an enforcer with no character development, who can't even give a good fight against the Turtles.

* The ninth ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' film, ''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'', reveals that Jason Voorhees has a sister. But instead of using this to tell the audience more about Jason or Voorhees family's backstory, her role in the film is to be killed by him, and having her corpse to be conveniently present for the climax.

** [[spoiler:Kara Zor-El]], who landed on Earth thousands of years in the past]]. According to WordOfGod, there's a strong chance she'll show up alive in the present though.

** Malekith the Accursed in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' never managed to be more than just a GenericDoomsdayVillain. What makes it painful is that he's played by Christopher Eccleston and he was originally supposed to have more screen time.

*** [[spoiler:Quicksilver dies]]. This provoked a universal outcry from general audiences and comic readers alike, because this is only [[WeHardlyKnewYe his first real appearance]] after the stinger of ''The Winter Soldier''.

*** The film wastes not only Colossus, but Psylocke and Multiple Man as well. Even Callisto could have gotten more characterization mileage than simply being another of ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'s lackeys. Basically, there are two kinds of characters in the third film: on one hand, you have the characters who could all be the poster children for this trope. On the other hand, you have {{Wolverine}}.

*** Wade Wilson[=/=]Deadpool. After getting the chance to display a weary snarky persona, he's taken out of the film until the climax, where we see that Stryker has basically turned him into an HumanoidAbomination. With his mouth sown shut, essentially robbing him of the sole trait he had in the movie.
*** Comic fans had been calling for Gambit to show up in the movies since the first X-Men film. When he finally does here he's little more than a built-up throwaway gag.
** ''Film/TheWolverine'': The decision to have the Silver Samurai [[spoiler: be the old BigBad guy, when they had TWO characters who could have made for a really BadAss PoweredArmor warrior for Wolverine to face and have a real adamantium fight with (those two being Harada and Shingen)]] in
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': The only mutants in the future who get any meaningful dialogue are Xavier and Magneto, with the rest essentially being glorified cameos, even established characters like Storm, Iceman, and Kitty Pryde. This is mostly a result of several scenes cut from the film in order to keep the runtime short. Those hoping for more of the ''First Class'' mutants in future installments had their hopes dashed when nearly all of them were [[BusCrash killed offscreen]]. Unless said characters are revealed to be NotQuiteDead (which certainly could happen with Emma Frost as she was not among the autopsies of confirmed dead mutants) or come BackFromTheDead, they aren't going to be used again - which is a bit strange when you consider that this movie resurrected every other character.
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Unlike previous installments (in which she made token cameo appearances, sometimes as a DamselInDistress), Jubilee was intended to play a bigger role in ''Apocalypse''. Lana Condor was cast to play the character, and was a big part of the ViralMarketing campaign (appearing in an in-universe ad promoting the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters). However, her role in the final film is minimal at best -- she's in the background of several shots, goes to a movie with Scott, Jean and Kurt, then gets knocked unconscious by [[spoiler:General Stryker]] and doesn't appear again until the very end of the film, after the final battle. It doesn't help that Condor herself mentioned that she had scenes showcasing her powers that were cut from the final product, as well as a longer mall sequence which [[MissingTrailerScene only appeared in a TV spot]].

*** Cyclops, leader of the X-Men and arguably the '''REAL''' main character of the comics: the guy was less than a cameo. The character had to deal with the ''death of his lover'', but apparently that wasn't worth exploring, nor were his, you know, actual leadership abilities. Also, with Xavier's death, the idea of Cyke taking leadership of the X-Men as a whole and not just the field team was very doable (he's been leader of the majority of the mutants for years in the comics), and would've made sense in the context of the story. But no, he was thrown out like yesterday's trash just so Fox could have more of the eternally overrated Wolverine. This was partly due to James Marsden opting to do ''Film/SupermanReturns'' which clashed with the filming of the third film - so he had to be written out.

** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'':
*** The only mutants in the future who get any meaningful dialogue are Xavier and Magneto, with the rest essentially being glorified cameos, even established characters like Storm, Iceman, and Kitty Pryde. This is mostly a result of several scenes cut from the film in order to keep the runtime short. Those hoping for more of the ''First Class'' mutants in future installments had their hopes dashed when nearly all of them were [[BusCrash killed offscreen]]. Unless said characters are revealed to be NotQuiteDead (which certainly could happen with Emma Frost as she was not among the autopsies of confirmed dead mutants) or come BackFromTheDead, they aren't going to be used again - which is a bit strange when you consider that this movie resurrected every other character.

** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' has Darth Maul. He was dark, energetic, had strange markings and gave ''two'' Jedi an even fight, managing to kill the more experienced of the two. He got two or three lines[[note]] many ''droids'' got more lines than he did, and not even just C-3PO[[/note]] in the entire movie, no characterization except for a brief mention of wanting revenge on the Jedi and then got killed because he apparently couldn't believe that Obi-wan could make that jump. It's a slight consolation that ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' spent a few episodes on his origin [[spoiler:and gave him another chance.]]

*** His son, Boba Fett, also gets this, and is famous for it. After all the build up in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', at the start of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' a blind Han accidentally hits him in the back with a stick and he falls into the Sarlacc pit.

** Captain Phasma from ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. Despite having an awesome costume and being played by ''GameOfThrones'' 'Gwendoline Christie, does absolutely nothing of note. (WordOfGod, or at any rate Gwendoline Christie, confirmed that she'll be back in the next film, however.)

*** The [[AdvertisedExtra stormtrooper wielding a "riot stick"]] that briefly does battle with Finn, could have easily been replaced by Phasma.

** [[Film/XMenTheLastStand The third film]] is lousy with this, wasting not only Colossus, but Psylocke and Multiple Man as well. Even Callisto could have gotten more characterization mileage than simply being another of ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'s lackeys. Basically, there are two kinds of characters in the third film: on one hand, you have the characters who could all be the poster children for this trope. On the other hand, you have {{Wolverine}}.

Darwin, who was shown to have useful powers and a fair amount of character potential, falls victim to BlackDudeDiesFirst in a relatively minor conflict well before the final showdown. Despite the fact that ''his power is specifically that he can't die'' and there is literally no reason given for why he did.\\\
Riptide and Azazel, two of Shaw's minions [[spoiler: who join Magneto after he kills Shaw]], are quite popular among the fans, some of whom even ship them. Even their actors were interested in their return in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', Alex Gonzalez saying in an interview that he'd "really like to be in the sequel" and explore more of Riptide's powers, and having signed on to play him in one or two more films, while Jason Flemyng said he was interested in exploring the origins of Azazel's son, Nightcrawler. Yet plans for the Hellfire Club's return were dropped when the writers chose the ''Days of Future Past'' storyline, [[BusCrash Azazel gets killed in-between movies]] and Riptide, who is never mentioned, presumably suffers the same fate.

Wade Wilson[=/=]Deadpool. After getting the chance to display a weary snarky persona, he's taken out of the film until the climax, where we see that Stryker has basically turned him into an HumanoidAbomination. With his mouth sown shut, essentially robbing him of the sole trait he had in the movie.\\\
Comic fans had been calling for Gambit to show up in the movies since the first X-Men film. When he finally does here he's little more than a built-up throwaway gag.
** Cyclops, leader of the X-Men and arguably the '''REAL''' main character of the comics: the guy was less than a cameo. The character had to deal with the ''death of his lover'', but apparently that wasn't worth exploring, nor were his, you know, actual leadership abilities. Also, with Xavier's death, the idea of Cyke taking leadership of the X-Men as a whole and not just the field team was very doable (he's been leader of the majority of the mutants for years in the comics), and would've made sense in the context of the story. But no, he was thrown out like yesterday's trash just so Fox could have more of the eternally overrated Wolverine. This was partly due to James Marsden opting to do ''Film/SupermanReturns'' which clashed with the filming of the third film - so he had to be written out.
** The decision to have the Silver Samurai [[spoiler: be the old BigBad guy, when they had TWO characters who could have made for a really BadAss PoweredArmor warrior for Wolverine to face and have a real adamantium fight with (those two being Harada and Shingen)]] in ''Film/TheWolverine''.

The only mutants in the future who get any meaningful dialogue are Xavier and Magneto, with the rest essentially being glorified cameos, even established characters like Storm, Iceman, and Kitty Pryde. This is mostly a result of several scenes cut from the film in order to keep the runtime short.\\\
Those hoping for more of the ''First Class'' mutants in future installments had their hopes dashed when nearly all of them were [[BusCrash killed offscreen]]. Unless said characters are revealed to be NotQuiteDead (which certainly could happen with Emma Frost as she was not among the autopsies of confirmed dead mutants) or come BackFromTheDead, they aren't going to be used again - which is a bit strange when you consider that this movie resurrected every other character.

** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'':\\\

** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'':\\\

** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'':\\\

** Captain Phasma from ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. Despite having an awesome costume and being played by ''GameOfThrones'' 'Gwendoline Christie, does absolutely nothing of note.

** Captain Phasma from ''TheForceAwakens''. Despite having an awesome costume and being played by ''GameOfThrones'' 'Gwendoline Christie, does absolutely nothing of note.

** Potentially [[spoiler:[[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara Zor-El]], who landed on Earth thousands of years in the past]]. According to WordOfGod, there's a strong chance [[spoiler:she'll]] show up alive and in the present though.

** [[Film/XMenTheLastStand The third film]] is lousy with this, wasting not only Colossus, but Psylocke and Multiple Man as well. Even Callisto could have gotten more characterization mileage than simply being another of SelfDemonstrating/{{Magneto}}'s lackeys. Basically, there are two kinds of characters in the third film: on one hand, you have the characters who could all be the poster children for this trope. On the other hand, you have {{Wolverine}}.