When making sequels, filmmakers in Hollywood have often kicked themselves for having previously killed off popular characters. But sometimes said character's involvement in a sequel is so vital that they just have to find a way to make it happen. Sometimes it's a recognizable superstar actor who audiences are dying to see again, but other times it's an iconic character that simply can not be replaced.
But not all resurrections are made equal. While there have been brilliant ways of bringing dead characters back, there have been some ridiculous attempts too. Sometimes the character's prior death is just so absolute that any attempt to reverse it ends up looking silly.
Worst: Telling The Audience The "Death" Was A Switcheroo
Halloween: Resurrection, reveals that it wasn't Michael Myers at all - he had switched outfits with someone else.
It was as far-fetched and convoluted as movie monster death/rebirth cycles go. The reason for the complexity was because of a contract clause that Michael Myers could not be killed.
Best: Drenching Dracula's Ashes In Fresh Blood
is one of the most iconic portrayals of the character ever. 1958's Dracula was so popular that Hammer produced eight sequels over the following decades, six of which featured Lee as Dracula. Every film needed a new death and a new resurrection.
The best resurrection came in 1966's Dracula: Prince of Darkness when Dracula is reformed via his ashes getting drenched in fresh blood. Dracula's servant, Klove, kills a traveler and strings him up as the unfortunate donor. Some horror movies skimp out and resurrect their monsters with just a single drop of blood, but Prince of Darkness got it right with copious amounts of blood and gore.
Worst: Possessing A New Body But Showing The Original Actor
Chris Pine's Steve Trevor didn't make it out of Wonder Woman alive, leaving Gal Godot's Diana unable to move on even after more than 60 years. Wonder Woman 1984 sees Pine's character return, thanks to the wish-granting Dreamstone. This creates a dilemma for Diana, who ultimately must accept that she has to let him go.
The rules of this magic device are not consistent. Some wishes cause nuclear missiles to appear out of thin air, while Steve Trevor is given possession of an existing person's body. And while the character in the film looks like actor Kristoffer Polaha, the audience is shown Chris Pine. It's a shame to see the film use body-swapping in such a convoluted way after it was handled so well in Altered Carbon.
Best: Memory
Han Solo was killed off in The Force Awakens, leaving him unable to appear in The Last Jedi. However, director JJ Abrams found a way for The Rise of Skywalker. After the big lightsaber fight on the ruins of the Death Star, Han Solo appears before Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. It is an emotionally powerful moment that echoes the scene in The Force Awakens when Ren killed Solo.
There was some confusion amongst fans that Han Solo was a force ghost. But the Han that Kylo Ren saw was the one from his memory. Take a similar scene from the 2014 film Gravity when George Clooney's character reappears. In both cases, the scene ends with an identical reveal, indicating that it was all in their heads.
Worst: Cloning Ellen Ripley Also Cloned The Parasite Queen
Sigourney Weaver, who stars as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise, wanted the third film to be her last. This is why it ends with Ripley (with the unborn alien queen she is carrying) sacrificing herself by leaping into a pool of liquid hot molten lead. But when studio heads decided another movie needed to be made, cloning was the only possible solution.
According to the film, Ripley's blood contained the DNA of the alien queen, allowing both of them to be cloned. The film was a disappointment for many in the audience - its climax featuring a grotesque alien-human monster baby following Ripley around like she's his mother.
Best: Tommy Jarvis Resurrected Jason Voorhees When Trying to Destroy His Corpse
a different approach from the fifth installment, which featured a copycat killer instead of Jason Voorhees. After being terrorized by the legacy of Jason for two films, iconic Friday the 13th character, Tommy Jarvis, attempted to end the nightmare once and for all.
In the opening scene of the film, Tommy digs up Jason's corpse with the intent to burn it. But in a moment of rage, Tommy skewers the body on a metal rod, which catches a bolt of lightning and resurrects Jason. Beyond the great reference to Frankenstein, what makes this resurrection so memorable is its irony, and the fact Tommy wanted to destroy Jason but caused his rebirth that is so interesting.
Worst: Ramirez Randomly Rematerialized Out Of Thin Air
1986's But in order for a sequel to work and to bring back Connery's Ramirez, who died in the first film, the filmmakers opted for some extreme changes to the story world.
Highlander II: The Quickening redefines the immortals as visitors from planet Zeist, putting the film in conflict with the original's continuity. The newly defined immortal powers allowed Ramirez to just appear out of thin air, making his sacrifice in the first film completely meaningless. These changes were hated by fans and have been ignored by sequels.
Best: Sending Back A Reprogrammed T-800 Terminator
The very nature of this sci-fi horror franchise allows for 'the killer' to be resurrected in a unique way. One could have easily made a sequel featuring a completely new terminator unit. But Arnold Schwarzenegger was so iconic in the role that bringing him back was a no-brainer. There was one change made, though, that opened up new possibilities for his character.
Having this new Terminator be reprogrammed by the Resistance to protect John Connor was a masterstroke. Now the Terminator was able to interact with characters in funny and heartwarming scenes in a film that immediately became an all-time classic: Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Worst: Emperor Palpatine Returns Thanks To Vague Powers
After the departure of Colin Trevorrow from Disney's third Star Wars sequel, director JJ Abrams was left with the task of creating a film the wrap up the entire nine-episode Star Wars Skywalker saga. The problem was that the intended big bad villain, Snoke, was killed off in The Last Jedi.
The choice was made to resurrect Emperor Palpatine, the iconic Sith master of the previous trilogies. After being dropped down a shaft and disintegrated in the exploding Death Star, it would take some explanation to justify his return. But the film doesn't bother, offering only that, "The dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural."
Best: "I Was Sent Back Until My Task Is Done"
The last time we see Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings he is being pulled into a dark chasm by the fiery and terrifying Balrog. Watching in theaters, only readers of JR Tolkien's classic series knew Gandalf's true fate. In The Lord of The Ring: The Two Towers, the rest of us finally found out.
No mere mortal to begin with, the Istari's spirit wanders beyond time before being sent back as a White Wizard. Gandalf's destiny is to play a role in the war for the ring. Other famous examples of divine intervention including Heaven Can Wait and All Dogs Go To Heaven, but LOTR did it best.
