10 Characters Who Survived The Movie (Only To Suddenly Die In The Sequel)

Irene Adler is a fan favorite character in the Sherlock Holmes mythology. She appeared in the story A Scandal in Bohemia, as well the BBC Sherlock TV show and in the first Sherlock Holmes movie as played by Rachel McAdams.

In the first film, Adler is probably the main character behind Sherlock and Watson, and McAdams is the third highest billed. There's a big sequence in the second act where Sherlock comes upon Adler chained up in a warehouse about to die, but in a key action beat he's able to save her. Amidst all the chaos of the third act, Adler makes it out alive and reveals her relationship with Professor Moriarty. That definitely seems to be setting her up for a prominent role in the sequel. 

Rachel McAdams even did some interviews and promotional material for the second movie, but then in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Irene Adler dies in the very first scene. Moriarty kills her right away and that's it. It establishes Moriarty as Sherlock's greatest threat yet, but it definitely came out of nowhere and was a big surprise considering how important she was to the first film.