10 MCU Characters Killed Off Way Too Early

Tilda Swinton's enigmatic Ancient One is a key figure in the rise of Doctor Strange, and appears in both 2016's Doctor Strange and 2019's Avengers: Endgame. The latter appearance is set in the past, however, and the character's sudden demise in the former leaves us with mixed feelings.

On one hand, her death serves to demonstrate the threat posed by Kaecilius, as well as creating that all-important vacancy for Strange to jump into as Sorcerer Supreme. But on the other hand, something very intriguing is revealed about The Ancient One just before she dies, something that could have been explored in a lot more depth than it was.

Doctor Strange discovers that she draws power from the Dark Dimension, the realm of Dormammu, effectively making her no better than Kaecilius. While she admits that she only does it out of necessity to prolong her life, it makes us wonder if she was ever tempted to delve deeper into the dark secrets she undoubtedly uncovered while doing so.

Not that she should have gone full villain in future films, but the dichotomy of dimensional energy inside of her would have made for a nice bit of character development.