10 Movie Characters Everyone Was CONVINCED Would Die (But Didn't)

If you had your ear to the ground at all before The Batman's release, there were extensive rumours which suggested that Bruce Wayne's (Robert Pattinson) trusty butler Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis) was finally going to be killed off.

The scuttlebutt claimed that Alfred would be offed by The Riddler (Paul Dano), and given the bleak vision of Matt Reeves' superhero epic, it was incredibly easy to believe.

After all, what better way to piss Batman off and push the audience's buttons than give the beloved character his first big-screen death?

And so, when Alfred opened a letter bomb addressed to Bruce, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that he wouldn't make it, leaving Bruce without his tether to the ground and ensuring he'd go totally off the vengeful rails.

So what a surprise it was, then, that Alfred was merely hospitalised by the bomb and is still very much alive when the movie ends.

Alfred's demise would've certainly made dramatic sense, yet getting to see more of the brilliant dynamic between Pattinson and Serkis in the sequel is absolutely preferable.