10 Movie Franchises That Stupidly Killed Off Their Best Character

Now, there's certainly a strong argument to be made that Neo (Keanu Reeves) is The Matrix's best character, yet look beyond his audience insert appeal and sheer Keanu Reeves-fuelled coolness and the real MVP of the franchise is assuredly Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne).

Beyond being Neo and the audience's impossibly wise guide through the series' world, Morpheus' belief in the prophecy of The One and sheer badassery make him surely the most complex and intriguing of the franchise's three lead characters.

Though Neo and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) both died eventually, each was at least ultimately resurrected, but Morpheus? Not so much.

More to the point, Morpheus ended up dying off-screen, as was revealed in the most recent sequel, The Matrix Revolutions, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II being drafted in to portray an AI program based on him.

All in all, it was hugely disappointing not to see the real Morpheus back in the fray with Neo and Trinity - a fact which bemused even Laurence Fishburne himself.

Sure, it would've required a little fudging to have Morpheus' age make sense given the 60 years between movies, but c'mon, it's The Matrix - the Wachowskis could've made it work with some technobabble hand-waving.