10 Movie Villains Who Unexpectedly Survived Franchises
These villains somehow survived their franchises against all the odds.
The general expectation is that, on a long enough timeline, the vast majority of movie villains will eventually be killed off, even if it takes several sequels - hell, even many sequels - to get the job done.
It's a most basic expectation that the hero will topple the villain at the end of the day, and moreover that they'll get their pound of flesh while doing it.
And yet, there certainly are exceptions where prominent villains unexpectedly manage to survive not merely multiple movies, but seemingly exit the franchise as a whole in one piece.
While it's arguably more "realistic" for some bad guys to elude justice, as they so often do in real life, within the scope of escapist cinematic entertainment it can be both surprising and frustrating when we don't get to see an antagonist take their widely anticipated dirt nap.
And that's absolutely true of these 10 movie villains, who against considerable odds were still breathing the last time we saw them, leaving fans to speculate on their fates and what they might get up to in the future...
10. Solomon Lane - Mission: Impossible
The fifth Mission: Impossible film, Rogue Nation, introduced the villain Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), and though most fans surely expected Lane to be another one-off baddie for the series, he actually survived to the end of the film, being gassed and incarcerated by Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise).
Lane ended up returning as a supporting villain in sequel Fallout, and considering that Harris had openly begged writer-director Christopher McQuarrie to kill him off in Rogue Nation, it seemed like he'd finally get his wish this time around.
Yet despite Lane almost drowning during one key set-piece, he again survives and is handed over to MI6.
As such, many fans thought that Lane might return for a cameo appearance in one of the latter two Mission: Impossible movies, but alas, they came and went without him being seen or even mentioned at all.
And so, with the main franchise apparently now concluded, we're left to assume that Solomon Lane is still very much alive, rotting in a cell somewhere and quite probably plotting a way to escape.