10 Sci-Fi Movie Deaths That No One Saw Coming

4. Revenge of the Sith—Count Dooku

Count Dooku Decapitation
Lucasfilm

It’s not easy to follow up a set of beloved sci-fi adventures which are famous for capturing lightning in a bottle and making blockbuster history decades after their original release. It’s even harder to create compelling villains for a story where your main hero is intended to someday become a bigger threat than all of these small fry combined.

For these reasons and many more, the Star Wars prequels struggled in their attempts to ground the rise of Darth Vader in anything like a believable story. The trio of films are saddled with a plethora of cringeworthy and unintentionally funny moments, but there are bright spots too.

Consider Christopher Lee’s villainous figure Count Dooku, a genuinely threatening antagonist who plays a central role in the movies. Lord of the Rings had recently reignited the ageing actor’s impressive career, and a fight with Yoda in Attack of the Clones proved Dooku was a formidable foe.

Whatever his role, he was certainly too powerful to just end up beheaded early in Revenge of the Sith just to prove how heartless Anakin now is.

Never mind, then.

Contributor

Cathal Gunning hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.