13 Iconic Movie Characters Who Were Supposed To Die (But Didn't)

1. Rocky - Rocky V

The Original Plan

Originally, the Rocky series was supposed to end with the comparative turd of Rocky V, which would have robbed us of the traditionalist Rocky Balboa and the frankly excellent Creed. It would also have left the enduring memory of that franchise as the success of Tommy Gunn, the worst character in the history of franchise movies.

The script originally saw Rocky perish at Gunn's hand during a street fight (which actually sounds fitting for a fighter who used to charge into battles his fists really couldn't handle).

What Happened Instead?

It would have been a great, probably quite fitting ending (though Creed's continuation of Rocky's arc gave him a much better one), but apparently the studio decided you just couldn't kill superheroes like Rocky.

Director John Avildsen was told in no uncertain terms by executives that it wasn't going to go down like that, as he remembered in 2014. ,

"'Oh by the way, Rocky’s not going to die. Batman doesn’t die, Superman, James Bond, these people don’t die."

So instead, we got the revised ending written by Stallone of Rocky and his son Robert Balboa looking out over the city's skyline, which is about the only iconic shot in the entire film.

Which other famous movie characters who were originally supposed to die belong on this list? Share your suggestions below in the comments thread.