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

7. Gizmo (And Billy's Dog) - Gremlins

The Original Plan

The first versions of Gremlins were WAY darker than the Spielberg-sanctioned final version that got to cinemas. In the original there were a couple of really adult scenes, first with the Gremlins attacking a McDonald's and eating the customers and also eating Billy's dog, which seems a bit much.

More importantly, Gizmo would have been "killed off" at the film's climax, transforming into the evil Stripe when he ate food after midnight.

What Happened Instead?

Luckily, Steven Spielberg - the film's executive producer - has a heart and he believed that Gizmo was way too cute to be killed off. He decided that the audience would want to see him all the way through the film (that's why he makes the big bucks) and instead insisted on Stripe being introduced as a separate mogwai.

Just think, without that intervention, we wouldn't have got to see the Gizmo/Rambo mash-up in the sequel.