3. Riggs - Lethal Weapon 2
Believe it or not, the trajectory of the Lethal Weapon franchise was supposed to be very different if Shane Black were to have his way, with Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) biting the bullet at the end of the second movie. The suicidally despondent character in the first film would complete his character arc, being gunned down and leaving Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) to finish things off, yet Black, who only outlined the story, decided to quit the project after his ending was changed to have Riggs survive the wound. This, of course, paved the way for two more - though less enthusiastically received - sequels, making everyone involved a shedload of money, yet how would the franchise have turned out if Riggs
had died? Would Lethal Weapon 2 have managed to outdo the original? And would the series have continued with Murtaugh getting a new partner? We can only imagine...