25 Greatest Film Deaths This Century

Serenity returns us to the 2500s for one final crack at Joss Whedon’s space Western series, picking up some time after TV show Firefly left off in a universe where humanity has colonised a new solar system under the banner of the Alliance with dirty secrets it will do anything to protect.  

We join the crew of the spaceship Serenity, led by Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), in their efforts to protect telepathic fugitive River Tam (Summer Glau) from the Alliance and uncover the monumental secret surrounding the cannibalistic Reavers who stalk the stars. All the main cast from the show reprised their roles for this final outing, including Alan Tudyk and Adam Baldwin as fan favourites Wash and Jayne. But not everyone makes it out alive.

In the film’s third act, the crew of the Serenity races to broadcast the truth about the Alliance creating the Reavers to the galaxy. And it’s all thanks to pilot Wash that they get there, as he manoeuvres the ship through aerial chaos and pulls off a glide landing near the broadcast tower. He has time to say, "I’m a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar," right before he takes a Reaver spear to the chest.

The scene has shades of Chirrut Îmwe’s end, but of course, Serenity beat Rogue One to the punch by a decade. For such an important character to be snatched away at the edge of victory is heartbreaking, and it's a death that will haunt you.