Moviefranchises have brought their supposedly dead characters back in some incredibly silly ways, proving that death is never necessarily the end for many cinematic roles. Thesaddest movie deathshit incredibly hard, providing a sense of finality and loss that muscles past the fourth wall and into the hearts of viewers. Of course, movies are just as apt to bring back dead characters with some truly absurd justifications for doing so.
There are sorts of bizarre methods by which movies find an excuse to bring back dead characters. Typically, genres like science fiction orfantasy movieshave a better chance of doing so thanks to the presence of magical spells or fantastical technology. But in some cases, film franchises with access to none of these will nonetheless find a way to bring a fan favorite back from the grave, making the decision even more confounding.
10Chelios Gets His Heart Swapped Out For A Battery
Crank: High Voltage (2009)
Crankis a lesser-known but woefully underappreciated action staple in Jason Statham’s catalog, telling the story of Chev Chelios, an assassin who is poisoned with a drug that forces him to keep his adrenaline high. The premise made for some interesting action setpieces and voyeuristic displays of public affection, but in the end,Chelios seemingly dies when he falls out of a helicopter in flight.
Crank: High Voltage
Cast
Crank: High Voltage follows Chev Chelios, who must confront a Chinese mobster after his heart is replaced with a battery-powered artificial organ. To survive, Chelios seeks out frequent electrical charges in this frenetic continuation of his tumultuous life.
At least, that’s what audiences were led to believe untilCrank: High Voltage.The appropriately-named sequel reveals that Chelios actually survived the incredible fall andwas brought back to life by havinghis heart replaced by a batter. Even more absurdly, Chelios needs to find either a heavy electric charge or a suitable enough source of friction to stay alive, setting up more obnoxious love-making. Considering that Chev Chelios fell multiple stories, a new ticker should’ve been the least of his worries.
9Neo And Trinity Come Back Through The Power Of Love, Friendship, And Plot Armor
The Matrix (1999)
Though the film franchise takes place largely in a simulated reality, the rules of the Matrix are made clear from the very first film - If you die in the Matrix, you die in real life. Unless, of course, you’re a character that the plot needs to keep alive, such as Neo. ThroughouttheMatrixmovies, the concept of Neo being “The One” as a prophecy isn’t explained all that well, only offering some real clarity in the much-maligned legacy sequelMatrix Resurrections.
The Matrix
The Matrix, released in 1999, is set in the 22nd century and follows a computer hacker, Neo, portrayed by Keanu Reeves. He joins a group of underground insurgents led by Morpheus to combat the domineering computers that control the earth, in a battle that blurs the lines between reality and illusion.
But nothing in the fourth entry reliably explains how Trinity is seemingly able to bring Neo back to life with true love’s kiss. Like something out of a fairy tale,Trinity kisses Neo’s comatose body after he’s shot by Agent Smithin The Matrix, telling him that he must be The One because the Oracle told her she’d one day fall in love with him. This confession is somehow enough to warp the Matrix and reality itself into resurrecting Neo simply so the plot can continue.
8Landfill Is Replaced By His Identical Twin
Beerfest (2006)
Sometimes, a silly resurrection can be knowingly absurd, stressed as the punchline to an excellent ongoing joke. In the underrated Broken Lizard ensemble comedyBeerfest, Phil “Landfill” Krundle endures an unfortunate fate when he drowns in a massive vat of beer. After a brief mourning period, a hilariously out-of-nowhere revelation is made that Phil had a never-before-mentioned identical twin brother, Gil, also played by Kevin Heffernan.
Beerfest
Beerfest is a comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, centering on two brothers who discover an underground beer-drinking competition during Oktoberfest in Germany. The brothers, played by Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske, train with their team to prepare for the next year’s contest, where they aim to prove their drinking prowess and honor their family name. The film combines humor with a celebration of competitive beer drinking.
Gil assures the group that his brother already told him all of their memories together, so he’s fully caught up to speed, and even invites them to call him Landfill in honor of his fallen sibling. Thiscomically lazy way to bring back Heffernan’s characterwith hardly any changes is an amazing bit thatBeerfestmanages to keep up without missing a beat. One of the only people who notices the differences is Phil’s widow, who soon shacks up with Gil after finding him to be twice the man his brother was.
7Harry Hart Comes Back From A Headshot
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
Few franchises have had as dramatic a falloff in quality from the original to the first sequel as theKingsmanmovies have had. A big part of the second film’s poor critical reception had to do with the return of Colin Firth’s character and Eggsy’s super spy mentor, Harry Hart.
This bizarre choice dramatically advanced the setting of the super spy series to sci-fi levels while also making the first movie’s emotional low narratively moot.
Kingsman:The Secret ServiceendswithHarry being shot in the head by the film’s villain, Valentine, played by Samuel L. Jackson. The series seemingly got cold feet with retiring the character after Firth’s portrayal of Harry proved to be quite popular, and the story quickly floundered to find an excuse to bring them back.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the second film in the Kingman franchise, is based on the comic book series of the same name by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. Kingsman: The Golden Circle continues the story of Eggsy (Taron Egerton), now codenamed Galahad. When a mysterious cartel known as the Golden Circle threatens international security, Eggsy must travel to America to request the help of the Statesman agency. The Golden Circle sees Egerton, Mark Strong, and Colin Firth reprise their roles from the previous film, and also introduces Julianne Moore, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, Halle Berry, and Jeff Bridges to the franchise in supporting roles.
Its answer is an advanced nanomachine treatmentused by the Kingsmen’s U.S. equivalents, the Statesmen, strong enough to repair vital brain tissue. This bizarre choice dramatically advanced the setting of the super spy series to sci-fi levels while also making the first movie’s emotional low narratively moot.
6Ramírez Is Summoned Back To Life Via The Quickening
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)
One of the rare sequels to have burned through good will as fast asKingsmen: The Golden Circlehappened years earlier withHighlander II: The Quickening.The sequel to the acclaimed fantasy series of sword duels between long-lived immortal beings,Highlander II: The Quickeningis infamous for retconning the first movie, over-explaining the Highlanders' supernatural origins as alien beings.
On top of that, the film needlessly brought back a returning dead character with an explanation handwaved by the new unwanted worldbuilding. In the original film, Ramírez finally falls to his ancient nemesis the Kurgan, dying in the only way members of his species of Immortals can; Decapitation.
Highlander II: The Quickening
Highlander II: The Quickening is a science fiction film directed by Russell Mulcahy, serving as a sequel to the 1986 Highlander. Set in a dystopian future, the film follows Connor MacLeod, played by Christopher Lambert, who must confront an ecological disaster while battling new enemies. Sean Connery reprises his role as Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, aiding MacLeod in his quest. The narrative explores themes of immortality, power, and environmental destruction.
Yet thanks to the lame “Quickening” energy introduced by the second film’s extraterrestrial elements,MacLeod is able to resurrect him with no problem. The Quickening itself is already a nebulous and ill-defined concept, but it’s apparently capable of restoring life to race of beings known for only being able to be killed by one specific thing.
5Somehow, Palpatine Has Returned
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Not many resurrections are as major or obviously last-minute as the re-introduction of Emperor Palpatine, a.k.a. Darth Sidious, totheStar WarsfranchiseinStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.As described by the infamous opening crawl of the film, “The dead speak!” when Palpatine makes a sudden re-emergence in the galaxy as the overarching villain and leader of the Sith, smashing the previous conflict with the First Order.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, released in December 2019, follows the surviving Resistance as they confront the First Order. The film continues the journey of Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron as they harness the power of past generations to engage in a climactic battle against the forces of tyranny.
It’s eventually explained thatPalpatine was able to return by projecting his consciousness into a series of clones, one of which ended up fathering Rey’s own father. Admittedly, in a franchise already established to have advanced cloning and space magic, this explanation doesn’t exactly break any rules. But it’s the rushed nature of Palpatine’s sudden inclusion and the way his presence clearly undoes what the previous two films were building on that makes his return truly silly.
4The Original Cultists Are Given Shore Leave By The Devil
The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)
Horror movies are particularly egregious defenders when it comes to bringing back seemingly dead characters, particularly in the case of unkillable villains like Freddy Krueger or Michael Meyers. But none of these killers have been as difficult to justify a return of as the blood-drawing cult from 2017’sThe Babysitter.
10 Serious Moments In Movies That Ended Up Just Being Funny
Several drama movies feature scenes that were supposed to be serious but are completely hilarious due to poor execution or simply being too bizarre.
The film centers on a young boy whose older teen babysitter is revealed to be a part of a demonic cult bent on harvesting his blood. After narrowly escaping with his life, the sequel suddenly harasses the protagonist with several new cult members, along with a handful of the original film’s villains somehow back from the dead.
The Babysitter: Killer Queen
The Babysitter: Killer Queen is the sequel to the 2017 movie The Babysitter and stars Judah Lewis, Emily Alyn Lind, and Jenna Ortega. Like its predecessor, it’s a black comedy horror movie. Both movies were distributed by Netflix and directed and produced by Joseph McGinty Nichol, who is known professionally as McG.
It’s explained thatthe group was given one more day above ground by the devil himself to finish what they started, making for a fittingly profane resurrection. Considering the magical elements of the first film are also a little more ambiguous, it’s also a huge jump to suddenly see the old antagonists upright and walking again.
3Steve Trevor Takes Over A Random Guy’s Body
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Inthe pantheon of DCEU movies,Wonder Woman 1984isn’t regarded particularly highly. This is thanks in large part due to the way the film managed to shoehorn in the return of Chris Pine as Wonder Woman’s lover from the first film, the World War I pilot Steve Trevor.
Steve Trevor ends up essentially possessing the body of a random stranger, who the narrative hilariously doesn’t focus on much or even name.
Even if he had lived through the events ofWonder Woman, Diana was always destined to watch Steve Trevor die before her. This makes it all the more significant whenWonder Woman 1984’s MacGuffin, the Dreamstone, is able to bring him back. The exact mechanism of his revival raises some alarming questions, however.
Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984, set during the Cold War, follows Diana Prince as she faces a formidable opponent. When a heist exposes a perilous ancient artifact, Wonder Woman is drawn into a global conflict that endangers her extraordinary abilities and challenges her resolve to save the world.
Steve Trevor ends up essentially possessing the body of a random stranger, who the narrative hilariously doesn’t focus on much or even name. It’s quite suspect that Steve and Diana nevertheless engage in some intimacy using the helpless victim’s body, making the possession of another man via soul power thanks to a magical rock one of the stranger resurrections in movie history.
2Westley Is Given A Miracle After Only Being “Mostly” Dead
The Princess Bride (1987)
One of the most memorably hilarious scenes ofThe Princess Brideoccurs when Inigo rescues the heroic Westley from Rugen’s torture chambers. Inigo and Fezzik bring Westley’s limp body to one “Miracle Max”, played up by Billy Crystal’s guffaw-worthy performance through layers of makeup. Upon inspecting Westley, Max declares that the young hero is only “mostly dead”, which is apparently quite different from actually being dead.
The Princess Bride
Based on the 1973 novel by William Goldman, The Princess Bride is a comical fantasy adventure film that tells a swashbuckling tale of a hero and a princess, read to a young, sick boy in bed by his grandfather. The story itself follows farmhand Westley, who embarks on an epic journey to save his beloved princess from an evil prince as he meets strange but reliable companions along the way.
From there (after some heavy persuasion), Max is able to treat Westley, laying his hands on him and filling his lungs full of air with a fireplace bellows.The thing that truly does the trick is a “miracle pill”, coated in chocolate to help it go down better. IfThe Princess Bridehad to include a resurrection for the sake of moving the plot forward, it’s at least able to get some jokes in with a particularly absurd method of healing.
1Superman Spins The Earth Backwards To Revive Lois Lane
Superman (1978)
Even if it isn’t one of thebest Superman movie scenes of all time, Superman saving Lois' life in the original 1978 film is certainly one of the most infamous. After Lois is killed by an earthquakecaused by Lex Luthor’s missile, the mournful Superman does whatever he can to fix the situation. Eventually, he decides to fly around the world over and over again until the globe begins to spin in the opposite direction.
Superman
Superman, directed by Richard Donner, stars Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent, an alien from the planet Krypton living on Earth who adopts the persona of Superman to protect humanity. Released in 1978, the film features Gene Hackman as the villain Lex Luthor, who creates a plan that threatens millions of lives. Margot Kidder co-stars as Lois Lane, a journalist at the Daily Planet and Clark Kent’s colleague.
Apparently,this causestime to move in reverse, undoing the events of the climaxand bringing Lois back to life, giving Superman another chance to save her. Treating physics like a plaything, this contrivance is one of the most infamously strange methods of resurrection ever used in a superhero film. At least the moment does provide a touching emotional satisfaction to the very first Supermanmovie.
