Summary
- Major characters like Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games and Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia are left with uncertain fates in their respective film series.
- Heath Ledger’s tragic death resulted in the absence of the Joker in The Dark Knight Rises, leaving the character’s future a mystery.
- Characters like Vivian Kensington in Legally Blonde and Mr. Laurence in Little Women are left unexplored and their fates unresolved in their respective movies.
Movies usually have so many characters that it is impossible to keep track of all of them, and by the end, some are bound to be forgotten. Surprisingly, even major characters, the ones that have influenced the story significantly, can end up excluded from the film’s epilogue. For instance, while Harry Potter‘s extended universe is able to provide a glimpse into the lives of Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley after the Battle of Hogwarts and their goodbye with Harry, the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 movie has failed to show what happened to the Dursleys after the Second Wizarding War.
In other cases, some characters may have had satisfying endings in the original novel, but due to the movie franchise being cut short, their on-screen counterparts have never received a proper farewell in the corresponding film simply because it has never been made. Additionally, an actor’s death can lead to their character’s fate not getting resolved, as was the case with Heath Ledger’s character in Christopher Nolan’s final installment of The Dark Knight trilogy. The Joker wasn’t in The Dark Knight Rises on purpose, and his future was left a complete mystery, which was a deliberate and wise decision on Nolan’s part.
10 Movie Franchises Robbed Of Good Endings
Some movies failed at the box office, and the story never got a proper tie-up; other franchises went on for too long and ruined their perfect endings.
10 Caesar Flickerman
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 (2015)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
- Cast
- Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Mahershala Ali, Sam Claflin, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Willow Shields, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeffrey Wright
- Runtime
- 137 Minutes
The Hunger Games‘ magnificent commentator, Caesar Flickerman, was nowhere to be seen after he announced that Katniss Everdeen had died, although his statement wasn’t even true in the end. He made no further appearances in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2, and upon the movie’s ending, it was unclear whether Caesar was dead or alive in the aftermath of the rebellion. His fate wasn’t specified in the book either. However, it is likely that Caesar managed to escape from the rebels unscathed since he wasn’t exactly one of the closest allies of President Snow himself, so he shouldn’t have become a target.
9 The Joker
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Heath Ledger’s tragic death drastically changed Nolan’s plans for The Dark Knight Rises. Prior to the actor’s passing, the Joker was meant to be a prominent character in the third installment, but given the circumstances, the director decided against recasting the character or even referencing him out of respect for Ledger, which didn’t stop the movie from becoming a worthy conclusion to The Dark Knight saga. At the end of The Dark Knight, the Joker was detained by the authorities, and he was supposed to be sent to Arkham Asylum. Whether he managed to escape and continue to wreak havoc on Gotham City remains a mystery to this day.
8 Eustace Scrubb
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
In the last movie installment of The Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan promised Eustace Scrubb that his Narnian journey wasn’t over yet and that he would return to the magical realm in the years to come. The film ended with Eustace welcoming a visitor, Jill Pole, another main book character who never got a chance to shine in the movies. Even though the novels saw both Eustace and Jill come to Narnia and help save it twice more, that never happened in the movies due to the further installments being canceled. Hopefully, the characters’ fates will be resolved in Greta Gerwig’s The Chronicles of Narnia reboot.
7 Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko (2001)
Donnie Darko
- Cast
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Noah Wyle, Patrick swayze, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
Donnie Darko was a confusing film in many respects — Frank the Rabbit’s role in the events wasn’t abundantly clear, the characters’ ability to sense Donnie’s apparent death didn’t make much sense, and most of all, the ending was rather vague. The final moments of the movie suggested the existence of alternate realities, meaning that the fates of Donnie, Gretchen, and other characters could have been different. Even though it is widely accepted that Donnie died to save his family, Donnie Darko‘s ending didn’t state that this course of events was the canonical one. In one of the alternate timelines, Donnie could have lived.
6 Vivian Kensington
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003)
In Legally Blonde, Vivian Kensington, came a long way from Warner’s mean girlfriend to Elle’s supporter and friend. At the end of the movie, Vivian broke up with Warner after realizing what a horrible human being he was, which prompted the start of her friendship with Elle. However, by the time Legally Blonde 2 rolled around, Vivian was long gone and forgotten. It is unknown whether Vivian and Elle remained friends or what happened to Vivian after she graduated from Harvard Law School. With Legally Blonde 3 in the works, there is still hope that Vivian might appear in Elle’s life in one way or another.
5 Mr. Laurence
Little Women (2019)
Little Women
- Cast
- Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet, Bob Odenkirk, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Abby Quinn, Lilly Englert, Chris Cooper, James Norton, Sasha Frolova, Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern, Louis Garrel
- Runtime
- 135 minutes
In Little Women, Mr. Laurence, Laurie’s grandfather, was a key figure in the March sisters’ lives. He was a kind and friendly neighbor to the entire family, but his special connection with Beth was what made the character stand out. Mr. Laurence was the one to gift Beth a piano after she fell sick, and he was the one to push Meg and John toward each other. Yet, when Little Women came to a conclusion, Mr. Laurence’s fate was left ambiguous. After Laurie moved out and started a family with Amy, Mr. Laurence was presumably left on his own, still a neighbor to the March family, but his future is up for speculation.
4 The Dursleys
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 (2011)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
- Cast
- Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman
- Runtime
- 130 Minutes
Despite being vital characters in the Harry Potter saga, most of the scenes with the Dursleys were cut from both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movies. In the penultimate film, the entire family reluctantly left their home at Privet Drive to escape from Voldemort and his Death Eaters without so much as a proper goodbye to Harry, and that was the last anyone had seen of them. In Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, it was revealed that Harry kept in touch with Dudley in the later years, but it would have been nice to see a fitting ending for all the Dursleys in the last movie’s epilogue.
3 Mitchell Carson
Ant-Man (2015)
Ant-Man
- Cast
- Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
Ant-Man’s ending had Mitchell Carson, a HYDRA agent, steal the Pym Particles and escape into the night, never to be seen again on-screen. The character didn’t return in any of the sequels, so it is safe to assume that he was successful in his endeavor. This means that the remaining HYDRA operatives might still have the Pym Particles at their disposal. Carson’s storyline is one of the most frustrating plot holes in the MCU that has yet to be resolved. However, the character’s fate is rather different in the comic book, where he is a more prominent character altogether.
10 Movie Characters Who Were Completely Forgotten By The End
These poor, unfortunate characters became all but forgotten after playing a prominent role at the beginning of their respective stories.
2 Will Turner & Elizabeth Swann
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Pirates of the Caribbean‘s most endearing couple, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan, made a surprise cameo appearance in the latest installment’s after-credits scene. They were sleeping peacefully in their bed until Davy Jones suddenly crept up on them in their bedroom, prompting Will to wake up and worriedly look around. With so many years gone by and no attached release date to Pirates of the Caribbean 6, it is unlikely that Will and Elizabeth’s fates in connection to Davy Jones will be resolved, which is a shame because prior to that scene, the couple’s happily-ever-after was close to perfection.
1 Eudoria Holmes
Enola Holmes 2 (2022)
Enola Holmes 2
- Cast
- Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Louis Partridge, Adeel Akhtar, Susie Wokoma, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, David Thewlis, Helena Bonham Carter
- Runtime
- 123 minutes
Eudoria Holmes, Enola, Sherlock, and Mycroft’s mother, appeared in a non-consistent fashion in both Enola Holmes movies. In the first installment, she left her daughter twice without any explanation, and in the second one, she came back to break Enola out of prison before disappearing again. Eudoria’s absence from the story was understandable narrative-wise, and yet the lack of explanation was still frustrating. Eudoria led a dangerous life as one of the suffragettes, but it would have been awesome if her storyline had been a little more developed. Hopefully, Eudoria will be more present in a potential Enola Holmes 3.