Tony Todd‘s death in November left an indelible mark on the horror community, which makes one of his last onscreen appearances in Final Destination: Bloodlines all the more emotional.
Ahead of the sixth installment’s premiere in theaters on May 16, franchise producer Craig Perry spoke to Deadline about working with Todd one last time as his mortician character William Bludworth’s “very bittersweet” goodbye to fans in the upcoming sequel.
“We all knew that he was obviously quite ill, and it was pretty clear that this was going to be the last role he would play in a movie,” he said. “And the fact that it was one of the Final Destination movies made it that much more poignant.”
After Bludworth’s first appeared in the original Final Destination in 2000, he’s continued to pop up several times in the franchise to warn its protagonists of what Death has in store for them. Bloodlines finally explains why the character is so familiar with Death’s plan, which has been the subject of plenty of fan theories over the past 25 years.
In his final monologue, Todd reminds fans of the franchise to live the life they have left while they can. While it’s an ominous warning for any fictional character in a Final Destination movie, it turns out to be the perfect piece of wisdom for any fans who’ve mourned the actor’s death.
“Zach [Lipovsky] and Adam [Stein], our directors, they made a very shrewd decision to take the last couple of lines that were scripted and say, ‘Tony, just say what you would want to say to the fans. What would you like to impart to them in this moment?’” noted Perry. “So, everything that makes that scene so emotional is authentic because that was just Tony talking through the camera to the very fans who supported him for so many years. So, it was a very magical moment on set. It was an impactful moment, and it’s one I’ll take with me until I go to the grave.”
On Nov. 6, Todd died at age 69 after a long illness. With more than 250 credits to his name, the actor was beloved by horror fans for his appearances in the Final Destination franchise, as well as his titular role in the Candyman films.
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