Tony Todd first graced the screen as the mysterious funeral director William Bludworth in the original Final Destination film, and has since featured in all but one of the sequels.

His character played a crucial role in explaining the intricate rules of Death’s design, informing the doomed characters that cheating Death would only invite its return. He also provided additional hints throughout the series on how to outwit the supernatural force hunting them down.

While his appearance in Final Destination 3 might have gone unnoticed, he actually voiced the devil animatronic at the amusement park and again as a subway announcer at the end. The only instalment he missed was the fourth, The Final Destination, but he returned for 2011’s Final Destination 5.

After a 14-year break, the franchise is back this week with its sixth instalment, Final Destination: Bloodlines. Todd reprises his role as Bludworth one last time, following his sad passing last year.

The father of two died from cancer November 6, 2024, aged 69.

Born in Washington DC in 1964, he enjoyed a stellar career in cinema. He shared the screen with Johnny Depp and Willem Dafoe in the 1986 drama Platoon before landing his breakthrough role in the 1992 horror classic Candyman.

The latest instalment of Final Destination pays homage to the beloved actor with a special title card, yet there’s another deeply moving scene that unfolds before viewers.

Speaking to Deadline, franchise producer Craig Perry revealed that the star penned his own farewell, which forms part of his character’s heartfelt monologue, urging the audience to cherish every moment of their life while they can.

“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,” Perry shared.

“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?'”

He elaborated: “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.”

Final Destination: Bloodlines is out now in cinemas

Yellowstone star Kevin Costner has had an incredible Hollywood career spanning almost 50 years on the big screen. The 70-year-old is best known for movies like Dances with Wolves, JFK and The Untouchables, which all feature in his Top 12 greatest films, as ranked by fans on IMDb. Incredibly, though, the likes of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Bodyguard and Waterworld didn’t even make the list.

Creator of the Star Wars film franchise, George Lucas, has admitted that he has a favourite of the films, and even a favourite character. Previously speaking at the 20th anniversary panel for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the star revealed that The Phantom Menace is one of his favorite Star Wars films and that Jar Jar Binks is his favourite character.

Speaking to the audience, he shared: “Thank you for coming to the Celebration. [The Phantom Menace] one of my favorite movies and of course Jar Jar is my favorite character. Ahmed [Best], you did a fantastic job. It was very very hard. Also for John Knoll and all the guys at ILM, I made it impossible for them. We broke a lot of ground.”

Explaining about pushing some boundaries, the star added: “We were using test equipment but it was the beginning of digital, even though we didn’t get to shoot the whole thing digitally, we got to shoot part of it so it was really one of the first digital features and I’m very proud of that.

“The fans are always such a big part of these films and obviously those of you who are here are the fans of Episode 1 and I love each and ever one of you.”

The director also recently opened up on some of the film’s secrets – including why little green Yoda speaks in the peculiar fashion that he does. He is known for mixing up his syntax in sentences, but has still become one of the most cherished extraterrestrial characters in movie history.

Speaking at an anniversary screening of 1980’s Empire Strikes Back this week, Lucas shared that the unusual way of speaking really landed with audiences.

He explained: “Because if you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much. But if he had an accent, or it’s really hard to understand what he’s saying, they focus on what he’s saying.”

“He was basically the philosopher of the movie,” the filmmaker added. “I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen — especially 12-year-olds.”