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Final Destination Bloodlines directors Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky say it was important to give horror legend Tony Todd his own special send-off in what would end up being his final film.
"It was such an amazing honor to work with him. I mean, he's such a legend. We knew he was ill leading into the development and making of this movie, and didn't know whether he would want to participate," Adam Stein tells GamesRadar+. "But he kept saying, 'Do not write me out of this movie. I need to be in this movie.'
"When he got there on set, he was so incredibly joyful and excited to be there, and excited to meet the new cast and basically give Bludworth not only a proper ending, but a proper beginning – and a proper explanation for who his character is as a person."
Todd, who his perhaps best known for his starring role in the cult horror hit Candyman, played the mysterious coroner William Bludworth in Final Destination, Final Destination 2, and Final Destination 5. In each film, he explains the rules of Death to each group of teenagers who are trying desperately to stay alive while Death is slowly coming for them.
In Bloodlines, Stefani and the gang need the help of someone who once cheated Death – which leads them to a hospital morgue, where they find none other than Bludworth sitting amongst some autopsied corpses.
"We really worked closely with him to not only give a goodbye in the movie for his character to the other characters, but to craft what we thought might be a goodbye to the audience, because these Final Destination movies take several years to make," says Stein.
"We knew this would probably be his last Final Destination movie. We didn't realize it would be his last movie," Stein continues. "We wanted him to be able to say goodbye. We asked him in that final moment to put it in his own words. You know, put the script away. What do you wanna say to your fans? What has all this been about? You know, what is life about?"
Todd was a pop culture legend, appearing in just about every horror movie you've probably ever liked, including Night of the Living Dead, The Crow, Wishmaster, and Hatchet, and appearing on many major TV shows – from Star Trek to the X-Files, and even Riverdale. He passed away in November 2024 from stomach cancer.
"What's in the movie is that take where he's speaking directly from the heart to the audience," Stein says. "And that's, I think, why it's so emotionally affecting. It's something that stuck with us, too. You know, he says, life is precious, enjoy every single moment. And ever since then, we've tried to keep that in our hearts and and and do that with our own lives. It's very inspirational."
Final Destination Bloodlines hits theaters on May 16. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond.
