Final Destination: Bloodlines spoilers follow.
Tony Todd might not have many minutes of screentime across the Final Destination series and he hasn't even been in every movie, but he is as linked to it as Robert Englund is to A Nightmare on Elm Street or Tobin Bell is to Saw.
His beloved performance as the enigmatic mortician William Bludworth is the perfect example of doing a lot with a little, with Todd's charisma managing to appear both trustworthy but also a little menacing. He's so perfectly cast that it's wild to think that he wasn't the original choice, as Todd revealed to Digital Spy back in 2020.
It's probably not a coincidence that The Final Destination was the worst outing since it's the one outing that Todd wasn't involved in. (Bludworth wasn't in Final Destination 3, but Todd made a voice cameo as the Devil in front of the doomed rollercoaster Devil's Flight.)
In Final Destination, Final Destination 2 and Final Destination 5, the survivors sought out Bludworth's help in escaping Death – even if it never quite worked out for them. Bludworth's knowledge of Death and its vengeful ways led to fan theories that Bludworth was actually Death incarnate or its on-Earth representative.
Final Destination: Bloodlines promised long-awaited answers for fans and it does just that. But also in the wake of Tony Todd's tragic passing in November 2024, it also turns out to be a beautiful tribute to the late actor, honouring his connection to the series in as impactful a way as any elaborate death sequence in the new movie.
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In the opening premonition of the new movie, we see Iris attempt to rescue a little boy at the unintentionally-explosive opening of the Skyview Restaurant in 1968. In her premonition, Iris and the boy are the last two to die, but since Iris saves everybody, this doesn't come to pass.
Iris's heroics have unintended consequences as Death has been after everybody who survived in 1968, as well as their entire bloodlines as they should never have existed. As one of the final survivors, Iris and her family have been left to the end, but once Iris willingly gets herself killed to prove to her granddaughter Stefani about Death, all bets are off.
Inevitably this leads to doomed family members to seek help about how to cheat Death and that path sees them meet Bludworth. He reveals that he was the boy that Iris saved in 1968 and the fact that Iris defied Death for so long meant that he survived too. They kept in touch over the years, with Iris sharing all she knew about Death and its design.
It's a neat explanation for Bludworth's intimate knowledge of Death, one that avoids the tackier route of saying he is Death or working for Death. Since Iris is gone though, Bludworth knows he'll be next and reveals that he is already terminally ill: "No running this time."
In a real-life parallel, Final Destination: Bloodlines marked Todd's final movie role, and his final words on-screen are affecting ones. After imparting his usual mysterious advice to cheat Death, Bludworth has some other unexpected words of wisdom for the survivors.
"Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when," he tells them, adding his customary "good luck".
If they feel strange to you, almost like Bludworth is speaking directly to you in the audience, there's a reason for that.
"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?'," producer Craig Perry revealed to Deadline.
"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."
It's a beautifully-judged moment and a fitting tribute to Todd, an actor who meant so much not just to Final Destination fans, but wider horror fans too. We didn't need to see Bludworth meet his maker; that would have been crass and mean-spirited, but you can imagine a cheaper version of this movie doing that.
Instead, it's further evidence that Final Destination: Bloodlines was made by people who are as much fans of the series as we are. For all the surprise deaths, the biggest surprise of the new movie is that it will also make you shed a tear.
Later on, the credits state that the movie is "in memory of Tony Todd" and if you want to clap at that moment, then it's the very least he'll deserve.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is out now in cinemas.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
