Actors Who Slipped Up And Spoiled Plot Details To Fans
Most every major film these days gets a big media push in the weeks before it hits theaters — stars make the rounds at entertainment magazines, websites, and talk shows to whet the audience's appetite by describing the movie and making it sound irresistible. But sometimes these stars reveal too much — and end up spoiling some major plot details in the process.
David Prowse, The Empire Strikes Back
David Prowse played Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy. (Or at least, he was the guy in the Vader costume and helmet; James Earl Jones provided the voice, and Sebastian Shaw played the unmasked villain at the end of "Return of the Jedi.") Even though Prowse's image wasn't as well-known as those of co-stars like Mark Hamill or Harrison Ford, the first wave of "Star Wars" mania in 1978 was so huge that a Prowse meet-and-greet in Berkeley, California, drew 1,000 people.
The British actor delighted the audience at the event with stories about his career and the first "Star Wars" movie, including news that a sequel was in pre-production. Prowse promised that "Star Wars II" would feature a lightsaber battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, during which Darth Vader would reveal to Luke that he was his father. "Star Wars II" became "The Empire Strikes Back," of course, and it featured the exact same twist Prowse had spoiled years before.
Billy Dee Williams, The Empire Strikes Back
Prowse wasn't the only cast member from "The Empire Strikes Back" to spoil the movie. Billy Dee Williams, who played the irresistibly roguish Lando Calrissian, spilled another "Star Wars" secret, but on a much higher-profile venue: NBC's long-running morning show Today.
To be fair, Williams had to reveal that Lando wasn't really a bad guy, just a crafty manipulator. He seemed to get a little defensive when the interviewer (who couldn't pronounce "Calrissian") labeled his character as evil, and interjected that Lando is "just a guy caught in a situation. I mean, there's Darth Vader, there's his best friend, and there's his situation. And he's got to figure out how he's going to deal with all this."
In the grand scheme of "Star Wars" spoilers, it's a pretty minor reveal — but on the other hand, it did ruin a pretty significant plot twist for anyone who watched the interview before the movie.
Rachel McAdams, The Time Traveler's Wife
Like most time travel movies, "The Time Traveler's Wife" has a complicated premise. That makes for a fine line, then, between explaining a movie's plot and spoiling the movie entirely.
"The Time Traveler's Wife" star Rachel McAdams accidentally crossed that line while promoting the film on the Daily Show. Host Jon Stewart asked how far outside the present the story's time-traveling husband (Eric Bana) was able to journey, and McAdams explained, "He goes as far as his own childhood ... He goes forward as far as his own death." After a moment of silence in which McAdams realized what she'd done, Stewart replied, "Whoa! He knows how he's gonna die before he dies?" McAdams, a little embarrassed, sighed, "Now we've ruined everything."
It's probably worth mentioning that the movie was based on the 2003 Audrey Niffenegger bestseller of the same name, and fans of the book most definitely were already aware of the title character's fate. Still, promoting a film romance by spoiling a death is usually not the best way to go.
Will Smith, I Am Legend
Richard Matheson's 1954 post-apocalyptic novel "I Am Legend" has been adapted for the screen a few times, starting with 1964's "The Last Man on Earth," followed by "The Omega Man" in 1971, and most recently in 2007 with Will Smith's "I Am Legend." It wasn't exactly a new story, in other words, merely a retelling for a new generation. But Smith still should've tried a little harder to not spoil the film. While promoting "I Am Legend" at a press conference in Tokyo, he explained the entire plot...including the movie's spectacular ending. According to a Reuters news report of the event, the film's publicity handlers asked reporters present to not print Smith's movie-spoiling remarks.
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Sylvester Stallone produced — and earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination — for his role in "Creed," a "Rocky" franchise spinoff that helped revive the blockbuster series he created in the '70s. In 2014, he tweeted out an artsy, sentimental photo of the filmmaking process behind the film. Captioned, "Where the screenwriting is done," the picture showed a pair of glasses, some handwritten notes...and the last page of the script for "Creed." The page was upside down, but if fans wanted to know how the movie ended, all they had to do was flip the photo and zoom in a little.
Ian McShane, Game of Thrones
"Game of Thrones" fans were thrilled when it was announced that Ian McShane — forever Al Swearengen on "Deadwood" — would join the cast of HBO's epic fantasy series in its sixth season. In an interview on BBC Breakfast about his role as Brother Ray, however, he gave away a little too much.
"I bring back a much-loved character who everybody thinks is dead," McShane said. Vanity Fair connected the dots and determined that McShane meant the Hound, as actor Rory McCann had been spotted on set.
Informed he'd upset some people with his casual plot spoiling, McShane offered "Game of Thrones" fans a verbal eyeroll. "You say the slightest thing and the internet goes ape," he told the Telegraph. "I was accused of giving the plot away, but I just think get a f***ing life." And then McShane spilled another plot detail. Asked whether he wanted to commit to a long-term TV series, he said he signed on for "Thrones" because the showrunners "said it would only be for one episode, so I said, 'So that means I must die at the end of it. Great, I'm in.'"
Hugh Jackman, Logan
"Logan" marked the end of Hugh Jackman's 17-year journey playing Wolverine across eight "X-Men" films. And while the X-franchise will continue with the heroes played by younger actors, Wolverine doesn't really age, so there was essentially only one way that the character — and Jackman's portrayal of him — could end: with Wolverine's death. Still, it wasn't cool when Jackman, on the week "Logan" hit theaters, told Entertainment Weekly that's how it ended. "In the end, he must give his life to save someone else," he revealed, adding that he "thought that was really powerful." He wasn't wrong, although it might have been even more powerful if he'd managed to keep it to himself.
Jiang Wen, Rogue One
Millions of people were excited for "Rogue One," the first in a planned series of standalone "Star Wars" spinoff movies. Among the most pumped? The people who took time out of their lives — and paid some of their hard-earned cash — to attend Star Wars Celebration Europe, where actor Jiang Wen blew the "Rogue One" ending for everyone watching the conference.
Wen portrayed Baze Malbus, one of the ragtag group who comes together to steal the plans for the Death Star to stymie the Empire. Baze heroically dies in his mission, which Wen mentioned during a livestreamed Star Wars Celebration panel. He would've revealed more details had panel host Gwendolyn Christie not cut him off, warning, "I think you've got to leave it there."
Samuel L. Jackson, Revenge of the Sith
While the "Star Wars" prequels weren't as well-received as the original trilogy, there are some undeniably great elements of the films — such as the always terrific Samuel L. Jackson as a Jedi named Mace Windu. Prior to the release of the final prequel, 2005's "Revenge of the Sith," Jackson sat for an interview with Now Playing. When asked what Windu would be doing in the film, Jackson answered, "Dying!" He then added that he couldn't go into too much detail, but that his character would face "an awesome death."
Of course, hardcore "Star Wars" fans were already aware that the Jedi faced near-total extinction during the events leading up to the original trilogy, so Windu's death wasn't totally a surprise. Still, having it confirmed this way counts as something of a disturbance in the Force.
Tyler Nelson, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Nearly 20 years passed between the third Indiana Jones movie, 1989's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," and the fourth, 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Fans were very excited for Indy's return. So was Tyler Nelson, a 23-year-old actor just getting his start who landed a bit part in the film as a Russian soldier.
In September 2007, months before the film's release, Nelson gave an interview to Oklahoma's Edmond Sun, his hometown newspaper. In the "local boy makes good" story, Nelson provided tons of details about "Crystal Skull," such as how the plot concerned "the Soviet Army searching for a crucifix skull in the jungles of South America" and threatening to "kill Karen, his old flame from the Lost Ark." Nelson also mentioned that he played one of the soldiers who "took Indiana Jones hostage and managed to find the skull" and that he "saw Harrison Ford strapped to a chair being interrogated."
Nelson's loose lips produced spoiler gold for fans determined to know more about the long-awaited sequel. Unfortunately for the young actor, he'd signed a confidentiality agreement. Divulging any details of the movie left him subject to a lawsuit from producer Lucasfilm, and that's exactly what happened. Terms of the suit weren't released, but a Superior Court in California ruled that Nelson violated his agreement. To add insult to self-inflicted injury, his scene was reportedly cut out of the movie.
Mark Ruffalo, Avengers: Infinity War and Thor: Ragnarok
By the time "Avengers: Infinity War" hit theaters in 2018, Mark Ruffalo had played the famously green-skinned muscle man the Hulk (and his scientist alter ego Bruce Banner) in five Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, and he somehow wound up leaking significant details of two of those highly anticipated films before they were released for public consumption.
"Infinity War" is the first in a two-film "Avengers" finale and features a brutal and sad twist ending in which intergalactic villain Thanos snaps half of all life out of existence, including many of the Avengers. It's unbelievable, and it's even more unbelievable that Ruffalo told the world such events would happen during an appearance on "Good Morning America" nearly a year before "Infinity War" would arrive at cineplexes. "It doesn't end well for the superheroes," Ruffalo teased. "Wait 'till you see this next one; everybody dies." Co-star Don Cheadle panicked and interjected, "DUDE!" Ruffalo realized he said too much and added "Not everybody" in an attempt to backpedal.
Not long after the "Good Morning America" incident, Ruffalo attended the premiere of the 2017 MCU entry "Thor: Ragnarok" in which he co-stars as the Hulk. At the premiere, he accidentally shared the movie with anyone watching his Instagram live feed. By forgetting to switch off Insta before putting his phone in his pocket, Ruffalo accidentally streamed the first 20 minutes of the movie's audio over the internet.
Tom Holland, Spider-Man: Far from Home and Avengers: Infinity War
Tom Holland is a versatile actor and international celebrity who does two things more than anything else in his busy career. He plays Spider-Man (and Peter Parker) whenever the MCU requires him to do so, and he routinely spoils sensitive or top-secret details about those same MCU films.
In June 2018, Holland put in an appearance at ACE Seattle Comic Con and posted a video to his Instagram page to calm down fans eager for details about his upcoming second "Spider-Man" film. "I wanted to apologize because there's no real revelations coming out this weekend about 'Spider-Man 2,'" Holland said before ironically and accidentally revealing the movie's subtitle. "I got the new script. I'm super excited to read it. It's gonna be great!" Holland added while holding up the iPad upon which he was reading the script, with the not-yet-public title, "Spider-Man: Far From Home" very visible.
Here's a spoiler alert for "Avengers: Infinity War" — Spider-Man dies in the end. A crowd filled a theater at the ArcLight in Los Angeles for a special early screening of that film hosted by directors Joe and Anthony Russo, along with some of the cast members. Holland came out on stage and quipped, "I'm alive!" Though obviously confused about whether he was walking out before or after the screening, Holland coyly but clearly revealed his character's fate.
Jason Momoa, Aquaman
Plenty of superhero movies are also origin stories that lay the groundwork for future sequels by showing how a regular individual acquires their superpowers and embraces their extraordinary lot in life.
"Aquaman," the 2018 mega-blockbuster entry in DC Comics' cinematic universe, features Jason Momoa as the titular lord of the seas (aka Arthur Curry), reprising the role he plays in 2017's team-up movie "Justice League."
At the time, filmgoers might not all have anticipated "Aquaman" to be an origin story that takes place before the events of "Justice League." But they soon found out as much, thanks to an excitable Momoa sharing a little too much about the movie — particularly its ending and his character's arc — during his promotional rounds for "Justice League."
"He's not even really Aquaman yet. He's not the King of the Seven Seas," Momoa told SFX Magazine, via ScreenRant. "We don't really get there until my solo movie, at the end. Really, it's a huge growth for me. It's a gigantic arc for Arthur Curry."
Elizabeth Debicki, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
"Guardians of the Galaxy" was something of a surprise hit in 2014, because it's based on more obscure source material than previously successful MCU outings like "Iron Man," "Captain America," and "Thor." Only relatively hardcore comics fans knew what to expect from "Guardians." Hardly anybody could predict how events would unfold in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," which hit theaters in 2017. The sequel adds mysterious new characters to the mix, including Ayesha, played by Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki.
While discussing and promoting the movie at San Diego Comic-Con in the summer of 2016 — a year before the film would see release — Debicki laid out (and thus spoiled) most of Ayesha's arc, including one of the film's twists — she isn't one of the good guys. In fact, Ayesha is a villain who tricks the protagonists into fighting on her behalf. "Ayesha is this leader of the Sovereign people. She enlists the Guardians to help her fight a sort of galactic beast," Debicki told Gizmodo at SDCC. "It's all going swimmingly until it all turns very very sour. Let's just say it goes from amiable to not-so-amiable quite quickly."
Rodri Martin, WandaVision
Actor Rodri Martin works primarily in Spanish-language media. In 2021, he landed a very plum gig — performing the dub for actor Evan Peters in the Spanish version of the Disney+ MCU series "WandaVision."
Peters' appearance on the show — as Pietro Maximoff, the presumed deceased brother of Wanda Maximoff — is a mega-surprise in the complicated, slow-boil world of "WandaVision." According to Cinexcepcion (via The Direct), Martin revealed his casting on Twitter ahead of Pietro's big Episode 5 reveal, which violated Martin's confidentiality agreement with Disney and Marvel. Martin also told Twitter that he'd be dubbing Peters' lines in future MCU projects — which means, ironically, at that point Martin either didn't really know how "WandaVision" ends or was trying to throw fans off the track of figuring out the real deal with Pietro.
The source states that for potentially spoiling multiple projects and ignoring contract language, Disney terminated Martin and replaced him with Manuel Gimeno, the actor who performed the dubs for Charlie Cox in Marvel's "Daredevil" series.
Wagner Moura, Narcos
Brazilian star Wagner Moura broke into the North American entertainment industry in a big way in 2015, landing the role of the notorious Colombian cocaine cartel leader Pablo Escobar in "Narcos" — a gritty, violent, harrowing Netflix series about drug smuggling in the '80s and '90s. About a week before the anticipated second season of "Narcos" was set to debut in September of 2016, Moura gave a promotional interview to the high-profile, widely read New York Times. The article's headline and first three paragraphs bluntly state that the upcoming set of episodes would feature the death of Pablo Escobar.
"I'm really proud of the show, and I did everything I could to portray the character the best that I could," Moura said in a piece titled "Wagner Moura Is All Set to Die on 'Narcos.'" He continued, referring to his show in the past tense, "Now it's about looking ahead." Moura claimed to be okay with divulging the news of his character's death, because reality already spoiled "Narcos." The real Escobar was captured and killed by authorities in 1993.
Mischa Barton, The O.C.
Every new generation of American teens seems to get their own salacious soap opera about rich young people. For kids in the mid-2000s, that series was "The O.C." In Fox's sun-kissed Southern California drama, teen criminal Ryan Atwood is adopted into the wealthy, loving embrace of the Cohen family and begins a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship with troubled girl next door Marissa Cooper. The show made stars and millennial icons out of its lead actors — particularly Ben McKenzie, Rachel Bilson, and Mischa Barton, who played Marissa for the first three seasons.
During the Season 3 finale, mere hours after all the teen characters graduate high school, Ryan and Marissa are involved in a grisly car accident when Marissa's angry ex-boyfriend runs them off the road. She dies in Ryan's arms, a shocking plot twist undercut somewhat by Barton publicly saying it would happen a day before the episode aired. "It's true, it's true. My character dies," Barton told Access Hollywood in response to rumors about how Marissa might be written off.