Four Huge Movie Twists That No One Ever Talks About

By Diana McCallum

(List)

We all know the classic twists; Darth Vader is Luke’s Father, Bruce Willis was dead the whole time, Brad Pitt was never alive at all, etc, etc. These moments have been discussed and dissected for years and years, they’ve had their moment of appreciation.

But what about the other twists? The lesser discussed twists that were just as good but no one ever brings up? Twists like …

(OH JESUS SPOILER WARNING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD)

4. Darth Maul Is Alive At The End of Solo

Solo was a perfectly fine Star Wars movie (with an audience score of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes) but it barely managed to make back its budget at the box office. When talking about Solo, the only things people want to bring up are the change in directors, Kathleen Kennedy, and its box office woes, and that’s a shame because the final scene of the movie includes the huge reveal that, despite being cut in half last we saw him, Darth Maul is alive and well in the Star Wars Universe, running a ring of mercenaries called Crimson Dawn.

Reasons this moment should be discussed more:

This is kind of huge. Darth Maul being alive means there was likely another Sith alive out there through the entire original trilogy. It means that the Obi-Wan show could be about him battling the man who killed his master. It means we could have more Ray Park fight scenes. But despite all these very fun things it could mean, Darth Maul’s resurrection failed to make a dent in the discussions about the movie.

It’s wild that we’ve spent decades discussing how Boba Fett survived the Sarlacc Pit but an almost equally cool villain came back to life and we collectively decided not to care how it happened, or even that it happened? We all know Phantom Menace sucked but Darth Maul was undeniably a badass who kills a jedi master in one of the best fights in Star Wars. Whether we decide to talk about it or not, it’s cool that he’s alive (though admittedly Star Wars animated fans have known this for some time).

Even if people aren’t excited about the return of Darth Maul, you would expect the internet to at least be outraged that the guy who was CUT IN HALF is now back to life without explanation (though after the Rise of Skywalker it’s safe to assume he just force healed himself cause that’s a thing force users can just easily do now?)

Thanks JJ!

3. Colleen Wing Becomes the Iron Fist

(Okay, Iron Fist isn’t a movie, but it was technically part of the MCU, so let’s carry on and discuss this incredible twist.)

Season one of Iron Fist was pretty much panned across the board as being, well, terrible, so it was shocking when it got picked up for a season two, but it was more shocking when it turned out to actually be kind of good. Season 2 had better fights, decent relationship building, better humor and charm from Danny Rand, and realized that Colleen Wing was the real break-out star of the show. The show leaned so hard into this last point that Danny even admits she’s a better hero than him and willingly transfers the power of the Iron Fist to her at the end of the season, making her the protector of New York (well, one of many protectors of New York along with Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Spider-Man ... you get the idea).

Reasons this moment should be discussed more:

Colleen Wing is the freaking Iron Fist! In terms of general badassery, this ranks very high on the cool scale, and in terms of superhero diversity it ranks even higher. Marvel has been slowly expanding diversity within their superhero ranks, but even with dozens of named heroes in the MCU, WOC as superheroes are hard to find even in supporting roles, let alone being the title character. The show was called Iron Fist after all, not Danny Rand, so since Colleen was wielding the power of the Iron Fist at the end, it could be argued she’s the Iron Fist referred to in the title.

But even if she’s not, she’s a badass with full on super powers now and seeing her come into her own as a hero and protector was great to watch throughout the season and more people need to know that Jessica Henwick crushed this role so hard she became the title character, even if she is now lost to us amongst the Marvel/Netflix cancellations.

Also, Colleen channels her chi powers through her sword. It’s just undeniably cool.

2. Deathstroke and Lex Luthor Form the Injustice League

Don’t pretend like none of you saw Justice League. Sure, it didn’t make the kind of money Warner Bros. was hoping it would but $650 million isn’t chump change. That kind of box office means a bunch of you saw it and just chose not to discuss the end credits scene where Lex Luthor is shown to have escaped from prison and is meeting with Deathstroke because he thinks they should “have a league of [their] own” and it’s a safe bet he means an Injustice League, not a baseball team (though that would be dope as well).

Reasons this moment should be discussed more:

First of all, Lex is bald now, thank god. Though Jesse Eisenburg is far from being a good Lex Luthor, he’s an infinitely more pleasing character without hair. He actually seems kind of menacing and in control and not like Stephen Amell in one of his bad Arrow wigs. But the actual cause for excitement in this twist is seeing Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke.

Slade Wilson is one DC’s greatest villains and Joe Manganiello is absolutely perfect casting for the badass assassin (badassassin?), with the look, the build and the love for the character that you want from an actor. It’s also worth discussing what a shame it is that this is likely the first and only time we will see Manganiello as the character as pretty much every film teased to include him has been shelved or restructured to not be part of the DCEU.

Damn, layoffs are hitting the villain economy hard these days.

1. The Shazam Kids All Become Superheroes

Pretty much everyone who saw Shazam agreed it was a fun movie with a lot of heart, but almost no one talks about the best part of the film, the final action sequence when Billy Batson gathers his five foster siblings and shares his power with them, turning them into the superheroes known in the comics as the Shazam Family.

Reasons this moment should be discussed more:

This is simultaneously the best twist on this list and the one most understandable not to be discussed as it does sincerely spoil the film’s incredible ending. When Billy shares his power with his family it is astoundingly pure and heart-warming, genuinely surprising, and leads to the funniest and most refreshing action sequence in the movie. It makes sense to not want to spoil this twist for people who haven’t seen it, which might partially explain why almost no one talked about it in detail after the movie came out. But the double-edged sword of this one, similar to Iron Fist is above, is that it means people had no idea that Shazam was secretly a fun ensemble movie and also one of the most diverse superhero movies out today. Just look at this team!

The Shazam family runs the gamut in terms of gender and ethnicity and they’re also just plain fun to watch on screen together in their ridiculous muscle suits.

It’s also nice to see Adam Brody finally get to play a superhero after about fifteen years of being rumored for roles ranging from Mr. Fantastic to the Flash in George Miller’s Justice League. We eagerly await Shazam 2 to see more of this super family, currently scheduled for release in April, 2022.

Did we miss any great twists that no one discusses? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook.