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Spoiler alert: 10 big stars' early exits on screen
By Brett Buckalew, Special to Metromix
Given persistent complaints about how frequently movie trailers spoil instead of merely tease what they’re selling, the preview for “Contagion” takes quite a risk. Before the trailer is even half-finished, audiences discover that prominently billed Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow becomes an early victim in the global spread of a deadly virus.
And with that, the trailer sends a tantalizing message: If director Steven Soderbergh has no qualms over killing off Paltrow, then the other big names in the cast (including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law and Laurence Fishburne) are far from safe.
This makes “Contagion” only the latest in a long line of movies to use the unexpected offing of an A-list star as a promise of more surprises down the road. Here’s a look at ten other name actors who bit the dust unusually soon and shocked us in the process.
[Warning: All of the films in this gallery are over five years old, but if you’re cautious about spoilers for movies you haven’t seen, you may want to avoid clicking through.]
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