Nothing makes a movie iconic quite like a memorable character. The Indiana Jones franchise would be nothing without its titular character’s iconic hat, whip and quippy one-liners. As important as those details are, it’s also important to remember that characters should have an active role in the actual plot of the film. They should make decisions that have genuine consequences for the film’s ending.

Hollywood has produced plenty of memorable characters who have somehow made no difference to how the film ends up by the time the final credits roll. While that might not always be a dealbreaker when it comes to whether audiences fall in love with the character, it’s always better when that love is rewarded by a sizable role in how the story finishes out. Here are ten characters from famous movies who had very little role in how the plot ended up.

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10 Hulk from Avengers: Infinity War

     Marvel Studios

While Marvel fans all over the world were quick to call Avengers: Infinity War the best film in the entire series, there was one aspect of the film that many had a serious issue with. That would be the fact that the Hulk, who had just had his character expanded in Thor: Ragnarok, was beaten to a pulp by Thanos in the opening scene and then was never seen again throughout the rest of the film. Not only did he not show up to the final battle, but in Avengers: Endgame the Ragnarok version of Hulk was merged with Bruce Banner into Professor Hulk, seemingly written out of the franchise forever.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

What’s truly sad about this is that originally Hulk was supposed to make a triumphant return in the final battle in Wakanda but was left out of the final version. Fans will always wonder about the crowd-pleasing Hulk moment that might have been…

9 Joker from Suicide Squad

When it came to the hype for 2016’s Suicide Squad, nothing outweighed the anticipation for Jared Leto’s deranged take on the Joker. This was the first time someone would don the white makeup since Heath Ledger won an Oscar for playing Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight. Once the film came out, however, fans were devastated to learn that not only was Leto not the main villain of the film as the trailers suggested, but that he was barely in the film at all. In fact, his brief appearances have no effect on the primary conflict against Enchantress at all.

While David Ayer has a lot to say about how the studio interfered with his vision for Suicide Squad, when it comes to the Joker he takes a lion’s share of the blame. He stated that he regretted not making Joker the primary villain instead of the underwhelming Enchantress. This take on Joker was so underwhelming that he was left out of the subsequent sequels Birds of Preyand The Suicide Squad. Luckily, a brief appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League redeemed him for some fans but even then he had no effect on the main story at all.

8 Boba Fett from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Before The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett redeemed the character, Boba Fett was the most famous overhyped character of all time. While he played a brief but integral role in the story for The Empire Strikes Back, he had no purpose in Return of the Jedi. In fact, all he did was make a few brief appearances in Jabba’s palace before getting the worth death scene in film history by getting shot from behind by a blind Han Solo. It was an almost comical end for a character who was supposedly feared across the galaxy.

Thankfully, Disney retconned this mistake decades later. Now Boba Fett is an active part of the Star Wars universe, carving his own destiny as a crimelord instead of as a quiet henchman. Still, it’s hard to rewatch Return of the Jedi and see Fett treated with such blatant disrespect.

7 Legolas from The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit Trilogies

     Warner Bros.

There’s no denying that Legolas is one of the coolest characters in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. He has plenty of awesome lines, slays enormous Oliphants and never has so much of a hair out of place. While he will always be the coolest Elf in Middle Earth, when it comes to the actual plot of the trilogy, he has very little effect. Sure, he slays more than his fair share of Orcs, Goblins and Uruk-hai, but he makes no choices that make any major changes in the story, unlike most of the rest of the Fellowship.

What’s worse is that he was brought into Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy where he serves even less purpose than he did the first time. While his undeniable coolness will always grant him a pass from Lord of the Rings fans, his unwelcomed presence in the Hobbit films will always feel like a black mark on the character’s legacy.

6 Chani from Dune

     Warner Bros. Pictures

When the trailers for Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the seminal Dune novel released, two actors were featured more than any others. That would be Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. While Chalamet was a lead character featured in almost every scene, audience members unfamiliar with the book were surprised to see that Zendaya’s Chani was absent from the film until the final scenes. Her presence in the movie is largely felt through visions and brief voiceovers that deliver exposition or foreshadowing.

As fans of the book series know, Chani will have a substantial role in the next few Dune films, as Paul’s primary love interest. Yet, for as much as Zendaya was advertised in Dune’s marketing campaign, it is a shame that her character had so small of a role. No film could ever feature too much Zendaya.

5 Brad Pitt’s Team from Inglourious Basterds

     The Weinstein Company

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds might just be the most outrageous war movie ever made. The film not only features violence that’s graphic even for the World War II film genre, but it changes the course of history itself with the most daring ending any war film has ever tried to pull off. As ambitious and well written as this film is, there is one aspect of the movie that has drawn significant criticism in the years to follow. Brad Pitt’s titular team of soldiers has no real effect on the movie’s ending. If they were removed entirely, the theatre inferno sequence would’ve happened all the same.

Still, they were a lot of fun throughout. That may be more important in the long run.

4 Sandman from Spider-Man: No Way Home

     Sony Pictures

Spider-Man: No Way Home surprised Spidey fans by featuring several fan favorite villains from previous Spider-Man franchises. While villains like Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and even Jamie Foxx’s Electro all had major arcs and roles in the plot, there was one character who served very little purpose in the film. Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman was little more than a glorified extra throughout the film. Even the Lizard from The Amazing Spider-Man was featured more.

Considering how sympathetic Church’s Sandman was in Spider-Man 3, it’s surprising that more time wasn’t spent with the character. Still, if it meant more time for Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin, it’s hard to complain.

3 Dane Whitman from Eternals

Chloe Zhao’s Eternals may be the most controversial film in all the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It throws out most of the strategies for making an MCU film in favor of a much more sweeping story that worked for some fans while boring others. One aspect of the film that seemed to confuse everyone though was the inclusion of Dane Whitman, AKA the Black Knight. This was a major Marvel Comics character played by a major actor, Kit Harrington from Game of Thrones.

Once the film came out, fans were befuddled as to why he was included at all. He served very little purpose to the story and never even assumed his mantle as Black Knight. There was a post-credits scene that seemed to link him to Marhershala Ali’s upcoming Blade movie, but even that did little to assuage the apathy for how the character was treated.

2 Vulture from Morbius

The Sony Marvel film Morbius decided to make a strange move in its marketing by revealing that Adrian Toomes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be appearing in the film, played by Michael Keaton. Once fans got to see the film, they weren’t any less confused about how his appearance occurred.

Not only was he sloppily shoved into a poorly written post-credits sequence, but little explanation was given as to why he was looking for Michael Morbius, why Morbius was intrigued by him and how he kept his Vulture armor that was mostly made of Stark Tech that came specifically from the MCU. Seeing how all of this is undoubtedly setting up a massive crossover film for Sony, we’ll likely find out at least a few of these answers soon enough.

1 Worf from Star Trek: Nemesis

When it comes to famous Star Trek aliens, only Michael Dorn’s Worf compares to the iconic performance Leonard Nimoy gave as Spock. Worf was featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation and then more prominently in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Across both shows, his character went through several trials including his family’s lost honor, his son Alexander, his fallen wife Jadzia, and his future with the Klingon Empire. So fans were confused and angry when Star Trek: Nemesis ignored his character development altogether to put him back in his old post aboard the Enterprise. Not only that but the beloved character was given very little to do in the film to justify the change in his character arc.

Even Michael Dorn voiced his anger at the way the character was treated, insisting that when he returned for Star Trek: Picard that his character’s entire story was referenced instead of ignored entirely.