The Final Destination franchise has returned with Tony Todd reprising his role as the series’ recurring creepy and eccentric mortician, William Bludworth. After 14 years of waiting, we finally get to see a new installment for the next generation. Final Destination: Bloodlines retains the dread and gore of its predecessors but offers a fresh take on the franchise’s lore. As fresh faces come across Death’s path, the familiar courier is there to deliver some words of wisdom to the new crew. Despite this remarkable resurrection, it will sadly be the last time we get to witness the franchise’s iconic character.
Tony Todd as William Bludworth
Todd has been part of the Final Destination family since its debut in 2000, starring as the insightful yet disturbing mortician, William Bludworth. Throughout the six movies in the series, he appears in four of them, always offering advice and clues to the main characters while he collects the corpses of the fallen survivors. With his knowledge of Death’s Design, sonorous line deliveries, and the charismatic delight he took in his job, he quickly became the franchise’s iconic character.
Bludworth’s mysterious background garnered the popular theory that he was death itself. Fans theorized and searched the films for supporting evidence, but the writers neither denied nor confirmed any facts about his character’s backstory. It wasn’t until Final Destination Bloodlines that fans were given answers to Bludworth’s backstory. He was part of Death’s Design far before the first film as the young boy of a singer who was supposed to perish in the 1968 Skyview collapse, but was saved by a woman who foresaw the incident.
The Last Goodbye of Both Men
Bludworth appears in one scene of Final Destination: Bloodlines, looking skeletal and thin when the survivors visit him for help in figuring out Death’s Design. Bludworth had contracted a disease that was killing him by the time the characters showed up, and he was retiring from his position. In his usual fashion, he gave his harbinger-of-Death remarks and a chance to combat Death’s attempts. He leaves them with his final words of the lingering hands of Death, but also the importance of knowing that you only have one life and should live it the best you can.
Todd himself had been battling stomach cancer for some time when he took up the mantle again as Bludworth. The directors understood this would be his last film, and they wanted the legend to speak his mind. The impact of Todd’s words showed his mortality, understanding, and acceptance of Death, not just for the characters but also the fans. Todd and Bludworth say their last goodbye in Final Destination: Bloodlines when they tell the kids, “I intend to enjoy the time I have left. And I suggest you do the same. Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when… Good luck.”
Final Thoughts: Thank You, Tony Todd
It was great to see Tony return for his character despite being very ill at the time. It was even better knowing that he could send off his iconic character with a message that also melded into the themes of the Final Destination franchise. His final words resonate with audiences that you must treat your time on Earth like it’s the last day and live it to the fullest. Tony Todd and William Bludworth reached their final destination in November 2024.
