PEOPLE has an exclusive behind-the-scenes video showing late actor Tony Todd teasing his role in Finale Destination Bloodlines
“This is one of the few films that I’ve been able to return to more than once,” Todd says in the video, calling his character Bludworth an “interesting, enigmatic personality”
The horror veteran, also famous for his role as the titular villain in 1992’s Candyman, died in November 2024 at age 69
Tony Todd’s legacy lives on in Final Destination Bloodlines.
PEOPLE has an exclusive behind-the-scenes video spotlighting the late actor’s iconic (and mysterious) character William Bludworth, who was first introduced 25 years ago in the original Final Destination and makes a comeback in the franchise’s newest installment.
Of Todd, who died in November 2024 at age 69, Bloodlines co-director Adam Stein says in the video, “When Tony Todd first came on set, there was sort of a hush that fell over all of the cast and crew.”
“Having this legendary figure come onto set and reprise his role as Bludworth— he brought this incredible gravity to the part,” he adds.
Todd himself also appears in the featurette, where he reflects on the legacy of both his character and the Final Destination saga since it first kicked off in 2000.
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“People love the franchise,” Todd said. “This is one of the few films that I’ve been able to return to more than once. The more you do a character, the more you understand it. I love Bludworth — he’s a very interesting, enigmatic personality.”
Bludworth has had fans scratching their heads over the years as he appeared in almost every installment save the fourth film (2009’s The Final Destination), with no end in sight to the mystery of his identity.
“Is he an angel? Is he a devil? Who is this guy?” says Stein, with his co-director Zach Lipovsky adding, “Death itself?”
“We’ve always avoided answering the question because it’s nice to keep it a mystery, but we heard the fans,” says producer Craig Perry, before Stein promised of Bloodlines, “In this movie, we answer those questions.”
“Who he really is, where he really comes from and how he is inextricably connected to the franchise at its very core,” adds Perry.
A synopsis for Bloodlines says this entry “takes audiences back to the very beginning of Death’s twisted sense of justice.”
“Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all,” the logline teases.
The cast includes Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Rya Kihlstedt, Anna Lore, Max Lloyd-Jones and Brec Bassinger.
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Courtesy of Warner Bros
Tony Todd in Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
Of Bludworth, Bassinger says in the behind-the-scenes video, “You learn why he knows so much about escaping death,” while Lloyd-Jones says, “To see where Bludworth came from, that’s gonna be really exciting.”
“Bludworth spends 80 percent of his life in a morgue,” says the Candyman alum. “I’m used to the dead, and I’m used to strange occurrences and the paranormal.”
“I know who’s gonna make it, who’s not gonna make it,” he adds. “Bludworth has always been interested in the reason why we’re repeating this cycle. Will it ever be escaped? We shall see.”
Final Destination Bloodlines is in theaters May 16.
Read the original article on People
