Teen Wolf: The Movie boss explains why he killed [Spoiler]
Warning: This post contains spoilers from Teen Wolf: The Movie.
Teen Wolf fans know what it is to lose a character they love. Thanks to Teen Wolf: The Movie, they also know what it is to have a long-dead character resurrected. (Hi, Allison!) But the Paramount+ follow-up film wasn't only about long-awaited reunions.
In the opening moments of the film, one of Beacon Hills' biggest villains, the Nogitsune, is freed. As a result, Allison (Crystal Reed) is brought back to life. But that's only the beginning of the Nogitsune's plan to enact revenge on Scott (Tyler Posey) and his pack. It's later revealed that Allison is back so that, this time around, Scott can die in her arms (much in the way she died in his in the show's third season).
Curtis Bonds Baker/MTV Tyler Posey and Crystal Reed in 'Teen Wolf: The Movie'
But, as always, Scott and his pack fight back. And the good news is that they win. The bad news is that they lose Derek (Tyler Hoechlin) along the way.
Toward the end of the film, as they face off against the Nogitsune, they realize that the only way to kill this thing is for Parrish (Ryan Kelley) to use hellfire. But somebody has to hold the Nogistune still while he does that. Looking at his son, Eli (Vince Mattis), who's finally completed his werewolf transformation, Derek announces that Eli is now officially part of Scott's pack. He then throws Scott out of the way and gives Parrish the green light. In the end, Derek burns up alongside the Nogitsune.
According to writer Jeff Davis, Derek's death was not always part of the plan. "You want to make big choices," Davis says. "You don't want to do a movie and say, 'Well that could've just been another episode of the show.' You want to make it feel grand."
James Dimmock/Paramount+ Tyler Hoechlin in 'Teen Wolf: The Movie'
When the idea came to him, Davis took it straight to Hoechlin, who also served as an executive producer on the film. "I didn't want to do it without Tyler's blessing, so I called him up and said, 'What do you think if we gave Derek a big, heroic, sacrificial ending?' And he was like, 'I'm in. Let's go for it.'"
But that doesn't mean it was an easy decision. "You second-guess yourself all the time," Davis says. "You say, 'Are we really doing this? Maybe we should plan something that'll bring him back.' But there's also part of you that wants to commit."
As for whether this is really the end for Derek, Davis adds, "It's Teen Wolf. People can always come back." (Again, hi Allison!)
Teen Wolf: The Movie is streaming on Paramount+ now.
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