10 Movie Villains Who Died Happy

Where most movies are concerned, it's basically expected that the villain dies or is at least incapacitated at film's end, because that's what people generally want to see.

And it's fair to say that most bad guys aren't particularly thrilled about buying the farm - usually they're sent kicking and screaming into the void at the end of a prolonged fight with the hero.

But every so often a movie villain might dive headlong into the existential abyss with a bizarre feeling of happiness, as seems completely antithetical to their predicament on paper, right? After all, who's happy about dying?

And yet, these 10 movie antagonists all perished in a good mood, at peace, and perhaps while even straight-up smiling.

Maybe they found a way to redeem themselves in their final moments, executed enough of their plan to feel good about dying, or simply appreciated the delicious irony of their unexpected demise.

Whatever the rationale, these villains all met their maker in shockingly good spirits, with a grace and even a sense of humour that most characters - whether villainous or heroic - could only dream of...

Darth Vader (David Prowse) may ultimately be a redeemed villain by the end of Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, but he's still an out-and-out bad guy for the overwhelming majority of his screen time in the original trilogy.

Vader is mortally wounded at film's end when he saves his son Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) from Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), and in his dying moments has Luke remove his mask so he can see his son with his own eyes.

In doing so, he's able to let out a wry smile at Luke despite his agonising pain, and though he passes away mere moments later, it's clear that he does so while being at complete peace with himself, his redemption arc complete.

Then again, if you're gonna end up turning into a Force ghost and be able to watch over the living forever more, you might not be quite so sad about entering the void, right?