Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Teen Wolf: The Movie.
Jan. 26 is a big day for Teen Wolf pack-members everywhere as the much-anticipated feature-length reunion spinoff of the beloved MTV supernatural series is finally streaming. Unfortunately, Teen Wolf: The Movie is not going down as well with the fans as Paramount must’ve been hoping. The writing was already on the wall for the film, what with Dylan O’Brien’s absence as Stiles Stillinski providing much disappointment, but the movie’s treatment of another favorite is leaving folks wishing they had pulled an O’Brien themselves.
Specifically, Teen Wolf lovers are baring their fangs over the way the film treats Derek Hale, the hunky lycanthrope played by Tyler Hoechlin (now most known to TV viewers thanks to his role as Clark Kent on The CW’s Superman & Lois). Hoechlin originally left the series after its fourth season, only returning for the season six/series two-part finale, so it was a big deal that he decided to return for this project. Unfortunately, given how the movie handles Derek’s return, it might’ve been better if he didn’t.
Spoilers incoming!
OK, here goes: Teen Wolf: The Movie takes the shocking route of deciding to kill off Derek Hale. As fans had anticipated all along, iconic original series big bad the Nogitsune returned as the film’s villain, with the final showdown involving Derek sacrificing himself to aid hellhound Jordan Parrish (Ryan Kelley) in defeating the evil spirit. This meant that Derek’s son Eli (Vince Mattis) is left orphaned, leading to him being taken in by Scott (Tyler Posey) and the resurrected Allison (Crystal Reed).
Clearly, the showrunners felt it was worth killing off Derek in order to give protagonist Scott a happy ending, but the folks over on the r/TeenWolf subreddit certainly aren’t feeling the same way, with the majority of reactions blasting the movie for its “sloppy” storytelling and “unnecessary” plot twists.
It seems Teen Wolf: The Movie is yet another reminder that the lesson studios and networks really need to learn is that sometimes it’s better to leave things as they are.