Original Final Destination star Devon Sawa says they put him in fifth film without telling him

‘I’m sitting there in my seat, and then all of a sudden, there I am,’ said Sawa, recalling his experience watching the film for the first time

Final Destination star Devon Sawa has revealed that he was unaware he featured in the fifth instalment of the horror franchise until seeing himself on screen at the premiere.

Sawa, 45, played the character of Alex Browning in the original 2000 horror film. He features at the end of 2011’s Final Destination 5, in a scene that combines archival clips with newly shot footage.

Speaking to Michael Rosenbaum during an appearance on the Inside of You podcast, Sawa recalled being invited to the premiere of the sequel, which was directed by Steven Quale and produced by Warner Bros studio.

“Funny story,” he said. “I didn’t know i was in Final Destination 5, and I was invited to the premiere. I don’t know if you know the ending, but they cut me in, they used old footage from number one, and they shoot new footage, and they spliced it together.

“So I’m sitting there, I was like, ‘Why are they inviting me to this premiere?’ And I’m sitting there in my seat, and then all of a sudden, there I am... in brand new scenes.”

Podcast host Rosenbaum interjected, suggesting that the makers of the film “can’t do that”, speculating that Sawa would have been entitled to a “big paycheque”.

“They did it,” Sawa replied. “Something in the contract about being able to use stock footage. When you sign it, you think, ‘OK, they’re gonna use it for trailers or whatnot.’ It was footage we shot, I guess stuff that they didn’t use. New footage they shot and old footage we shot.”

The actor added that he does, however, think he received residuals for appearing in the film, and suggested that he may have been kept in the dark about his involvement in order to keep the spoiler from leaking.

Devon Sawa in ‘Final Destination' (WB)

“I wanna say that they didn’t tell me because they didn’t want it to get out,” he said.

Last year, Sawa claimed in a since-deleted tweet that he had not been paid for his involvement in Final Destination 5. “This has nothing to do with the filmmakers by the way,” he wrote. “I loved FD5. I love them all to be completely honest. And I’m super excited to see number 6.”

The Final Destination films focus on a group of people who cheat death after experiencing a grisly premonition, only to die one by one in unlikely and violent ways.

Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Tony Todd starred alongside Sawa in the first instalment of the franchise. Sawa did not return for the second film, and it was explained in the sequel that his character dies offscreen.

A sixth film, Final Destination: Bloodlines, is set to come out in cinemas next year.