Beloved movie franchises always have characters that are inextricably linked with them. Some of them have such an impact that fans understandably overestimate the amount of screen time these characters have. For instance, while Tony Stark is arguably the most beloved and iconic movie character in the MCU, he was only in nine movies of the 22 made before Spider-Man: Far From Home, barring a post-credit cameo in The Incredible Hulk. It’s easy to forget because of his immense influence on the course of events, but he’s only been in a quarter of all MCU films.

Protagonists like Stark, or the Alien franchise’s Ripley, a movie character who helped reshape genre expectations, are less likely to be the subject of this phenomenon. The unforgettable minor characters who become everyone’s favorites over all the main characters are often thought to have been in more scenes than they actually were. For example, Boba Fett of the Star Wars franchise has a ridiculously small amount of screen time, but fans love the character. People often forget that some great movie characters were introduced late in their franchises and weren’t there from the first film.

10

Jessie The Cowgirl

First Appearance: Toy Story 2

It is impossible to think of the group of Andy’s talking toys without thinking of the cowgirl Jessie and her loyal horse Bullseye. With her red hair tied in an iconic pigtail and a feisty personality to boot, Jessie always plays a major role in the toys’ schemes. She is great at improvisation and often comes to the group’s rescue when their plans start going awry.

In an unforgettable scene in Toy Story 3, which also featurs one of the funniest animated Disney movie scenes ever, Buzz charms her while in his Spanish mode. She and Buzz become a couple, and they bid farewell to Woody and Bo Peep at the end of Toy Story 4, when they decide to leave the group for their own adventures. Jessie has a major arc in every movie, and is perhaps the most significant character after Woody and Buzz. So, it’s strange to realize she wasn’t always around, and was first introduced in Toy Story 2!

9

Dobby

First Appearance: Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

It is hard to keep count of how many beloved secondary and minor characters there are in the Harry Potter series. Despite being the тιтular character, Harry himself isn’t the most popular, and the franchise features numerous iconic faces that have won over audiences. One such character is the elf Dobby, who, despite few appearances, always plays an important role in Harry Potter’s life. So, it’s easy to forget that he wasn’t there in the first film. Dobby is first introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as a house elf working for the Malfoys.

Dobby steps up to protect Harry and the people he cares about.

Dobby initially seems timid and quite easily scared. However, whenever the need arises, Dobby steps up to protect Harry and the people he cares about. Even before Dobby felt indebted to Harry for tricking Lucius Malfoy into freeing him, the latter intervened in Harry’s life to keep him out of harm’s way. His sacrifice at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, when he rescues the central trio from the Malfoys’ house, is one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the series.

8

Q

First Appearance: Goldfinger

When James Bond first appeared on the silver screen, in Dr. No, with Sean Connery playing the famous spy, he took the world by storm. His charming screen presence, athleticism, and ability to look dapper while chasing criminals won over audiences. However, audiences would have to wait one more year before they could meet one of the franchise’s most iconic characters, Q.

Apart from the first two James Bond films starring Daniel Craig, Q has been in every movie in the franchise ever since his introduction.

Q is the head of the Q division of the British Secret Service, where he supervises research and development work. He oversees the development of novel technologies that field agents are supplied with to survive the dangers that confront them on their missions. Interestingly, Major Boothroyd is present in Dr. No, but it’s not until Goldfinger, one of the best action movies turning 30 in 2025, that he’s referred to as Q. Since then, he’s always been around to outfit the spy extraordinaire.

7

John Connor

First Appearance: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

James Cameron’s The Terminator, a classic 1980s R-rated movie with great rewatch value, started one of the biggest sci-fi action franchises in Hollywood history. John Connor, one of the franchise’s main characters, is a savior figure who leads the resistance against Skynet’s Terminator empire in the future. He is an inspirational hero whom the Terminators want to wipe off the face of the earth in order to undo his rebellion.

The Terminator introduces Arnold Schwarzenegger as Cyberdyne Systems model 101, sent into the past to kill Sarah Connor, who will later give birth to John. The premise of the film hinges on his existence, and he is arguably the protagonist of the entire franchise, but he doesn’t make an appearance in the movie. It’s not until Terminator 2: Judgement Day that we get to see him in person. Over the years, various actors, including Michael Edwards, Christian Bale, and Jude Collie, have portrayed Connor in the franchise.

6

Davy Jones

First Appearance: Pirates Of The Caribbean: ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Chest

Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow stands out as the most iconic character in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but the series features a host of memorable characters. Will Turner, Captain Barbosa, Davy Jones, Elizabeth Swann, and Joshamee Gibbs are some of the quintessential Pirates characters. It’s hard to imagine any Pirates movie, especially in the first trilogy, without all of them in it.

And yet, one of these major characters doesn’t appear until the second outing, Pirates of the Caribbean: ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Man’s Chest. The owner of the heart that’s stowed away in the тιтular chest, aka Davy Jones, played by Bill Nighy, isn’t in the first film. He is the captain of the Flying Dutchman, a ruthless pirate who gives people favors in exchange for years of service. Without Davy Jones, every main character would have a vastly different life, because the Black Pearl would have stayed at the bottom of the ocean and Jack would never have become a pirate captain.

5

Puss In Boots

First Appearance: Shrek 2

Shrek‘s vibrant and imaginative world of fantasy is brimming with characters from the most famous fairy tales known to humankind. It’s no surprise that the chivalrous orange tabby cat, Puss in Boots, is a major supporting character in the franchise. Voiced by Antonio Banderas, whose charismatic voice has become inextricably linked with Puss today, the cat is known for his wide-rimmed hat, his sharp sword, and his leather boots.

Puss has such a commanding screen presence that fans couldn’t get enough of him, prompting DreamWorks to give him a dedicated solo franchise. The daring escapades of Puss in Boots, which the cat always enacts with dramatic flair for anyone interested, are mostly treated like legends. Instead, his solo films focus on the more contemporary adventures of the character. He’s such a significant character in the Shrek franchise, that it’s easy to forget he wasn’t there in the first film and debuted in Shrek 2.

4

Roman Pearce

First Appearance: 2 Fast 2 Furious

There are too many characters in the Fast and Furious franchise. The main crew of drivers included just five people in the first movie, and while expansion is natural in a franchise, the crew, which has now become a family, unofficially comprises a much larger group of people. Yet, fans of the franchise can instantly identify most of these characters because of their memorable trademark characteristics. One such character is Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce.

Roman Pearce is a franchise regular today, but his first appearance was in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and he didn’t become a staple character until Fast Five.

The loudmouthed ex-con can leave an unforgettable impression in just five minutes because everything he says and does is over the top. Roman is an expert gunman and combatant, whose competence would never be called into question if he didn’t make his eccentric exclamations of fear during every mission. Roman never stops talking, is always shouting during an action scene, unsuccessfully tries to flirt with every woman he meets, and is ridiculously flamboyant. It’s impossible to imagine the franchise without him, but he also doesn’t appear in the first movie.

3

Benji Dunn

First Appearance: Mission: Impossible III

Tom Cruise is gearing up to (supposedly) bid farewell to his most iconic role, Mission: Impossible‘s protagonist Ethan Hunt, later this year with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. While many new characters have joined him over the course of the franchise, there are a few without whom a Mission: Impossible movie would seem impossible. They are Luther, Benji, Ilsa (who unfortunately died in the last movie), Julia, and Solomon Lane.

A tech wizard with surprising gadgets up his sleeve, Benji is Ethan Hunt’s Q.

While Lane only became a villain in the later movies, Ilsa hasn’t been around forever, and Julia was introduced in the third film, it shocks me to realize Benji hasn’t always been around either. A tech wizard with surprising gadgets up his sleeve, Benji is Ethan Hunt’s Q. The Mission: Impossible franchise bounced back after a disappointing second film with Mission: Impossible III, which introduced Benji as a minor character. He’s gone from off-field technician to technical field agent over the years and has played an integral part in all of Hunt’s missions.

2

Yoda

First Appearance: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Yes, if you watch the Star Wars movies in chronological order instead of the order of release, Yoda’s there from the very first movie. However, it wasn’t until George Lucas created the character for The Empire Strikes Back that Yoda came to be. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which is George Lucas’ third amazing movie he made after two good ones, introduced the concept of the Jedi and Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan Kenobi, but Grandmaster Yoda wasn’t yet there.

Yoda, who Lucas envisioned as a character similar to the Dalai Lama, trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi in Empire Strikes Back. He is one of the best mentor characters in film history, and the entire Star Wars franchise would be very different without him. As an expert lightsaber wielder and one of the best Jedi warriors, with unrivaled knowledge about the Force, Yoda makes such an impact on the franchise, that even those watching the movies in order of release might forget he wasn’t there in the original outing.

1

Jason Voorhees

First Appearance: Friday The 13th

Yes, Jason Voorhees makes an appearance in the first Friday the 13th movie, but not as the fearsome psychopath murderer he’s known as today. The iconic camp killer doesn’t become the franchise’s main villain until the second movie, and it’s not until the third movie that he dons his instantly recognizable hockey mask. Jason has become a horror movie Hall of Fame character for his brutal kills and his iconic costume, and it’s easy to forget he’s not the villain of the first movie.

In fact, the opening scene of Scream, a horror movie moment that changed millennials’ lives as kids, references this aspect of the first Friday the 13th movie. Pamela Voorhees is one of the best slasher villains in the genre’s history. Yes, her actions are questionable at best, but she’s a grieving mother avenging her son. However, Jason Voorhees is unquestionably the more popular of the two, with 11 appearances to date. Despite his cameo, viewers had to wait for the sequel to meet the main antagonist of the franchise.