Teen Wolf The Movie: Who dies? Ending explained

Teen Wolf: The Movie sees the return of the Nogtisune, but how does the pack defeat it? And who dies at the end of the film?

Teen Wolf, the hit supernatural YA series from the early 2010s, has another instalment out now. From MTV and Jeff Davis, the same creative team of the series, comes a new horror-esque movie which is set a few years after the events of the show.

The official plot of the film is as thus: “A full moon rises in Beacon Hills, and with it a terrifying evil has emerged. The wolves are howling once again, calling for the return of Banshees, Werecoyotes, Hellhounds, Kitsunes, and every other shapeshifter in the night. But only a werewolf like Scott McCall, no longer a teenager yet still an Alpha, can gather both new allies and reunite trusted friends to fight back against what could be the most powerful and deadliest enemy they’ve ever faced.”

The film is packed with thrilling scenes as the Nogitsune returns to wreak havoc, but how does the film end? What was the Nogitsune’s plan, and who survives the battle between good and evil? Let us explain, and of course, SPOILERS AHEAD!

What happens at the end of Teen Wolf: The Movie? What was the Nogitsune’s plan?

Firstly, we should probably give a brief overview of what happens in the movie, just so things make sense.

At the film’s beginning, a cloaked figure steals the tomb that holds the Nogitsune from Liam (Dylan Sprayberry) and Kira stand-in Hikari Zhang (Amy Lin Workman), and frees the trickster spirit. We also find out that Scott (Tyler Posey) and Chris Argent (JR Bourne) have been suffering with visions of Allison (Crystal Reed), who died back in Season 3B. It becomes clear rather quickly that these events are linked, but Scott believes that Allison is caught between life and death, and intends to help her.

With Lydia (Holland Roden) and Malia (Shelly Henning), Scott drives the sword that killed Allison into the Nemeton tree, which then leads to Allison suddenly appearing on the tree. But she’s clearly not the same person, and she has only a select few memories of her life. However, over the course of the film, she does regain these memories, and while she is originally manipulated by the Nogitsune to attack the werewolves, she later turns back to the side of good. You can find out more about what happens with Allison here.

But the Nogitsune isn’t alone. See, the trickster spirit, while wanting revenge on Scott, doesn’t really have a plan; all he desires is to be free to cause misery to whomever, and the reason he has Allison resurrected to mess with Scott and best friend Lydia, is that someone wants those two to suffer specifically.

And this person, this cloaked figure who frees the Nogitsune, is none other than Mr Harris (Adam Fristoe), their old chemistry teacher, who we though died in Season 3A. He wants revenge on Scott and Lydia as he blames them for getting him (almost) killed by the Darach. However, he is rather easily stopped by Lydia and Jackson (Colton Haynes), and is arrested, then dragged to the infamous Eichen House.

During the film, the Nogitsune has the Oni take all of the people Scott cares about hostage in a dreamlike world. When Scott and Allison arrive, the demon demands that Allison fire an arrow through Scott’s heart, in order to save everyone else, so that he can ultimately win “the game”. She shoots Scott, but thankfully foxfire is able to keep Scott from dying from such a wound.

The end of the Teen Wolf movie sees the Pack face off against the Nogitsune, battling in out through a multitude of illusions and the demon’s physical strength. Because one thing we forgot to mention is that since Scott bit the Nogitsune at the end of Season 3B, the Nogitsune is now also a werewolf.

This fight leads to Parrish, Scott, and Derek standing on the Nemeton, holding onto the Nogitsune, with Parrish (Ryan Kelley) burning up the demon for good with his Hellhound Hellfire. The evil is defeated, Scott and Allison get back together, and everyone is happy and safe. Well, not quite everyone…

Does anyone die in Teen Wolf: The Movie?

Yes, Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin) dies at the end of the film.

See, Parrish isn’t strong enough to hold the Nogitsune on his own, but his fire will easily kill Scott and Derek if they stay close. Scott wants Derek to jump off the Nemeton since he has a son, Eli (Vince Mattis), to take care of, but Derek says that Eli is now part of Scott’s pack, and sacrifices himself, burning up along with the Nogitsune.

According to show creator Jeff Davis, the descision to kill off Derek was not easy: “You second-guess yourself all the time,” he stated to Entertainment Weekly. “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.”

He then added, “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.'”

There are other deaths in the film of course, including a brutal kill of a Kitsune-turned-police officer, but they’re all of characters we don’t really know. Meanwhile, Derek is a character that has been present since Season 1, and fans will certainly miss the show’s resident sour-wolf. During his funeral near the film’s end, you can really feel how impactful he was to the other characters.

Allison surprisingly stays alive, and she and Scott (he and Malia have long since broken up) are seemingly going to live out their days happily together. This ending makes you wonder if that’s what the show was planning from the start, with the ship Scallison as endgame.

At the very end shot of Teen Wolf: The Movie, we watch Eli Hale, who has gained his werewolf powers over the course of the film, look over the town of Beacon Hills from the rock that Scott once resided over. He turns to the camera and his eyes glow, as we hear Derek say, “Remember who you are.” Another teen wolf has officially arrive in Beacon Hills.

Teen Wolf: The Movie is currently available to stream on Paramount+. You can also check out more of our coverage of the film here.