Why did they set Rick up as the new Puppet Master, only to (Spoiler)
Have him die offscreen after this movie? It just seemed kind of pointless to kill off his character when he could have done so much more with the character in future movies.
Part 5 was technically supposed to be the final film before a series of crossovers, and a trilogy of prequels called PUPPET WARS. I don't know if actor Gordon Currie was ever intended to return. Guy Rolfe apparently would've be involved with the PUPPET WARS trilogy, though.
After the split from Paramount, I guess Full Moon went ahead with a cheaper sequel and just didn't bother to contact Gordon, if he even cared to return to this franchise. And by the time LEGACY came out, it was probably clear they would never work with him again, so they decided to kill off Rick, basically as a plot hole filler. Like in CURSE they fail to mention why Rick was no longer in the picture. But even LEGACY is confusing and doesn't really answer a whole lot. It kind of fails to confirm where CURSE lies in the timeline. Some fans think it takes place before Part 2 because Leech-Woman returned without explanation. Storywise.
But if Full Moon ever did work with Gordon again, maybe they could write it so he wasn't killed, but sent into a coma.
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Thanks for the explanation. Too bad for Rick, I loved the character and I wished they'd at least given him a happier ending.