+1
If a character in a major successful film gets raped, beaten, battered with a bat, cut in half with a chainsaw, raped again, has their eyes sliced out, gets decapitated, gets stabbed 20 times, has their arms and legs chopped off, has their genitals mutilated, gets stoned to death, burns at the stake, drowns, gets shot, and so forth...
If there's any chance for a new film continueing the franchise to make money, and that character was a big part of the first film's success. Then no of course they won't stay dead. Somehow they'll manage to survive. At least with City Slickers 2, as stupid as it was they didn't cop out like that and have Jack Palance be buried alive or some nonesense.
But since it's the day of the sequel and since people actually go see these things why not.
Hell, I'm just waiting for Gibson to make The Passion of the Ressurection and Oliver Stone's JFK: Was it a look-alike?