Shaun of the Dead made director Edgar Wright a highly beloved director, brought Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to the mainstream eye as a comic duo, and is one of the best horror-comedies made this century. The movie takes a society that almost lives like zombies anyway and then turns them into real zombies, and no one seems to notice until it is too late.
The movie featured many characters that Wright introduced in his television series Spaced while adding a bigger name or two to the cast. However, as is expected from a movie about a zombie apocalypse and the humans trying to survive, some fans want to see specific characters eaten by the zombies rather than making it to the end.
Noel
From the start of Shaun of the Dead, there is one character that most viewers want to see eaten in the most horrifically way possible by the zombies. At the start of the movie, Shaun worked for Foree Electric, and one of his co-workers was Noel. While the only one who really talked to Shaun, he was abusive and rude, making fun of Shaun for being the oldest person working for the business. While fans did not get to enjoy watching him die, he did and ended up rounding up grocery carts when the zombies were domesticated.
David
David was a jerk to Shaun from the start as well. He is the roommate of Shaun's ex-girlfriend Liz and his own girlfriend, Dianne. While those three have been friends since college, he and Shaun seem to hate each other. David is overprotective of his friend Liz because he wanted to date her before Shaun. When he insults Shaun's idea of a romantic night and mocks him for being unreliable, he becomes someone viewers instantly hate. Unlike Noel, he is seen getting eaten by zombies, although it almost costs Dianne her life.
Pete
While he comes across as a complete jerk most of the time, Shaun and Ed's roommate Pete wasn't as bad as someone like David. Pete and Shaun met at college, and he likes Shaun but has a complete distaste for Ed. During the movie, he makes it clear he wants the two of them to kick out Ed, but Shaun is too loyal, which really bothers Pete, who has a short temper anyway. Pete is one of the first people seen turning into a zombie in Shaun of the Dead.
Yvonne
Not much is known about Yvonne other than that she is an old friend of Shaun's, and she is his doppelganger in another group of survivors. Her group is the same as Shaun's, with her boyfriend, a boyfriend-girlfriend duo just like David and Dianne, her mom, and someone who looks and acts just like Ed.
She sees Shaun earlier and is one of the first people who are nice to him in the movie. After the scene where they bump into each other, Shaun sees her one last time in the end when the military saves him.
Phillip
Bill Nighy stars in Shaun of the Dead as Shaun's stepfather, and if you go by how he and Shaun get along in the first part of the movie, he would rank dead last on this list. Shaun is not happy to have Phillip as a stepfather, and Phillip is always advising Shaun, who doesn't want to listen to it. However, by the time Phillip is bitten and is dying, Shaun realizes how much he loves his mom and how he was trying to do right by Shaun, and they part on bittersweet terms.
Liz
Liz is Shaun's love interest in Shaun of the Dead and is one of the story's main survivors. She breaks up with Shaun for his irresponsibility after three years of dating, partially under her flatmates' pressure. However, despite this, Shaun sets out to save her when the zombie apocalypse begins. Later, it turns out that she still loves Shaun, but she is worried he has no drive, and they will end up doing nothing but drinking at the pub for the rest of their lives.
Dianne
Dianne is Liz's flatmate and David's girlfriend. While David was a jerk from the start, Dianne was his rebound girl when Liz rejected him. However, while David is antagonistic toward Shaun, Dianne is more than ready to follow Shaun when he shows up to save them.
Dianne is also more mature than David, showing restraint and remaining loyal to Shaun and Liz. When the zombies pull David out, Dianne rushes out to try to save him, never to be seen again. In the special features on the Shaun of the Dead DVD, Edgar Wright reveals she lived.
Shaun
While Shaun is the main character in Shaun of the Dead, he is not the best concerning his personality. He coasts through life and rarely speaks up to defend himself. He is lazy and irresponsible and often refuses to see the problem is himself. He treats his stepfather terribly, although that is based on his former teenage anger issues. He tries to become the knight in shining armor who wants to save everyone, regardless of their opinions. However, at heart, he is a good man who wants to do the best he can.
Barbara
Barbara is Shaun's mother, and she is someone that Shaun is desperately protective of, and therefore the audience is behind her from the start. She is also someone who is stuck in a tough spot. Her former husband and Shaun's dad died when Shaun was young, and she has been married to Phillip for 17 years. She has been stuck between the two squabbling men and tried to remain loyal to both. Even more than Liz, it is Barbara we want Shaun to save.
Ed
While Simon Pegg's Shaun is the main protagonist of Shaun of the Dead, his best friend Ed, played by Nick Frost, is the most liked character in the series. Yes, Ed is a slacker who has no direction in his life, but he is also the purest, which was also true in Edgar Wright's follow-up Hot Fuzz. Shaun has a lot of problems, but Ed is just a blank slate who wants to play videogames, hang out at the pub, and be the best friend to Shaun that he can.