With there being so many franchises in which actors portray the same characters for a handful of movies, there are other roles audiences wish had gotten the same treatment.
Michael Keaton is currently in a “will he-won’t he” situation as he may reprise his role as Bruce Wayne, which is one of Keaton’s best roles, in the upcoming Flash movie. There are a ton of other actors that should also do the same. Whether it’s a female vigilante who stole the show from the real protagonist, a rom-com pop-culture icon, or one of the most iconic antiheroes of all time, there are so many actors who need to return to their most prized roles in some form or another.
Denzel Washington - Robert McCall
Of the millions of movies that Denzel Washington has starred in, it may come as a surprise that the Oscar-winning actor has only ever actually starred in one sequel. The Equalizer saw Washington as somewhat of an action hero, way more than he ever had been before, as he was hunting down the Russian mafia and picking off mobsters in the most inventive and brutal ways imaginable, and it features one of the most iconic scenes in the rain.
The second movie followed the same formula, and it was shaping up to be Washington’s answer to John Wick. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like a third movie is happening. The two movies audiences were treated to with Washington as an action hero were so much fun, and another sequel would be incredible.
Renee Zellweger - Bridget Jones
There have already been three movies in the Bridget Jones series, and even the third one, which came more than a decade after the first two, is a surprisingly fun and warmhearted comedy. Considering that it’s the series that Renee Zellweger is best known for, and how she clearly has fun in the role, a fourth movie with her starring as the relationship troubled blogger is what fans want. It doesn’t have to come immediately, as it could depict how the character is coping with her child years down the line.
Brad Pitt - Tyler Durden
Fight Club is one of the most iconic movies ever made, and it features one of the greatest twists of all time, but the thing that audiences remember the movie for the most, besides the big reveal, is Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Tyler Durden.
And considering how the writer of the novel, Chuck Palahniuk, has written not just one sequel, but two sequels, there could be a follow-up to the movie. Stranger things have happened.
Uma Thurman - The Bride
Uma Thurman will always be remembered as The Bride. Her iconic performance as The Bride in the Kill Bill series has left fans begging for more violence for close to 20 years at this point. The character is so beloved for so many reasons, as she breaks the fourth wall all the time and she’s simply one of the biggest action heroines in cinema history.
Though her arc was neatly wrapped up at the end of Vol. 2, there are surely more ex-assassins she can take on. And considering how the Kill Bill series is one giant amalgamation of everything that Quentin Tarantino loves, whether it’s the martial arts or the western influences, there’s no reason why either the actor or the director wouldn’t want to return.
Jesse Eisenberg - Mark Zuckerberg
The Social Network is an amazing standalone movie that deserves a sequel, as the film was about the inception of Facebook, and in the 11 years since the movie came out, the social network has been in the news for all sorts of controversial stuff. Whether it’s regarding users’ privacy or being selective about what users see during presidential elections, a sequel would make an incredible political drama.
But it wouldn’t be half as good if Jesse Eisenberg didn’t return as billionaire Harvard alum, Mark Zuckerberg. The actor plays the real-life Facebook founder perfectly menacing, and seeing him decades later would make a sequel that much more thrilling.
Charlize Theron - Furiosa
Though there have been four Mad Max movies, Furiosa is a new character that was only introduced in the fourth entry, Fury Road. Furiosa is one of Theron’s best roles, as she was the MVP of the whole movie and she even stole the show away from the titular character.
The shotgun wielding hero with a buzzcut was the antithesis of Mad Max, and she was such a strong character that she’s getting her own spin-off movie. However, the character isn’t going to be played by Theron, but Anya Taylor-Joy. But that doesn’t rule out Theron returning as the character at some point.
Samual L. Jackson - Jules
There have been talks about John Travolta returning as Vincent Vega for years, as Tarantino has toyed with the idea of a sequel with him and Michael Madsen reprising his role of Mr. White from Reservoir Dogs ever since the movie’s release. However, Vincent’s literal partner in crime deserves a return as much as anyone else, not only because he was one of the few characters to get away unscathed in Pulp Fiction, but also because Jackson has been cast in so many inferior versions of the character ever since. But nothing beats the original.
Joaquin Phoenix - The Joker
If there’s any actor who has been speculated over whether or not he’ll return to a role, it’s Joaquin Phoenix and his portrayal of the Joker.
There are arguments to be made for both his return and for him to hang up his make-up set, as the movie is great as a standalone movie, and a sequel would just see him inflicting expectedly Joker chaos on to Gotham, which is not at all what the first movie is about. However, Joaquin Phoenix is just so incredible in the role, and the world that was built around him is just so layered and unlike any Batman movie that came before it. If Phoenix doesn’t return, it’d be like if Johnny Depp didn’t return as Captain Jack Sparrow after the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Spike Lee - Mookie
Everybody knows Spike Lee for being the genius director who makes movies that are equally entertaining and clever allegories for the current social climate, and he threw himself into the most acclaimed of them all, Do The Right Thing.
The movie has an incredible ensemble cast, but out of all of them, the most interesting was the pizza delivery boy, Mookie, who was almost the diplomat between all of the rival nationalities in the movie. There are still loads of questions surrounding Mookie, and though Spike Lee hasn’t necessarily acted in a long time, and it’s unlikely that there’ll ever be a sequel to Do The Right Thing, fans have to see Mookie again.
Michael Keaton - Batman
Up until a few weeks ago, it was all but confirmed that Michael Keaton would feature in the upcoming Flash movie as Bruce Wayne, returning to the character for the first time since Batman Returns almost 30 years ago. It sent fans into a frenzy, as they weren’t just excited to see him as an older Batman Beyond-type Bruce Wayne, but also because it’d introduce a multiverse into the DC Extended Universe.
However, the actor recently claimed that he hasn’t even read what was sent t0 him by Warner Bros and that he hasn’t signed any deal. But fans of Keaton’s Batman are still optimistic and not all hope is lost, and it may still happen, eventually.