The horror and superhero genre have always been connected. From Batman taking on all kinds of mystical forces to Ghost Rider being a literal demon, but unfortunately there haven’t been a lot of horror movies starring mainstream superheroes. Here are just a few suggestions for heroes who could star in horror movies.
Hulk
Hulk has been tied to horror ever since his first appearance in the comics which was inspired by both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein. Unfortunately the movies has leaned more into the “Hulk Smash” aspect with the exception of maybe the Ang Lee Hulk movie which dealt a little more with family trauma, but a full blown Hulk horror movie might be what the character needs right now, perhaps taking inspiration for Al Ewing’s stellar Immortal Hulk series and even the most recent Hulk comics which have him taking on The Mother of Monsters. Perhaps a story where Hulk he has to take on a slew of Gamma Mutates? The presence of Hulk should be minimal though and focus on Bruce Banner instead, which unfortunately may mean recasting Mark Ruffalo
Superman
Superman hasn’t really taken on horror too much(aside from taking on Alien)but he does have a weakness against magic that is never really explored in the life action movies. Although the idea of an evil Superman has already been done maybe a movie told from Lex Luthor’s point of view with Superman finally going bad. While the last non-traditional casting of Jesse Eisenberg as Lex in Batman vs Superman didn’t really work out what about Keegan Michael Key reteaming with Jordan Peele directing
Another idea would be a movie set in the Phantom Zone with a depowered Superman trapped there, perhaps with Lois, Jimmy Olsen, and/or Supergirl. Maybe even combine the two ideas with a two part movie featuring Superman in the Phantom Zone while Lex fights a Kryptonian invasion on earth.
These stories wouldn’t even need to be tied to the new DCU continuity as it could give them a chance to create a series of Elseworlds movies set outside main continuity
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Despite being mostly fun-loving the ninja turtles do have their dark moments that could lend themselves to a horror movie. What about a movie called Mutant Turtles that cast the turtles as the villains going after Casey and April in the sewers? Or a slasher movie with the turtles running from a nigh-invulnerable Shredder or even an alien invasion movie featuring the Triceradons
Wonder Woman
Much like her trinity counterpart, Superman Wonder Woman hasn’t delved to much into horror, but with the Greek Mythology influence the potential for Wonder Woman facing all sorts of monsters is there. What about Wonder Woman facing Medusa and the Gorgons or Hades in the Underworld. I would even watch a movie that was just Wonder Woman facing the minotaur in the labyrinth. While it would be fun to see Gal Gadot return for a more horror-based Wonder Woman movie I could also see Kate Beckinsale being cast. If they do use Hades having a horror icon portray him would be a good idea or perhaps Mark Hamil who has proven his potential to play a villain with his voice work as Joker and others
Batman
Speaking of Joker if any superhero could make the switch to horror it would be his nemesis: Batman. Batman has faced many supernatural foes from Dracula to werewolves, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to have him take on one of these evil forces in a live-action feature. They could take cues from Matt Wagner’s Dark Moon Rising two-parter which comprised Batman: The Monster Men and Batman: the Mad Monk.
A Batman movie set entirely in Arkham Asylum would also be fun to see with potential to highlight some of Batman’s more obscure foes while also providing cameos from past villains, played by the actors who originally brought them to the big screen like Jack Nicholson returning as Joker or Danny Devito returning as Penguin
The Flash
While maybe not the most action-packed idea, but a whole movie focusing on Barry Allen trying to outrun the Black Racer, who is an embodiment of Death, would be interesting to see and provide something different for the franchise
X-men/Wolverine
While New Mutants did offer a horror-bend to the X-men franchise there is still potential to do more. Maybe a movie with an obscure team of X-men facing off against a feral Wolverine or one featuring the original X-men lineup of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Ice-man and Angel facing off against an untamed Beast
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern series definitely has some potential to dive into offworld/cosmic horror. Maybe an adaption of the Blackest Night storyline or even another chance to bring back Parralax after it was misused in the Green Lantern movie. Or a more intimate story akin to the first alien where a team of Green Lantern led by John Stewart take on an alien lifeform aboard an abandoned ship
Punisher
The Punisher franchise has been dormant for a few years since the end of the Netflix series and I don’t think we need to see yet another bullet-filled action movie(although there is nothing wrong with that) so why not take the franchise in a different direction? Maybe adapt the now infamous Franken-castle storyline that saw Frank Castle turned into a Frankenstein-like monster or have Punisher take on a zombie invasion. There is even potential to adapt the Punisher kill the Marvel Universe, which is exactly what it sounds like from a more horror-centric point of view. Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe could be a good way to finally end the MCU or just make a good What if episode
Iron Man
While Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark is dead in the main MCU timeline I’m sure fans wouldn’t complain if he was brought back for a one-off story and one that has horror elements would be interesting to see. Maybe we could see all of Tony’s discarded suits gain sentience and try to destroy their creator and the world or use the Extremis virus as an zombie analogue even though it was used in Iron Man 3.
Those are just a few superheroes who could star in their own horror movies. What are you thoughts and what superhero horror films would you want to see? Let us know in the comments
