It is a long-standing tradition in Hollywood for actors to take on 2 or more roles in their movies from Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor to Eddie Murphy in Norbit (I am sure there are plenty of other examples) sometimes even appearing as both characters on-screen thanks to some editing/camera trickery. But what about actors who have had a fruitful career and developed a few iconic characters? Here are some actors I would like to see bring their most iconic roles together for an on-screen crossover and continue to play both.
#1: Robert Downy Jr (Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes)
After revitalizing his career and launching the media juggernaut that is the MCU with his perfectly-received portrayal of Tony Stark aka Iron Man in the 2008 Iron Man movie Robert Downey Jr managed to bring life to yet another iconic character in 2009 Sherlock’s Holmes, further cementing his acting comeback.
And while it looks like he has retired from both roles after Avengers Endgame (although he is set to portray another iconic Marvel character Dr. Doom in the upcoming Avengers movies) and Sherlock Holmes 2 respectively, why not one more go-round playing both characters in the same film.
Ideally a crossover would probably involve Iron Man traveling back in time to Victorian London and running across the great detective. Perhaps they may even have to rebuild Tony’s armor creating what I imagine would be a kick-ass steampunk version of Iron Man
The other approach could be something akin to Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century with a resurrected Sherlock teaming with Tony Stark in the present day. Tony already has experience with dealing with a man out of time due to his friendship with Steve Rogers aka Captain America who found himself over 60 years in the future so he could help Sherlock navigate a brave new world and hopefully avoid too much culture shock.
#2: Matthew Lillard (Shaggy Rogers and Stu Macher aka Ghostface)
Usually, Scooby Doo villains do not stab people, but the iconic killer Ghostface from the scream franchise could be toned down for this one. Technically Matthew Lillard only played one of the many Ghostfaces in the Scream franchise, but he was one of the originals and remains one of the best.
This crossover movie could go a few ways. It could be live action with the return of Lillard and the other cast members of Mystery, Inc from the original live action movie or it can go animated with Lillard once again voicing Shaggy, which I think I would rather see Ghostface in animated form. While it could take on a more serious tone akin to the Scream movies with some actual murder and maybe some blood it would probably work better to make it another campy somewhat kid- friendly Scooby Doo adventure with plenty of Scream’s meta humor. The Supernatural/Scooby Doo crossover episode from season 13 of Supernatural could act as inspiration and a good title might be Scooby Dooby Scream!
#3: Michael Keaton (Batman and Beetlejuice)
Is it a coincidence that 2 of Michael Keaton’s most iconic roles are due to his working with director Tim Burton? Maybe, but that does not make them less iconic. Keaton has already reprised his role as Batman for The Flash and is set to reprise his role of Beetlejuice for the sequel, so now would be a good time to bring them together. Who would not want to see Batman team up with a ghost. He’s already shared similar adventures in the comics with such characters as Deadman or Gentlemen Ghost, so why not carry that over to the big screen (maybe even a cameo or two by famous DC ghosts) If Tim Burton could be brought back to direct even better.
#4: Slyvester Stallone (Barney Ross and Rambo)
While Rocky Balboa is a more iconic role and may seem to some to be a better choice Barney Ross from the Expendables has also become another great Stallone character and would match-up better with Rambo for a high-octane adventure, maybe even bringing along some of the Expendables for the ride.
While it could be a sequel to both franchises it might be a better idea to make the crossover a prequel taking place before the first Expendables movie with Barney established as the head of the Expendables.
If fans are really clamoring for a Rocky crossover too why not recruit Michael B. Jordan from the Creed movies to join the fun and if Dolph Lundgren reprises his role from the Expendables, it could be a fun little reunion
#5:: Jason Bateman (Michael Bluth and Marty Byrde)
Jason Bateman does a good job of playing supposedly caring fathers that claim to want to keep their families together, but end up being selfish and narcissistic which his exemplified by his career-revitalizing role as Michael Bluth in Arrested Development and his role as Marty Byrde in Ozark
While Marty is certainly a darker character, resorting to drug dealing and even murder to achieve his goals which is something Michael Bluth would not even consider. They both have a strong loyalty to their family which leads them to lots of trouble.
Arrested Development left us with Michael Bluth abandoning his family to run off with his son George Michael while Marty Byrde was still with his family at the end of Ozark after most likely murdering a private investigator who was after them.
Who is to say Michael and George Michael don’t find themselves in Missouri after the events of Arrested Development.
While the tone and style of Ozark and Arrested Development might end up clashing a little bit too much to make a crossover feasible it would still be fun the see Michael confronted with a more tragic and darker doppelganger of himself.
#8: Tim Allen (Santa and Buzz Lightyear)
One is a toy and one is a deliverer of toys so it seems perfect that Tim Allen could reprise both roles for a crossover especially since both characters are owned by Disney and Toy Story 5 is on the way
This crossover could go also go a few ways. Either with a live action version of Buzz, a combination of animation and live action or a straight animated crossover, but an animated holiday special featuring Buzz (and most likely the rest of the Toy Story crew) teaming with Santa to save Christmas would do the trick. With everything being animated this crossover would be the easiest to let the actor play two roles.
#7: Halle Berry (Catwoman and Storm)
Halle Berry has had a long illustrious career with some great roles, but its two of her lesser like roles that could use the crossover treatment. While her role as Storm in the X-men was overshadowed by Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Professor X (more on that in the next entry) she still managed to do a good job bringing the character to life and it is a shame that she never got a solo adventure to really showcase her talent in the role
As for Catwoman it was an admittedly bad movie, but with the right direction and writing she could redeem herself and excel in the role.
With the gap between DC and Marvel properties widening in the years since Berry played either role this crossover is probably the least likely on the list, but it would be fun to see the feline thief and the mistress of storms team up to face one or two of the villains from either of their rogue’s gallery (Mr. Freeze might make a great opponent) or a whole new villain.
#8: Patrick Stewart (Jean Luc Picard and Professor X)
The X-men and Star Trek franchises have both already crossed over in the pages of the comics, so why not on the big screen and allow Sir Patrick Stewart to step back into his two most iconic roles Charles Xavier, leader of the X-men and Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the Enterprise after reprising them recently in the Picard tv series and Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
Both franchises have dealt with Time travel so it would not be too hard to either transport the X-men to the future or the crew of the Enterprise to the past. As for villains why not team up Mr. Sinister with the Klingons or the Sentinels with the Borg
#9: Harrison Ford (Han Solo and Indiana Jones)
We come to the final dual role crossover and perhaps one that a lot of fans are clamoring for, but which is not likely to happen especially since it appears Harrison Ford is done with both of his star making roles after Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and a small cameo in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.
The two characters did cross paths in the pages of a short comic story although not physically as Indiana came upon the wreckage of the Millenium Falcon centuries after it crashed on Earth.
While both characters are owned by Disney a crossover is not completely out of the question, just not super-likely, but maybe that is for the best so both characters can ride off (or fly the Millennium Falcon) into the sunset (or twin sun) set
