From Tom Cruise to Michael Keaton, A-listers can’t resist the urge to resurrect the roles that made them. But will nostalgia be enough to woo people back to cinemas?
Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield , plus vintage villains played by Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx. Both Marvel and DC are playing with “multiverse” storylines, which provide a convenient excuse to bring back popular actors with whom older viewers might be more familiar.Photograph: Landmark Media/Alamy
It’s not just superhero movies, though. In May, Tom Cruise is back in the cockpit for Top Gun: Maverick after a hiatus of 36 years. In June comes Jurassic World: Dominion, which includes a few thespian dinosaurs alongside the CGI ones, namely Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum – reunited for the first time since the original Jurassic Park in 1993. Jamie Lee Curtis is currently working on a new Halloween sequel, having returned to the franchise in 2018 after a 16-year absence.