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Willy Wonka -

Timothée Chalamet had a pretty big top hat to fill as he took on Willy Wonka's untold backstory. Inspired by Roald Dahl's 1964 children's book 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' Chalamet stars the third film adaptation. Gene Wilder's 1971 Willy Wonka was so iconic that many didn't want Johnny Depp to even attempt it, though Tim Burton's 2005 version was not poorly received, and in fact offered a darker turn. Chalamet's Wonka tells the story of how he first opened the world's most famous chocolate factory. 

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Harley Quinn -

Though Margot Robbie has made the role of Harley Quinn iconic across three films, 'S u i c i d e Squad,' 'Birds of Prey,' and the sequel 'The S u i c i d e Squad,' she's passing the DC character on to none other than Lady Gaga. The singer will play Quinn in the 'Joker' sequel alongside Joaquin Phoenix, which will reportedly be a musical. 

Robbie shared her thoughts on passing the torch and told MTV News, “It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning, all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, the way like Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor," an ritual which she said isn't given to female characters that often.

"It’s such an honor to have built a foundation strong enough that Harley can now be one of those characters that other actors get to have a go at playing,” she added. “I think she’ll do something incredible with it.” 'Joker: Folie à Deux' is scheduled to premiere on October 4, 2024.

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Buzz Lightyear -

Many thought that Buzz Lightyear of the 'Toy Story' franchise would always be voiced by Tim Allen. The actor was a major part of the beloved film series for more than two decades. When it was announced that Buzz was getting his own spin-off, a movie called 'Lightyear,' it was a shock for fans to see that the eponymous hero would be voiced by Chris Evans rather than Tim Allen. The movie explores Buzz Lightyear's origin story and shows him as a young astronaut, so it's arguably appropriate to have a younger actor play the role, but many fans begged to differ. 

In an interview on 'Extra,' Allen himself shared his thoughts for the first time, revealing that he was initially excited when he heard about the project, until he learned that the team from the 'Toy Story' films wasn't involved. In his opinion, the Buzz Lightyear in this spin-off has "nothing to do with" his original character. He also conveyed a sense of disappointment at the lack of connection between his version of Buzz and the new version. "It just seems kind of...I don't know," Allen said. "There's no connection. I just wish there was a better connection [to the toy]."

Chris Evans, however, says he did his best to study Allen's work in preparation for the role. "Look, Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear," Evans said. "The character in this movie is the human version that the toy is based off of, so it makes sense to have a little bit of overlap, luckily for me. What Tim Allen did was pretty untouchable."

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Doctor Who -

William Hartnell was The First Doctor (1963–1966), and there were 13 doctors total including actors like Tom Baker, David Tennant, and Jodie Whittaker. Now, the latest and 14th doctor is set to be 'Sex Education' star Ncuti Gatwa.

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James Bond -

From 1962 to now, Ian Fleming's British secret agent has been played by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, David Niven, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig across 25 films. The role of James Bond has garnered such a legacy that the next actor has been a hot topic for years already.

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Spock -

More than one actor has worn the characteristic bowl cut of the half human, half Vulcan 'Star Trek' character, best known through its original iteration by Leonard Nimoy. Many actors played young Spock, and Ethan Peck plays adult Spock on TV, but Zachary Quinto is largely seen as Nimoy's worthy successor.

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Lara Croft -

Angelina Jolie played Lara Croft in the original film adaptation of 'Tomb Raider' and its sequel, but 15 years later Swedish actress Alicia Vikander took on the role.

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Jack Ryan -

Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine, and John Krasinski have all played the brilliant CIA analyst-turned-field operative from Tom Clancy's best-selling thrillers, with Krasinski's role taking Jack Ryan from the big screen to TV.

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Hannibal Lecter -

Dr. Hannibal Lecter was first introduced in Michael Mann's 'Manhunter' (1986) with Brian Cox, and then in 1991 Anthony Hopkins became the character's iconic face, which he reprised twice more. The late French actor Gaspard Ulliel played the young Hannibal in 'Hannibal Rising,' and Mads Mikkelsen expertly carried the torch in the three seasons of NBC's 'Hannibal.'

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Lisbeth Salander -

The Swedish hacker protagonist of Stieg Larsson's 'Millennium' franchise (starting with 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo') first arrived on screen in 2009 through actress Noomi Rapace. David Fincher had quite the task to cast his 2011 American remake, but struck gold with Rooney Mara.

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Mad Max -

Mel Gibson gave us the first iteration of the former cop across three films, becoming a worldwide phenomenon. Three decades later, original director George Miller revived the hero with the same cynical air, but now with the face of Tom Hardy, who clearly did a good job as the film earned a Best Picture nomination.

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Sherlock Holmes -

Having been depicted on screen (big and small) more than 250 times, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective has been portrayed by at least 75 different actors and awarded a world record for the most portrayed literary human character in film and TV. The role has been given to a variety of actors including Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Peter O'Toole, Christopher Plummer, Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch, and many more.

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Carrie -

While Sissy Spacek remains the quintessential Carrie White in the 1976 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, actresses Angela Bettis and Chloë Grace-Moretz also made valiant attempts in 2002 and 2013, respectively.

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The Joker -

Caesar Romero, who played the Joker in the 1960s Batman sitcom, was the first to play the Joker on the big screen in 1966. Jack Nicholson took over the role in Tim Burton's 1989 film, taking the character back to its dark roots, which was of course perfected by the late Heath Ledger whose performance was unbeatable and earned him a posthumous Oscar. Jared Leto's take was a total reinvention that had mixed reviews, and Joaquin Phoenix delivered a whole new side in the stand-alone origin film that was more psychological drama than superhero flick and earned him a Best Actor Oscar.

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Albus Dumbledore -

The original Dumbledore was played by Richard Harris for the first two films in the franchise, but after his death Michael Gambon stepped in to fill the role for the following six films, bringing a much darker tone to the character. In the prequel 'Fantastic Beasts' films, a middle-aged Dumbledore is played by Jude Law.

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Peter Pan -

Many actors (male and female) have taken on the role of Peter Pan. Bobby Driscoll voiced the early animation, Jeremy Sumpter's take in 2003 remains popular, and women including Mary Martin, Mia Farrow, Cathy Rigby, and Kelly Macdonald have taken on the role as well. Notably, the late great Robin Williams took a turn as an adult Pan in 'Hook' (1991).

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Rooster Cogburn -

John Wayne played the original one-eyed marshall in 'True Grit' and got an Oscar for it, so he left big shoes to fill. Nearly three decades afterwards, filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen remade one of Hollywood's last Golden Age Westerns with Jeff Bridges, who did well enough to receive his own Best Actor nomination in 2011.

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Bruce Banner/The Hulk -

Eric Bana had portrayed the character in the non-MCU film in 2003, while Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno shared the role in the 1970s. Edward Norton was the first significant actor in the MCU to take on the role, and though it was well-received, he had creative differences with the studios and was replaced by Mark Ruffalo, whose light-hearted take on Bruce Banner grew on people.

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Vito Corleone -

Marlon Brando's performance as Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather' (1972) was instantly iconic and won him an Oscar, so when it came time to find a younger Vito for Part II, Francis Ford Coppola was feeling the pressure. Incredibly, Robert De Niro matches his elderly counterpart in quality, and received a Best Supporting Actor statue to prove it. It was the first time in history that two actors won Oscars for the same role.

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Anita -

The role of Anita in 'West Side Story' was the second time two actors playing the same role won an Oscar. First was Rita Moreno's win in 1962, followed many years later by Ariana DeBose's win in Steven Spielberg's adaptation.

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Tony Shepard -

In 2009's fantasy movie 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,' Heath Ledger was originally cast as the lead and shot half the scenes before he tragically died of an accidental overdose. Instead of replacing him or using CGI, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell all agreed to come on board to split the role of Tony Shepard, making the most use of the movie's fantasy genre. Even sweeter than Depp, Law, and Farrell being able to pay tribute to their friend was that they donated their pay to Ledger's young daughter.

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Peter Parker/Spider-Man -

Beyond several voice actors, Tobey Maguire made the first lasting impression with his trilogy, followed by Andrew Garfield's two films in the 'The Amazing Spider-Man' series. But currently Peter Parker is embodied most completely in the MCU by English actor Tom Holland.

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Obi-Wan Kenobi -

Alec Guinness was iconic as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original 'Star Wars' trilogy, and Ewan McGregor's subsequent performance in the same role was one of the few shining parts of the prequels, even improving with age.

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Bruce Wayne/Batman -

Of course, numerous stars have taken on the role of the Caped Crusader, and to varying degrees of success. Adam West is a cult-favorite, Michael Keaton was something of a controversial choice that was later proven a success, Val Kilmer and Ben Affleck were the lesser of the favored, George Clooney took a turn, and Christian Bale made history with Christopher Nolan directing. The latest is Robert Pattinson, whose emo Batman won the hearts of some and disappointed others.

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Selina Kyle/Catwoman -

On TV there was first Julie Newmar in 1966, then Eartha Kitt, and more recently Camren Bicondova in the series 'Gotham.' On the big screen, actresses including Lee Meriwether, Michelle Pfeiffer (a cult-favorite), Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway, and Zoë Kravitz have all taken on the Catwoman role to varying degrees of success.

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Bilbo Baggins -

After having played Frodo Baggins in a 1981 radio adaptation of 'The Lord of the Rings,' Ian Holm was an obvious choice to play the Hobbit on screen in Peter Jackson's wildly famous trilogy. The prequel adaptation of 'The Hobbit' then featured a younger iteration of Bilbo played by Martin Freeman, who stepped in without missing a beat.

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Clark Kent/Superman -

At least eight actors have taken on the super role. Christopher Reeve brought us the classic Superman across four films, Brandon Routh took a turn in 'Superman Returns,' Tom Welling entertained us in 'Smallville,' and Henry Cavill feels to many as the most authentic current Clark in 'Man of Steel' and the other DC films.

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Jesus -

Christian Bale, Ted Neeley, Victor Garber, Willem Dafoe, Joaquin Phoenix, Rodrigo Santoro, Ewan McGregor, Diogo Morgado, Jim Caviezel, Kenneth Colley, Robert Powell, Max von Sydow... the list goes on! A better question is who hasn't played Jesus?

Sources: (Screen Rant) (Zimbio) (Fanfare) (QuizzClub)

See also: Who's your favorite onscreen Jesus?

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