More so now than ever before in Hollywood, are we seeing remakes, sequels, reboots, offshoots, of our favorite franchises and characters. Think about this year. We’ve seen the return of some welcomed and unwelcomed returns of characters we didn’t think we’d see. Dominic Toretto from Fast & Furious, Jason Voorhess in Friday the 13^th, Inspector Clouseau in Pink Panther 2, and heck, one could even assume Walt Kowalski from Gran Torino, is some alias for Dirty Harry.

But I feel as if Hollywood is missing out not bringing back certain characters we love and hate. I don’t know the reason why, but this list compiles characters I feel are wanted back in cinema. I left off obvious ones, especially if we know sometime soon they’ll be back, and I left off characters we love that we know there will never be a sequel for. So don’t get mad if Tyler Durden isn’t here or Charles Foster Kane. Without further ado, here’s Killer Film’s Top 10 Characters We’d like to See Come Back!

10 – Leon from The Professional (1994): I know he valiantly died at the end, but you know how Hollywood works, if it’s a hit, they’ll find a way to bring back a dead character. Maybe some assignment prior to this film? Leon (Jean Russo) is a great character: a natural loner, but warm and compassionate. Luc Besson has made a career of giving us badass characters, so why not bring back Leon? Possibility? None. But at least Besson gave us Bryan Mills in Taken.

9 – Nikolai from Eastern Promises (2007): Viggo Mortensen’s Nikolai was just getting started at the end of this film. Besides successfully infiltrated a Russian mob family, and overthrowing the head honcho and his son, he a meantattooed dude who will kick your butt, even if he’s naked! I think with a solid screenplay and David Cronenberg coming back, who wouldn’t love to see how far Nikolai goes into being undercover? Possibility? There’s been talks of a sequel, with Viggo and Cronenberg both interested, but nothing concrete yet.

8 – Matt Murdock/Daredevil from Daredevil (2003): It seems almost natural to talk about further adventures on screen for superheroes today, so why haven’t we seen a Daredevil 2? I know some people didn’t care for this film, or couldn’t get past Ben Affleck in the title role, and while I’ll say the Director’s Cut is a better film, why hasn’t Marvel/Fox gone the route they did for Hulk? Just reboot it! I, for one, think there are plenty of great stories left untold from Daredevil, so bring him back! Possibility? Right now, zilch. But I can see them bringing him back, especially if something like Thor is a hit. Remember, Daredevil did make over a $100mil at the box office in a February date.

7 – Leslie Vernon from Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006): Ever masked serial killer comes back for a sequel, and while that’s an obvious cliché, Leslie Vernon is a complete satire on cliches. I feel, and I know Donny does too, that there’s plenty of steam left in Leslie’s tank. The film is fun, original, and maybe what the Scream films should have been. Leslie in the film, aspired to be the next great killer, and even a mediocre killer gets a sequel. Possibility? Well, there’s been talks, and until I see a trailer, I won’t believe Leslie will be back.

6 – Riddick from Chronicles of Riddick (2004): For reasons that are a bit of a mystery to me, people dislike Vin Diesel. I think he’s cool and an ass kicker, and his Riddick character is his best role yet. Pitch Black is a great flick, and while Chronicles of Riddick might have over-achieved a bit in ideas, the character is as good as any badass killer this side of the 1980s. David Towhy didn’t deserve the slap he did for the Chronicles of Riddick that he did, and while it did make money, obviously not enough to please Universal. At the end of that film, it left us on a cliffhanger. I want to see where it goes. Possibility? Well, his Xander Cage from XXX is coming back, and there’s a new Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena game out, so it that sells good, if the Blu Ray of the two prior films sell good, and if XXX3 does good (much like Fast & Furious did), then I think Riddick will be back.

5 – Catwoman from Batman Returns (1992): I know there’s a hideous “spin off” film out there, but I want to see the damaged, deranged, dangerous Seline Kyle that Michelle Pfeiffer put on screen. I love her fragile psychosis in that film, as she was absolutely beautiful, but a worth foe for Bats. Plus, that was one of the best all-time costumes, not to mention, Tim Burton’s take on the character, being one of his most developed female character. At the end of Batman Returns, we see the Batsignal and they her head pops up showing us she isn’t dead. Bring this Catwoman back. Possibility? As for a solo adventure again, I think the Halle Berry version killed that idea, but she could return in Nolan’s third Batman film. But as the Burton/Pfeiffer collaboration, she’s as good as 9 lives dead.

4 – Roger Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988): Besides being a great film, a great piece of the marriage of live action/cell animation, Roger Rabbit is a great character. A fun, clever spin on the Looney Tunes-type of characters, he’s perfect for more adventures. I mean, if we have to sit through a Madagascar 2 and an Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, let’s do our kids a favor and bring back Roger Rabbit and yes, Jessica Rabbit too. Charles Fleischer, the voice of Roger Rabbit is still around…Possibility? Outside of a few shorts they made around the time of this film’s release, there’s been nothing. I once remembered some talks, but again nothing.

3 - Beetlejuice from Beetlejuice (1988): If this film was made today, you would see a sequel within 2 years, guaranteed. Michael Keaton is still around not doing anything, Burton’s making a wanna be sequel in his take of Alice in Wonderland, so why not? He’s fun, mischievous, and his world has endless opportunities for his misbehaving ways to excited us. Possibility? Zip, sadly. Why don’t we all just do this: “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!”

2 – Capt. Mal from Serenity (2005): If a film ever deserved more love, it’s Joss Whedon’s Serenity. First of all, the TV series was superb, but Fox canceled it. Then the film supposedly under preforms. Nathan Fillion established himself as a 100% badass, something we haven’t seen since Han Solo put down his blaster. Mal is always cool and witty, no matter what the circumstances. He’s someone I would ride off into the depths of space with (in a non-gay way). Possibility? I heard that if Serenity sold well on DVD, then Universal would consider a sequel. I personally know it did, as well as the TV series, Firefly, so that damn suits need to give us what we want!

And the number one character we want to see come back…

1 – Frank Black from Millennium (1996-1999): A vastly under appreciated TV series, has sparked a cult following as loyal as any. The stories were dark and mature, and while this show was Cris Carter’s kissing cousin idea to The X-Files, I was never bored with the themes, stories, or Black. Lance Hendricksen will forever be an awesome actor and all around badass, but he needs to come back for one last apocalyptic threat. I know the show ended before Y2k (kind of the point) and his character appeared in an episode of The X-Files to “end his story”, but I think I speak for the people when I say “We want Frank Black back!” Possibility? Carter has had talks recently about bringing him back, and I know Lance would do it, it’s just X-Files: I Want to Believe bombed so bad, Frank might just stay retired forever.

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment below or email me at jon@killerfilm.com

Tags: Alice in wonderland, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Catwoman, Chronicles of Riddick, Daredevil, david cronenberg, Fast & Furious, Firefly, Friday the 13th, gran torino, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Marvel, Pink Panther 2, Riddick, Roger Rabbit, Serenity, Taken, thor, vin diesel, x-files, X-Files: I Want to Believe, XXX