5 great characters who survived really bad movies

It can happen to any character to end up in a disastrous film, with the knowledge that that appearance will probably end their future. Yet, resilient like few others, there are characters who bend but don’t break, defy all logic and even survive failing films.

Their legacy remains solid despite everything and, between reboots and sequels, they always return. Here are five great characters who defied all odds and proved stronger than ever in cinema.

Among these we can only mention Freddy Krueger, the king of nightmares… just like some of his films. The character, perhaps due to a twist of fate, remained trapped in films that would be better forgotten: the golden era of the villain ended with the 90s. The crossovers with Jason Voorhees could have done more but they always rank higher than the 2010 remake with Jackie Earle Haley, which fans of the Nightmare saga consider a real disaster. Freddy Krueger, however, does not lose his charm and is still one of the most beloved horror characters of all time. But will he finally have a notable contemporary film? The legendary Robert Englund has spoken about the possibility of returning as Freddy Krueger.

He follows him, one of his “rivals”: Jason Voorhees. We know that no matter how many times the protagonist believes he has defeated him: the Crystal Lake killer will always return. And he will also do it in objectively terrible films which apparently do not affect his popularity. With Friday the 13th part VIII – Nightmare in Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X we are on the verge of hitting rock bottom, going from demons to boat rides and androids in space. But the final blow was the 2009 remake (even though it was a box office success). Despite these decidedly unsuccessful films, Jason Voorhees has proven himself extremely solid in pop culture: his white hockey mask is a symbol of the slasher genre.

Let’s not abandon the horror genre because there is another character who, in addition to being immortal by nature, is also immortal on the small and big screen: Dracula. It doesn’t matter what happens, but films about the most famous vampire of all time will continue to be released every year, in all possible ways. Dracula’s Legacy was probably one of the worst films ever released and not even Dracula Untold did any better, so much so that it failed in its attempt to launch the Universal Dark Universe. Nicolas Cage’s reinterpretation of the vampire in Renfield is just enough but more successful than Demeter – The Awakening of Dracula which, despite good intentions, fails to meet expectations. The vampire, however, seems to have found new success with Nosferatu by Robert Eggers and Dracula – Luc Besson’s lost love among the very young (and no, there is no shortage of memes here either).

It cannot be erased Robin Hood from the cinema. The failure of Robin Hood: The Origin of the Legend with Taron Egerton, a film considered an exercise in style and lacking in substance, nor the 2010 version with Russell Crowe, more historical but flat and devoid of enthusiasm, was not enough to say goodbye to the character. Stealing from the rich to give to the poor is an incredibly fascinating concept for TV series and films and so the British hero’s fame has withstood even cinematic disasters. His future is very bright: there is news for The Death of Robin Hood, the new film with Hugh Jackman!

It seems increasingly difficult to adapt “classic” characters like well King Arthur: 2004’s King Arthur went out of its way to take the epic feel away from the myth in favor of a more “historical” version. In contrast, King Arthur: Rise of the Sword starring Monster star Charlie Hunnam is a historical fantasy version. But both proved to be failures. However, the Arthurian myth is as strong as the sword in the stone: exploring this mythology is still important in Western fantasy.

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