4 Interesting Movie Crossovers We’d Like to See

Many things were revealed about the recent Sony hack, the most shocking of which was a potential movie crossover that would merge 21 Jump Street and Men in Black.

Yes, you heard right. These two popular franchises can possibly come together in an epic showdown on the big screen. Doesn’t that blow your mind? A movie about two police officers going undercover as students could exist in the same universe as a film about two secret agents who monitor alien activity on Earth.

The more I think about it, the less crazy it seems. It’s not like crossovers are anything new, especially due to the emerging popularity of cinematic universes. In fact, maybe crossovers will become the new major trend in cinema over the next couple of years. We’ve had the fantasy monster phase, the action star phase, and the superhero phase. Could crossovers be next? Here are four possible crossover ideas that we’d love to see in the future.

4. Lara Croft vs. Indiana Jones

For our first choice, we’d have to start pretty fresh. The last Indiana Jones film was pretty bad, and both Tomb Raider movies left a lot to be desired. Why not have a reboot/crossover starring two of the most well-known, bad-ass treasure-hunters of the last couple of decades? The film could revolve around Indy, a veteran adventurer, crossing paths with a younger, more agile tomb raider who seems to beat him to the punch when it comes to finding ancient treasures. It would be an enjoyable movie watching these two put their skills to the test and try to outsmart each other as they both strive to collect ancient artifacts. They may start off bickering and quarreling, but then they come together to defeat a common foe (maybe Nathan Drake from the Uncharted video game series could make a cameo?). It would also make for a great twist if Lara was Indy’s long-lost daughter (and we could probably forget that Shia LaBeouf had any possible relation to Indiana Jones and that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ever happened).

3. Hellboy vs. Ghostbusters

With talks of a Ghostbusters reboot underway, I figured we could throw another fresh concept into the mix. It’s a shame that we don’t have the original Ghostbusters cast to work with, but let’s just pretend that Harold Ramis is still alive. The planets somehow align and the crew comes together to film one last Ghostbusters movie. So these guys are a team of paranormal experts who track and maintain supernatural entities. You know who else does that? Hellboy and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. I can picture it now: a giant beast is rampaging through the city, and Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and Liz Sherman are trying their hardest to destroy it, but it’s no use. Just as the monster is about to crush them, a rag-tag team of four old guys and their proton packs cross the streams and save the day.

This doesn’t fly with Hellboy. He gets a little upset that these rookies are encroaching on his turf. Meanwhile, Doctor Egon Spengler is fascinated by Hellboy and Abe Sapien, and Venkman is trying to make a move on Liz. Tempers flare up, and we’ve got two teams of paranormal investigators clashing in a power struggle. At the same time, something is brewing up on the outskirts of the city; an essence of pure evil that wants to destroy the world. It’ll take a lot more than a proton pack and the Good Samaritan to stop him. The brilliant minds of the Ghostbusters and the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense will have to band together to stop this enemy once and for all.

2. Batman vs. Sherlock Holmes

This concept has been done before, but only in comics and cartoons. Honestly, I think a live-action Batman/Sherlock Holmes crossover could destroy the box office. Two of the world’s greatest detectives deserve to interact more, although, it’s pretty hard when they’re in vastly different time periods and universes. But the beautiful thing about fiction is that anything can happen, especially when Batman is involved. He could travel back in time or to an alternate dimension while chasing after Joker and end up running into Sherlock Holmes. What if Sherlock Holmes is an ancestor of Batman and that explains his profound detective abilities? There are a million-and-one different storylines that could come about by mixing these two characters and their stories.

The major problem would be to really emphasize Batman’s detective skills. To this day, I have yet to see a Batman film that does so. After all, he’s known as the world’s greatest detective, but we really haven’t witnessed those skills. As for Holmes, I personally think the films starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are perfect for a crossover. RDJ’s character combines the outstanding detective work with a healthy mix of action. Therefore, movie-goers won’t have to watch a film about two detectives just solving a case for two hours. A little action can be thrown around, and you can’t tell me that a brief fight between Holmes and the Dark Knight wouldn’t be amazing to watch.

1. Star Wars vs. Marvel

I can’t be the only person who has ever thought about this. Star Wars vs. Marvel. Is that too crazy? Not at all. You see, the universes of both of these franchises contain hundreds of planets and dimensions, so it wouldn’t be farfetched to imagine if one or two of these worlds happen to crossover at some point. You could easily explain how Han Solo and Chewbacca took a wrong turn in hyperspace and ended up at one of the Marvel versions of Earth. While stopping for directions, S.H.I.E.L.D. arrests and detains them. A little later, Boba Fett comes looking for them but crosses paths with the Punisher. Or let’s take another perspective and just imagine these characters being pitted against each other in some massive battle royale. Can Taskmaster use his photographic reflexes to defeat a sporadic fighter like Yoda? Will Professor Xavier’s psychic abilities match up against Darth Vader’s deadly use of the Force? How long before Deadpool loses his mind and beheads Jar Jar Binks?

An influx of crossovers could shake up the film industry. Seeing icons come together is always fun, but only if it is done right. As we’ve seen with some crossovers in the past (cough – Freddy Vs. Jason – cough), they do not always guarantee success. But if you get an interesting concept and a director who knows what he or she is doing, then you could possibly create a crossover that could redefine an entire cinematic genre.