10 Ridiculously Long Periods Between Horror Movie Character Appearances
These horror movie characters came back DECADES later.
The dream gig for just about any actor is finding a role with major franchise potential - a part they can reprise again and again across multiple sequels until the box office grosses dry up.
This is especially prevalent in the horror genre, which is far more franchise-ready than just about any other.
Take Tobin Bell in the Saw movies - after working for decades as a reliable character actor, Bell made major bank as the figurehead of the Saw franchise, starring in eight straight films over a 13-year period.
But things rarely work out that well, and often there are many reasons why an actor may not reprise a beloved horror movie character for years, even decades.
Perhaps there were issues with funding, or the actor simply wasn't interested in working through a glut of dispassionate sequels, but for whatever reason, they ended up returning to the fold years and years later.
From iconic horror mascots to heroes fans had never stopped asking about and everyone in-between, these horror movie characters returned home 20, 30, maybe even 40+ years after they first graced our screens...
10. Angus Scrimm As The Tall Man - Phantasm (18 Years)
Even if you've never seen a single one of the five Phantasm movies, there's a decent chance you'll recognise the series' statuesque antagonist, the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm).
As the series' resident, eyebrow-raising supernatural undertaker, Scrimm is Phantasm, and has played the character in every single movie.
However, the fifth and final entry into the franchise was stuck in development hell for almost two decades, largely due to the commercial stagnation of the IP up to that point.
1998's Phantasm IV: Oblivion ended up being made for just $650,000, a mere fraction of the previous film's $2.5 million, and was received with indifference by most fans and the few critics who even bothered to review it.
But the series' finale, Phantasm: Ravager, did finally materialise in 2016, giving Scrimm one last chance to play the Tall Man, as he ultimately passed away a few months before the film was released.
While Ravager received polarising reviews from fans and critics, most agreed that Scrimm, at 89 years of age, still possessed the imposing screen presence which made him a genre icon in the first place.