I remember being blown away by Tom Hardy’s double casting as real-life twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray in the 2015 British gangster biopic Legend. Suave and methodical Reggie vs. hotheaded and gruff Ronnie climbing the ranks of London’s underworld showcased Hardy’s versatility and deepened the viewing experience.

It’s impossible not to pay closer attention to the performances, whether you’re hoping to find a crack in the acting or to notice the distinctive layers that Hardy has created in each character—like Ronnie’s stuffy-nose accent affect or Reggie’s cocksure walk. 

But one actor taking on multiple roles is a gimmick that dates back decades in Hollywood, especially in comedy. 

Notably, there’s the 1961 Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills (aka Miss Bliss iykyk), and Lindsay Lohan’s star-making turn as precocious preteen twins in the remake, Eddie Murphy’s iconic roster of characters in The Nutty Professor and Coming to America, Mike Myers and his multiple roles in the Austin Powers film series, Hugo Weaving in The Matrix franchise, Nic Cage and John Travolta in the unfuckwittable Face/Off, the Winklevi in The Social Network and more.

I imagine it’s an actor’s dream to be able to show their range in a pair, or more, of roles in the same movie, but the past six months have seen a massive uptick in the gimmick. (Jim Carrey plays Dr. Robotnik’s own grandfather in Sonic 3!) 

And it seems like no studio has bought into the dual role trend more than Warner Brothers, which is releasing three movies starring A-list actors playing multiple roles in the span of two months: The Alto Knights, Mickey17 and Sinners.

So what is driving this trend? It’s speculation time bb.

The Advancement of VFX 

Now Lohan’s on-screen twins were super believable, so much so that former Disney CEO Michael Eisner approached her at the movie’s premiere and asked where her twin was. To which she replied, “Well you should have paid me double because I don’t have one.” 👏🏾

As seamless as the performance was on-screen, figuring out how to make twin Lohans appear real was a puzzle of its own. It required careful coordination between the director, editing team and Lohan, who worked with a body double to pull everything off. Film editor Stephen Rotter breaks down the ups and downs of the process. The film has aged incredibly well as far as VFX goes, but there were still limitations that forced the editor to limit the number of shots featuring double Lohans to avoid any gaffs. 

Nowadays, the advancements in an editing technique known as digital compositing—where editors can combine visual elements from separate sources—makes it possible for us to suspend disbelief when we’re watching a pair of Pattinsons getting themselves into a Challengers situation with Naomi Ackie in space. 

(Mickey18 is cheesing so hard here lmaoooooo) 

And audience buy-in and awareness are the name of the game in a time when getting butts into theater seats is more challenging than ever. (Bringing pickleball courts to your local cinema is a real idea that someone was paid to conceive.) This brings me to my second theory about the gimmick 🥁

Box-Office Draw for Stans, Fans and Everyone in Between

What’s better than one Robert Pattinson or Michael B. Jordan? Two or even 17—in the case of the Mickey clones. These heartthrob actors have (sometimes scarily) passionate fandoms so offering fans more options creates discourse, for better or worse, and if you’re a major studio, the hope is that this online convo drives people to theaters. (But does it though?)

Much of the discourse surrounding Mickey17 centered on Mickeys 17 & 18 and the RPatz fandom’s desire for them to kiss…or [redacted]. Despite there being a lovely romance at the heart of the story between Nasha and Mickey17, some fans opted to remove Nasha altogether in favor of pining over a 17 and 18 hookup. If you’re into such things, you can find an abundance of fanfic here.

Despite the online adoration, the movie failed to recoup its budget, a fact that the trade headlines annoyingly reiterated throughout its entire box office run. 

But is that due to its niche sci-fi fantasy romance genre or because audiences know that it’ll be available on streaming like 7 hours after its release date? With the ever-shrinking theatrical window, it can be hard to assess why a film with a proven star and acclaimed director might underperform, especially in a release schedule with minimal competition. 

Speaking of, two weeks after Mickey17’s debut, the WB released a mafia drama starring Robert De Niro x 2 and directed by Barry Levinson (Wag the Dog, Sleepers). I had no idea this movie existed until last week and I stay at the cinema.

In The Alto Knights, Mr. Taxi Driver himself pulls double duty in Barry Levinson’s slow-grind mafia flick. De Niro plays notorious crime bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. I still can’t wrap my head around why he plays both roles, as it is a mild distraction that takes a few scenes to acclimate to.

While there was some distinction between the two characters, this type of gimmick only works, imo, if they are polar opposites. In the middle of one of De Niro’s fourth-wall-breaking monologues, I started to do some recasting and landed on Harvey Keitel as a more interesting option for Vito. Who doesn’t want to see De Niro go up against one of his peers in the latter half of his career?

In this instance, the box-office numbers make some sense as it wasn’t widely promoted and is skewed for a slightly older demographic who may not be on social media to discuss. This is a shame since movies for the 40 and above crowd are severely lacking but do well with adequate promotion and word of mouth. Thinking of Book Club, Red and A Man Called Otto.

On April 18, in the US at least, the film gods are blessing us with Ryan Coogler’s highly anticipated Southern vamp thriller Sinners, which boasts TWO Michael Bacari Jordans. Kudos to Coogler for giving the fandom the twin cinematic thirst traps. But will the box office reflect that thirst?

If I was a betting woman, I’d say Coogler’s got the goods. With a $90 million budget, the film would need to make double that to break even, with marketing costs. This appears to be a much more straightforward sci-fi thriller than a genre-bender like Mickey17. Coogler’s previous work has proven to be a good return on investment at the box office—but this is not a spin-off to a legendary film series (Creed) or a Marvel superhero film (Black Panther), so word of mouth will be crucial.

Vampires + twin Jordans + Coogler’s vision in an April release with minimal competition? I predict big things. 

Sinners’ box office fate is still unknown, but if it succeeds, it could signal to execs that this type of stunt casting works for audiences. 

The Alto Knights was made for $45 million and grossed around $25 million three weeks in, so it’ll likely be another loss for Warner Brothers, along with Mickey17. Sinners’ box office fate is still unknown, but if it succeeds, it would be Warners’ sole successful actor-in-a-dual-role release of the three. Safe to say, this could spell the end of a trend for the dubba dubba WB. 

While it may seem like dual roles are for the dudes only in 2025, Elle Fanning is about to change all that. The Great actress will play a pair of sisters in Predators: Badlands, the seventh installment of the Predator franchise, slated for release in November 2025. 

There’s already big buzz surrounding the sci-fi thriller, which Fanning teased in an appearance at CinemaCon this week. Fans are pissed that there’s no trailer but the buildup is kind of nice in an age where fan accounts are constantly posting images and videos from sets. (Ducking and dodging images from Nolan’s The Odyssey has become my full-time job.)

Do Dual Roles Pay Well?

With all of this talk about box office returns, it makes me wonder about the actors’ compensation. Do they get paid more for playing both roles. So I did a lil’ research and the answer is not straightforward. 

Backstage says actors get paid by the project and their rates depend on a variety of factors, including the amount of time they’re needed on set and the film’s budget. Their agents are responsible for negotiating their rates/contracts, so it’s probably safe to assume that your rep would ask for much more if you have double the lines and are in nearly every scene. 

Eddie Murphy reportedly received $16 million for playing seven characters in The Nutty Professor, which seems paltry given the effort and amount of time spent in the makeup chair. Then again, it was 1996, and a Big Mac cost $2.36. In 2025, it’s nearly triple that.

But based on Lohan’s response to Eisner at The Parent Trap premiere, it sounds like the actor’s popularity, previous box office performances, and (likely) gender plays a big role in an actor’s payday. 

The WB may not have recuperated a ton of money, but I actually hope the dual trend will not die with these movies. I’d love to see more actors face off, pun intended, against themselves: Imagine Keke Palmer vs. Keke Palmer? A pair of Barry Keoghans going head to head? Double Michael Shannons? I want!

One day soon, studios will return to a 45-day (or 60!) theatrical window and figure out how to get the masses back to the theaters. But remakes and sequels are not going to drive us there. We need big swings and adult dramas and thrillers and comedies, with mid-range budgets, by unique new filmmakers as well as tried-and-true auteurs. Steven Soderbergh is showing us the blueprint. So follow it!

Fun fact: According to the Hollywood Reporter, Dick VanDyke wanted to play a second role in Mary Poppins so badly that he paid Walt Disney $4,000 to nab it, which seems wrong. But he did have to don special FX makeup to play the elderly banker, so maybe Walt made him foot the bill for that?

Warners may not have recuperated a ton of money, but I actually hope the trend will not die with these movies. I’d love to see more actors face off, pun intended, against themselves: Imagine Keke Palmer vs. Keke Palmer? Or a pair of Barry Keoghans going head to head? Double Michael Shannons? I want!

I believe the studios will return to a 45-day (or 60!) theatrical window and figure out how to get the masses back to the theaters. But remakes and sequels are not going to drive us there. We need big swings and adult dramas and thrillers and comedies, with mid-range budgets, by unique new filmmakers as well as tried-and-true auteurs. Steven Soderbergh is showing us the blueprint. So follow it!