Top 20 Movie Character Cameos You Didn't See Coming

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022)
Black Bolt is a lesser known part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but hardcore fans know he’s one of the most powerful. He first starred in the show “Inhumans” before transitioning to film with a cameo in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” This sequel movie sees an alternate version of the hero appearing alongside the rest of the MCU’s Illuminati to execute Doctor Strange. The twisty narrative allows for all kinds of surprises, this star lineup among them. Even though he eventually loses to Scarlet Witch’s tricks and succumbs to his own sound, for a moment there, we got to see the underrated character use his deadly vocal abilities in an impressive display.

“Coming to America” (1988)
While walking around New York, Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem gives some money to a pair of men by the side of the road. Fans of the previous John Landis comedy “Trading Places” will recognize the two recipients. Reprising their roles as the Duke brothers, Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche play the now-broke siblings. They’re clearly in dire straits after the events of their previous outing, making this a glorious bit of irony. Murphy’s wealthy hero ends up giving them just the money they need to get a leg up again. It’s unclear what the future holds for the duo, but it’s oddly charming to see them again under such circumstances.

“Little Nicky” (2000)
Many audiences remember Chubbs as the former professional golfer that mentors the title character in “Happy Gilmore.” After his untimely demise, he goes to the afterlife where the hero of “Little Nicky” later encounters him. Sandler’s films are no stranger to cameos and it’s especially fun to see Carl Weathers again in the enjoyable part. His affable personality makes him a welcome presence in any movie, let alone one where he gets to hang out in heaven and be a dance instructor. Weathers slides back into the role like a glove and provides one of the better walk-ons in the comedy.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” (2019)
J. Jonah Jameson is known as the editor-in-chief at the Daily Bugle. He played a major part in the Tobey Maguire films, but he was absent in the MCU until “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” The movie ends with Peter Parker having defeated Mysterio and trying to return to normal life. When a news report surfaces in Times Square revealing Spider-Man’s identity, it’s none other than Jameson who makes an appearance as the anchor of his show. J.K. Simmons returns in Tom Holland’s timeline with that signature brash attitude we all love to hate, stepping back so effortlessly into the role and setting up additional work in the sequel “No Way Home.”

“The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” (2006)
Over the course of several films, Dom Toretto has become the pivotal character in the “Fast” franchise. He didn’t appear in the main plot of “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” but the filmmakers snuck him in at the very end. Lucas Black’s hero Sean prepares for a final race without the audience seeing his opponent until the last minute. Vin Diesel shows up in a cameo that arguably re-energized the entire series, preparing people for a plethora of sequels and the potential for his character to return. Look at that smirk!

“Piranha 3D” (2010)
To open this dark comedy about murderous fish, the filmmakers choose to reference the most famous aquatic horror movie of all time. Actor Richard Dreyfuss appears in a rowboat as part of a fun nod to his role in “Jaws.” Instead of playing oceanographer Matt Hooper, though, the performer is in the role of a seemingly-ordinary fisherman also named Matt. Things quickly take an exciting turn as the water swirls around after an earthquake. Rather than getting out of the situation, Matt finds himself overboard and at the mercy of the piranhas. It’s an outrageous beginning to a wild movie that trades shark attacks for swarms of exotic fish.

“The Batman” (2022)
At the end of this Batman story, the Riddler finds himself in Arkham Asylum after the caped crusader thwarts his plans. The antagonist’s neighbor in the next cell ends up being… you guessed it, the Joker himself. Barry Keoghan plays the criminal clown in a small cameo that hints at a future appearance in the new timeline. Keoghan brings out his creepiest possible delivery for this brief moment, leaving an impression without overstaying his welcome. The infamous character created buzz that only gave more press to an already-successful movie. And, whether or not he appears in the next film, he definitely makes a terrific statement in “The Batman.”

“Scream 3” (2000)
Throughout Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse, Jay and Silent Bob function as recurring characters with lots of jokes and running commentary. They make a rare guest appearance in a non-Smith film with “Scream 3.” The duo are on a tour and run into Courteney Cox’s character, before Jay has a few choice words for her. She retaliates by flipping them off. Considering that the “Scream” series is part comedy, this isn’t the most insane thing to happen in the franchise, but it’s still pretty awesome. Fans of them won’t be disappointed with their brief screen time either, considering that it’s light-hearted and profane like all of their scenes in the “Clerks” movies.

“Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace” (1999)
You might not have seen this cameo the first time you saw “The Phantom Menace.” If you don’t mind watching the first episode again, keep an eye out during the Galactic Senate scene for other extraterrestrials. George Lucas decided to include the alien species as a salute to his friend Steven Spielberg’s classic. Lucas is clearly paying it forward, considering that Spielberg features a “Star Wars” reference during the Halloween sequence in “E.T.” It’s an exchange of easter eggs we can’t help but find endearing. Keep the pause button ready and wow your friends with some exclusive knowledge about the prequels!

“X-Men: First Class” (2011)
This prequel to the “X-Men” series is full of mutants from the comics, but one notable hero is absent from the plot. Magneto and Professor X travel the world to find other gifted people for their team. Eventually, they set their sights on the clawed character. The appearance comes out of the blue and it’s over within seconds. Hugh Jackman doesn’t even look back to spot his visitors, instead telling them to go away in a blunt line of dialog. It’s a hilarious moment that gives fans a glimpse of Wolverine without seeing him as a main player. It’s even more inventive than the priceless cameo of the X-Men squad in “Deadpool 2”.

“Casper” (1995)
The titular spirit might be a “friendly ghost” and this was billed as a family movie, but after seeing founding ghostbuster Ray Stantz come running out of Whipstaff Manor in a panic, well… we were forced to reconsider and quickly prep ourselves for some serious scares. Thankfully, whatever Casper’s Ghostly trio of uncles did to Ray offscreen, they didn’t recreate on-camera for us viewers. As for Mr. Stantz however, we hadn’t seen him since 1989 - so imagine the pleasant reaction of cinemagoers when the pop culture icon suddenly appeared onscreen, fully decked out in Ghostbusters gear, and providing a playful riff on the classic saying no less. Fans of SNL might also double-take during the exorcism scene in “Casper”. Yep, that’s everyone’s favorite chain-smoking, gossip columnist Guido Sarducci.

“Out of Sight” (1998)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez and numerous recognizable co-stars, “Out of Sight” was a major critical success. In addition to being a tightly-written crime comedy boasting stellar performances all around and truly honoring author Elmore Leonard, “Out of Sight” also featured a little gift in the form of a cameo by Michael Keaton, who gave us a second taste of Ray Nicolette, a character he'd played the year before in “Jackie Brown” - itself based on Leonards's novel “Rum Punch”. By having Ray pop up in “Out of Sight” Soderbergh and Tarantino created a little Elmore Leonard universe that extended across film studios.

“Spaceballs” (1987)
Okay, so obviously John Hurt’s executive officer Kane couldn’t actually have survived to appear in Spaceballs because, well… he met a gruesome and iconic fate in “Alien”. But in the wonderful world of filmmaker Mel Brooks, such trivial details don’t matter. Hurt was credited as himself but he’s clearly revisiting his (ahem) breakout sci-fi role. Given his status in sci-fi culture, it was to the delight of fans of the genre when he was spotted at Gus’s Galaxy Grill, where he unfortunately experienced deja vu after eating the special of the day.

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
Sure, we weren't expecting a visit to the planet Vormir, but we really weren’t expecting to see Red Skull after 7 years of being MIA in the MCU. Characters in this universe have a tendency to pop up where you least expect them, but even so… Red Skull’s return was a surprise cameo the likes of which we’d rarely seen up until this point. Though Hugo Weaving did not return to play the role, “The Walking Dead”’s Ross Marquand made it so that it was all but impossible to tell the difference. After so many years in the dark, we finally learned Red Skull’s fate!

“A Million Ways to Die in the West” (2014)
This live action Seth MacFarlane film largely missed the bulls-eye with … well, everyone, but what it lacked in overall quality, it certainly made up for with cameos! Seeing Jamie Foxx’s beloved Django once again strike out against racism and slavery with a vengeance was a pleasant surprise… but Doc Brown really stole the show. Playing with the fact that his final film implied Doc seemingly settled in 1885 to raise a family, taking little temporal vacations here and there, MacFarlane brought actor Christopher Lloyd on board for this hilarious little moment that surely had Back to the Future fans squealing with delight.

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018)
Disney’s second stand-alone Star Wars film unfortunately failed to recreate the success of its predecessor, Rogue One, but the space western delivered plenty of fun and fan service - the appearance of Darth Maul being a particularly shocking moment. “The Clone Wars” TV show is considered canon, but many of its story elements, such as the return of Darth Maul, felt firmly entrenched in the animated series. Though the character was a fan favorite from his debut in the Phantom Menace, few of us dared to dream of him returning to films until we saw it with our own eyes. Now that’s how you do a surprise cameo.

“21 Jump Street” (2012)
Hollywood has made us sit through a lot of unnecessary reboots that no one asked for. Thankfully… “21 Jump Street” and its sequel proved to be exceptions. While many cinema-goers were unfamiliar with the original property, seeing the film because of its promising young cast rather than out of nostalgia for the late ‘80s series, Johnny Depp’s sudden appearance was still a welcome one. For fans of the original TV show however, seeing original lead Tom Hanson was the perfect knowing wink to say “thanks for coming” - even if he and Doug Penhall quickly met a grisly end.

“Wayne’s World” (1992) & “Last Action Hero” (1993)
Honestly, considering how iconic his role as the T-1000 from “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” is, we suspect that Robert Patrick could have made a comfortable living just doing T-1000 cameos. But to date… we’ve only spotted two of them. First, in Wayne’s World, he pulls over our rock and roll loving star, Wayne Campbell. They could’ve kept it subtle by making it a routine traffic stop, but they instead go all in by having Patrick pull out a photo of John Connor. Then, in “Last Action Hero”, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger no less, the T-1000 walks by in a blink and you’ll miss it cameo.

“Hot Shots! Part Deux” (1993)
When you consider the respective careers of Martin and Charlie Sheen, it feels safe to say that the apple fell pretty far from the tree. But from the '80s on, Charlie, like his dad, was a bona fide A-lister, working both in dramatic and comedic roles, such as the Rambo spoof “Hot Shots! Part Deux”. It's during this film when Sheen’s internal narration is interrupted by that of another - who just so happens to be his father’s iconic wartime character, Benjamin L. Willard, from “Apocalypse Now”. It’s hilariously meta, especially when they compliment each other on “Wall Street”.

“Split” (2016)
M. Night Shyamalan is best known for his twist ending in “The Sixth Sense”, which forces you to reconsider everything you just watched. In “Split”, he once again threw us a major curveball, but this time, it’s more of a big picture zoom out. Having just witnessed the birth of a monster, we see the story through the lens of a newscast being watched by none other than Bruce Willis’ David Dunn from Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable”. The cameo adds a whole new layer of fun to an already excellent movie, along with the promise of an epic crossover sequel, but this wasn't the first time Willis gave us a classic character cameo.