The 20 most memorable passing-the-torch movies

The passing of the torch at the end of The Dark Knight Rises was never likely to bear fruit. It was more a storytelling point, but it is the final note in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The Dark Knight Rises with Bruce Wayne retired, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Robin being shown the Batcave.

A lot happens in Endgame. Iron Man dies. The Hulk takes selfies with fans. Oh, and the torch is passed. Captain America uses time travel to live out the past he didn’t get to have, and when he is seen again in the present, he is older and no longer able to carry the shield. The torch is passed, though it doesn’t fully come into play until Falcon and the Winter Soldier when Sam fully takes over as Captain America.

In a way, the recent Star Wars trilogy is a passing of the torch from the original trilogy to the new generation. The Last Jedi, though, does it a little bit more distinctively. Namely, Mark Hamill has one last go of it as Luke Skywalker. By training Rey, Luke passes the torch to her as the foremost Jedi in the universe.

The first Men in Black is interesting, as it begins with a new recruit having his eyes opened and ends with the veteran passing him the torch. Will Smith’s J ends this sci-fi classic by wiping K’s memory so he can go back to his normal life, and he is paired off with Linda Fiorentino’s character. When the sequel arrived, the passing of the torch was rescinded. K was brought back into the fold in  Men in Black II.

The Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig version was more reboot than a passing of the torch. Ghostbusters: Afterlife, though, is awash in the franchise's history. After all, the main character is related to Egon, one of the original Ghostbusters. This is a continuation of a story with a new, younger generation, and it should continue to be the case.

The passing of the torch is happening in two ways in this Star Trek reboot. The film has two Spocks, one played by Zachary Quinto and the other by Leonard Nimoy, the iconic Spock. In the film, older Spock — from another dimension — sort of cedes his legacy to his other self, but in the same way, Nimoy is there to actively be a part of turning over the role of Spock to Quinto.

XXX  is a dull and inane action film starring Vin Diesel. Diesel didn’t want to return for the sequel, but they wanted to keep the series going. Thus, XXX: State of the Union stars Ice Cube. However, Diesel decided he was actually down to play Xander Cage again, so he returned for, well, XXX: Return of Xander Cage.

We actually aren’t talking about Tom Hardy taking over for Mel Gibson as Max. Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa is equally the star of Fury Road, and when the film ends, Max is walking away, leaving Furiosa in charge. The next film from George Miller in this series? It’s about Furiosa, not Max.

The fifth Scream movie is just called Scream, and that makes sense. It’s a return to the series but also a reboot. No spoilers, but the way the film plays out is clearly a passing of the torch from the cast members of the original series to some new members and the Scream universe.

James Bond has, of course, been played by several actors. However, there had never really been a moment that felt like a Bond actor passing the torch…until No Time to Die . Let’s just say that Daniel Craig and Co. made it quite clear the actor was done in the role of 007. A level of finality made it clear that a new generation was about to begin.

The fifth film in the Friday the 13th series is called A New Beginning for a reason. It’s not about Jason Voorhees as the killer. Instead, a teenager named Tommy Jarvis is the killer. Eventually, of course, Jason would return.

Miles Morales as Spider-Man appeared on the big screen for the first time. Ah, but so does Peter Parker. Multiple Peter Parkers, in fact. One of them, from Miles’ universe, dies, and Into the Spider-Verse sees Miles take over his role as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

After Peter Sellers died, they tried a few things to keep the series going. One time, they used old footage of Sellers as if it was new. It was weird. Finally, they threw up their hands and said, “What if Roberto Benigni played Inspector Clouseau’s son?” Thus, Son of the Pink Panther.

Daniel LaRusso isn’t passing the torch, but the franchise did. After all, this movie is called The Next Karate Kid. Mr. Miyagi is still training kids in karate, so it feels like he is passing that torch in a de facto sense. Hillary Swank, a future Oscar winner, steps into Ralph Macchio’s shoes.

Having Sylvester Stallone return as Rocky Balboa made it clear. Adonis Creed may be the son of Apollo, but Creed is taking the baton from Rocky. By training Adonis, Rocky is imparting his wisdom to the young boxer, and one actor is passing the torch to the other as the star of this boxing film franchise.

The sixth Terminator film was an attempt to revitalize the franchise. James Cameron has a "story by" credit. Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger are back. Part of the plan, though, was for them to pass the torch, particularly Hamilton’s Sarah Connor. Alas, the film flopped, and Dark Fate didn’t go anywhere.

The Jurassic Park franchise is a weird one. Ian Malcolm is the main character in The Lost World, but it doesn’t feel like the passing of any torch. Then, Alan Grant was back for Jurassic Park III. Jurassic World was a full-on reboot, but in a way that felt like a passing of the torch. Where Jurassic Park (the park) failed, Jurassic World has succeeded, and stepping in as the protagonist of the series was Chris Pratt as Owen Grady.

Keanu Reeves decided he didn’t want to return for the sequel to Speed . Thus, effectively, the torch was passed. Sandra Bullock’s Annie became the lead character in this misfire of a sequel. It’s just not the same on a boat, even if Cruise Control is a fun sequel subtitle.

There have been many “son of” movies over the years. Most of them fit the bill in terms of passing the torch. Perhaps the first, though, was Son of Frankenstein. Basil Rathbone plays the son of Victor Frankenstein, who inherits his estate and the remains of his monster. Also, this film is where the character of Ygor (or Igor) was added to the Frankenstein ethos.

The fourth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise includes Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, but there is no Orlando Bloom or Kiera Knightley. No, the plan was to move on from them and continue the series with Jack Sparrow front and center. On Stranger Tides is notable for something else. It is the most expensive movie ever made in terms of actual cost and when adjusted for inflation.