12 actors who reprised iconic roles decades later

• Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford reprised their "Star Wars" roles over 30 years later.

• Al Pacino returned to his character in "The Godfather" after 16 years for "The Godfather: Part III."

• Jamie Lee Curtis' most recent "Halloween" appearance came 40 years after the first movie.

• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Sometimes, a character is just too iconic to only appear once. Not to mention Hollywood relies on nostalgia to ensure that sequels and reboots are profitable (perhaps too heavily — sequels often don't live up to the quality of the originals).

Here are 12 actors who reprised iconic roles decades later.

Jamie Lee Curtis landed her breakout role in "Halloween" in 1978.

She also starred in "Halloween II" in 1981.

The movie has been rebooted several times, most recently in 2018, 40 years after the original film's release.

Curtis appeared in "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" in 1998, "Halloween: Resurrection" in 2002," and "Halloween" in 2018. She's set to star in yet another "Halloween" reboot in 2022.

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford originated their iconic "Star Wars" characters of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, and Han Solo in 1977.

The trio starred in two more "Star Wars" movies: "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980 and "Return of the Jedi" in 1983.

Over 30 years later, all three returned for "The Force Awakens" in 2015.

Hamill appeared in all three installments of the new trilogy: "The Force Awakens," "The Last Jedi," and "The Rise of Skywalker." Ford appeared in the first and last movies. Fisher starred in the first two, but tragically died before "The Rise of Skywalker" began filming. Footage from "The Force Awakens" was used to incorporate her into the final movie.

"The Terminator" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was released in 1984.

He went on to star in two more "Terminator" movies: "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991) and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (2003).

Schwarzenegger reprised the iconic role in 2015 with "Terminator Genisys."

Schwarzenegger did not appear in "Terminator: Salvation" in 2009 since he was serving as the governor of California.

"The Hustler," starring Paul Newman, came out in 1961.

Newman played pool shark Eddie Felson.

Newman reprised the role of Eddie in "The Color of Money" in 1986.

In the film, Newman acted alongside Tom Cruise.

Anthony Perkins played Norman Bates in "Psycho" in 1960.

The horror film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

After 23 years, Perkins returned for two more "Psycho" movies.

"Psycho II" was released in 1983, followed by "Psycho III" in 1986 and "Psycho IV: The Beginning" in 1990.

Harrison Ford starred in three "Indiana Jones" movies in the 1980s.

He played the titular character in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984), and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989).

Nearly 20 years later, Ford picked up the iconic hat and whip once again for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" in 2008.

A fifth "Indiana Jones" movie is slated for 2022.

Al Pacino played Michael Corleone in 1972's "The Godfather."

He also starred in "The Godfather: Part II" in 1974.

"The Godfather Part III" wasn't released until 1990 — 16 years later.

The third installment was widely panned to the point where it's getting an entirely new edit in 2020, according to Variety.

Renée Zellweger played the titular character in "Bridget Jones' Diary" in 2001.

The movie was based on the bestselling book by Helen Fielding. Zellweger also starred in the sequel "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" three years later.

Zellweger returned in 2016 for "Bridget Jones's Baby."

All three "Bridget Jones" movies were directed by women. Sharon Maguire directed the original "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Bridget Jones's Baby," and Beeban Kidron directed "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason."

Michael Douglas starred in "Wall Street" in 1987.

Douglas played the antihero Gordon Gekko.

Douglas returned for "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" 13 years later in 2010.

The film also starred Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, and Josh Brolin.

Ellen DeGeneres voiced the character of Dory in "Finding Nemo" in 2003.

The forgetful blue tang fish became known for her catchphrase, "Just keep swimming."

The popular character got her own movie in 2016 called "Finding Dory," and DeGeneres returned to lend her voice to the role.

"Finding Dory" became the fifth highest-grossing animated movie of all time at $1.028 billion.

• Read more:

• The surprising real-life age differences between 11 famous movie pairs

• WHERE ARE THEY NOW: The cast of 'The Godfather'

• 16 celebrities who famously trashed their own movies

• Steve Martin's 20 best movies, ranked by critics

Read the original article on Insider