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Biopics can be a fascinating take on the real lives of famous people, from actors that died before their time to social activists that changed the world. While a good biopic can open many viewers’ eyes, there are plenty of bad biopics that stem from an oversaturation of the market.
Where some historically significant members of society have never had a single biopic about them, such as Robert Smalls, an escaped slave that captained a slave freeing ship through Confederate waters, other historical figures have had more than 10 movies telling the exact same story. This list looks at a few that have had too many biopics and don’t need anymore.
10 The British Royal Family, Namely Princess Diana, Have Been Covered By Now
With the stranglehold that the British Royal Family has held on television shows and movies, it is unsurprising that they have a plethora of content focusing on their more dramatic moments. In just 30 years, there have been more than 10 movies about Princess Diana alone, plus television shows like The Crown.
The royal family is fine to study because they have made an impact on not only Britain but the world. However, that doesn’t mean there needs to be multiple biopics about one or two events released every couple of years.
9 Billy The Kid Is The Most Played Character In Movies
It is telling that, by 1950, there were already more than 50 Billy the Kid movies. There have been 4 years between the two most recent biopics, Vincent D’Onofrio’s 2019 movie The Kid and Michael Hirst’s 2022 EPIX limited series Billy the Kid, both of which just focused on Billy and his posse committing crimes and outwitting the law.
Billy the Kid is an infamous figure of the old west, giving him an all-American criminal aspect, but the amount of content on him is shocking.
8 Abraham Lincoln Doesn’t Need His Story Told Anymore
As one of the historically better presidents of America, Abraham Lincoln has been the subject of dozens of biopics, most for the sake of education. It is agreed that Daniel Day Lewis’ take on the man in 2012’s Lincoln was phenomenal, yet more movies were made about him after.
Unlike most of the other subjects in this list, Lincoln is a prime example of what to do with characters instead of the standard biopic. This comes in the form of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It shows that taking a historical figure and having fun with them in a period-specific setting can be done in an entertaining way.
7 Adolf Hitler Is An Evil Of The Past And Should Stay There
The first of several despicable subjects on this list, Adolf Hitler, and his extremely punchable face, is often shown in movies and television. While not all of these appearances are biographically realistic, there are still plenty of movies that feature the real him as the focus.
From 2003 to 2008 there were four biopic films released about Hitler. Since first-hand accounts of Hitler were dwindling by that time, that was, hopefully, the last era of Hitler-focused films. There are so many stories from the time that should be looked at instead of what Hitler did as a child.
6 JFK Has Been Scrutinized And Prodded For Content For Decades
John Fitzgerald Kennedy is one of the most complex political figures in American history. From scandals to potential affairs to his untimely assassination and beyond, his life has been scrutinized and picked apart. Every movie, television show, and even podcast about JFK, Jackie Kennedy, and even Marilyn Monroe have gone to great lengths to present compelling entertainment.
That being said, it becomes too much at a certain point. Everyone knows the story of JFK and his life to a point that there is no originality in new tellings of his story.
5 Jeffrey Dahmer, A Serial Killer, Keeps Getting Movies Made About Him
Having been portrayed by Carl Crew, Jeremy Renner, Rusty Sneary, and most recently, Ross Lynch, Jeffrey Dahmer has received way too much screen time. His claim to fame is being a serial killer and sex offender, yet he seems to be an intriguing topic of conversation for movies.
30 years later and there have only been 4 major biopics, but he has had dozens of appearances in cartoons, true crime podcasts, and documentaries. If Dahmer never makes another screen appearance, the world won’t miss out.
4 Ted Bundy Was Not As Charming As Biopics Want Him To Have Been
Boasting 8 films to his name, Ted Bundy is another serial killer that has found mainstream success behind his name. Within the last 3 years, there have been 3 movies about the murderer being played by Zac Efron, Chad Michael Murray, and Luke Kirby.
These movies all commit the same misstep of portraying Bundy as a charismatic, good-looking guy without addressing the failings of the systems that allowed him to continue killing. The seeming need to humanize serial killers in biopics is a trend that needs to end.
3 Charles Manson Led A Cult And Several Movies About Said Cult
Charles Manson was a cult leader who had the phrase “technically not a murderer” thrown around him ever since he was captured for the massacre of Sharon Tate and 7 others, plus being indicated as the one who actually murdered Bernard “Lotsapoppa” Crowe.
His hold over the people around him in his cult and his connections to musicians, including Dennis Wilson and Terry Melcher, have been topics of discussion and fascination, leading to a plethora of films about him. With more speculative fiction coming out about him, like Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the biopics have become lessened, but haven’t stopped.
2 Steve Jobs Has Been Discussed In-Depth Without Need For More
More inspiring than detrimental, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, has found his name attached to several biopics centering on him and the early days of the Silicon Valley boom. A lot of these stories follow the beginning in his garage to the success of his company.
Between 2013-2015 there were 2 Steve Jobs-based biopics and a documentary that competed to tell his story. After the movies with Ashton Kutcher and Michael Fassbender in the titular role, there is no reason to return to Jobs’ story as it has been told plenty of times.
1 Al Capone’s Entire Life Has Been On Screen Already
As one of the most famed gangsters to have worked in America, Al Capone’s story has been a topic of conversation and entertainment for decades. Beginning back in 1959 and continuing to 2020, there have been many Al Capone biopics, not even including the biopics where he is a supporting role. Most of them, however, tell almost the exact same story.
They focus on his highlights in crime and then his downfall. While movies like The Untouchables and 2020’s Capone are well-received, solid films, the story has been told enough to not need any more stories.
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