Twins have long been a favorite trope in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror—but with Star Wars: The Acolyte and House of the Dragon currently dominating pop-culture viewing habits, they’re enjoying a particularly elevated place in the spotlight. Here are 10 memorable sets of twins, both identical and fraternal, from across genre fiction; some are best friends, some are bitter enemies, and some are even married to each other.
Game of Thrones — Jaime and Cersei Lannister
Incest isn’t as taboo in Westeros as it is basically anywhere else—House of the Dragon’s King Aegon Targaryen and his wife, Heleana, are brother and sister—unless you try to keep it secret, and especially if the children produced from your relationship are presented as being the legitimate heirs to the Iron Throne. Stream on Max.
The Shining — Grady twins
In a movie filled with indelible images, few as are nightmare-inducing as the sight of twin girls, holding hands and wearing perfectly matched party dresses, suddenly appearing in the hallway of a hotel that’s supposed to be completely empty. That would be bad enough, but then they begin to speak in unison, enticing a terrified Danny Torrance to come and play… forever. Stream on AMC+.
Adaptation — Charlie and Donald Kaufman
One’s a struggling screenwriter; the other finds unexpected success when he decides on a whim to enter the same profession. Then, they team up to adapt a best-selling nonfiction book, and reality further plunges off the rails in a tale that’s both wonderfully meta and surreal (Adaptation’s screenwriter really is Charlie Kaufman; he has no identical twin brother). Of course the singular Nicolas Cage is perfectly cast as both brothers. Rent or buy on Amazon Prime.
Blood Rage — Terry and Todd
This classic 1980s slasher, an annual re-watch every Thanksgiving for the fiends among us, starts off with a murder at a drive-in—committed by a pre-teen twin who’s diabolical enough to not only hatchet someone to death, but also frame his brother for the crime. A decade later, Framed Twin escapes his psych ward and tracks down Secretly Homicidal Twin, leading to instances of “wait, who’s who?” that confuse even the boys’ emotionally fragile mother, and the body count soon begins to rise. Rent or buy on Fandango at Home.
The Prestige — Alfred Borden
Christopher Nolan’s Victorian thriller about dueling rival magicians (Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman) revolves around a truly fantastical trick dubbed “the Transported Man,” which is eventually revealed to be far more than sleight of hand. One version involves a cloning machine, while the other is actually the work of identical twins. Rent or buy on Amazon Prime.
Dead Ringers — Beverly and Elliot Mantle
In both the David Cronenberg classic (starring Jeremy Irons and Jeremy Irons) and the recent Prime Video series (starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel Weisz), twins become dangerously interdependent with the medical world as a backdrop and some deeply distressing science experiments as a result. Stream 1988 movie on Peacock; 2023 series on Prime Video.
Malignant — Madison and Gabriel
He’s not a childhood imaginary friend… he’s a parasitic twin lurking deep inside his sister’s brain, still so strong he’s able to possess her, and so evil his instinct is to murder as many people as he can! Including this title is kind of cheating since Gabriel doesn’t actually have a body, but when it comes to weird twin horror narratives, you can’t really beat Malignant. Stream on Max.
Star Wars — Luke and Leia
Nowhere in pop culture is there a more distinctive blend of “genetic sexual attraction” and “retcon” than the phenomenon of the Skywalker twins, who meet as young adults in A New Hope after being separated at birth, enjoy a brief attraction (which evolves to include a love triangle with Han Solo), and then quickly rearrange their feelings once they realize they are related. Closely related. Of all the things George Lucas went back and fiddled with while creating the special editions, at least we can rest assured this awkwardness will never be erased. Stream on Disney+.
Star Wars: The Acolyte — Osha and Mae
Fans had already guessed The Acolyte’s first big twist even before the Disney+ series premiere, but it’s turned out not to really matter, as the show’s plot has still managed to roll out plenty of shocking moments. Amandla Stenberg’s nuanced dual performance has ensured that Osha and Mae are distinctively complex characters—they’re the perfect focal point for The Acolyte’s exploration of what Star Wars’s “light” and “dark” sides really stand for. Stream on Disney+.
House of the Dragon — Ser Erryk Cargyll and Ser Arryk Cargyll
That identical twins popped up on the two biggest nerd-luring TV shows right now (House of the Dragon and The Acolyte) isn’t really surprising; aside from the eerily satisfying visual payoff of having two characters who look exactly alike working against each other, it’s also a useful shorthand for digging into potent themes of duality and betrayal. Alas, in season two’s second episode, Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk worked out their differences by fighting to the death. We’re still not sure which one committed murder, and which one died by suicide. Stream on Max.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
+ There are no comments
Add yours