2023 was the year of the mic-drop cameo at the movies

(CNN) —& It’s not news that Hollywood has leaned very much into the reboot, remake,& sequel& and prequel trend over the past ten (or even fifteen? twenty?) years, and with that comes a curious opportunity to celebrate – and perhaps, recreate – past triumphs with a relatively low-commitment strategy: the cameo. No, not the strange new-fangled website that allows stars of yore (and& disgraced public figures) to monetize their lingering popularity. I mean cameos in the purest and most intended sense of the term – brief appearances by a buzzy personality, which can sometimes be the best part of a movie on the whole (if in doubt, please go watch “This Is the End” and look for cameo appearances by Rihanna, Michael Cera and Channing Tatum). In the case of 2023, high-profile cameos happened so many times, it could make viewers’ heads spin (and in one case, it almost did). Behold, a roundup of the most notable appearances, with one surprise that’s arriving just in time for Christmas at the bottom (don’t scroll all the way down unless you’re OK with a spoiler for the new “The Color Purple” musical movie). Karen Allen in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of...