History Main / UniversalAdaptorCast

** ''VideoGame/LikeADragonIshin'' is another Jidaigeki that takes this UpToEleven by including dozens of main series characters in the roles of several historical figures important to Japan's turbulent Bakumatsu period, with Kiryu playing the role of samurai Ryoma Sakamoto. The ''Kiwami'' UpdatedRerelease shuffles several actors out for ones that have appeared in games since.

** ''VideoGame/RyuGaGotokuKenzan'' is a Main/{{Jidaigeki}} that features UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi carrying the face and voice of series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. Kiryu's adopted daughter, Haruka, also has a role in the game.

* ''The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo'' has WesternAnimation/MrMagoo (and a few other recurring "actors") play various well-known stories, like ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'', ''Myth/KingArthur'' or ''Myth/RobinHood''.

* Franchise/{{Barbie}} was this in [[WesternAnimation/{{Barbie}} her earlier CGI movies]]. She has been [[WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel Rapunzel]], [[WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake Odette]], [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker Clara]], a [[GenderFlip genderflipped]] [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInAChristmasCarol Ebnezer Scrooge]], [[WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheThreeMusketeers D'Artagnan]] and [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInThePrincessAndThePauper The Prince and the Pauper]]. Not to mention all the different professional Barbies that have been produced over the decades. Doctor, nurse, dentist, vet, rock musician, scuba diver, geisha (Japan only), RCMP officer (Canada only), infantryman, fighter pilot...

* [[http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Scratchpad Scratchpad]] is a wiki on Wikia meant for creating test wikis, is notable for its myriad of parody casts, which consist of taking a work's characters and placing them in roles of characters of another work. Some works have so much parody casts that [[UpToEleven some of those extend to]] obscure works, mundane or abstract objects, [[SelfParody the work's own sets of characters]], and even parodies of other parody casts, which try to fit the most of the work's characters into a role of another work's single character.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has two AlternateUniverse / AlternateContinuity spin offs: ''Manga/NeonGenesisEvangelionAngelicDays'' and ''Gakuen Datenroku'', the former being a fluffy shojo manga and other one being an JustForFun/XMeetsY scenario with Persona. There is also the radio drama ''Shin Seiki Evangelion'', which is where the characters are trying to create a new show so they can continue after, you know, [[spoiler:all of humanity is destroyed at the end]]. As the title sounds, Asuka wants a sentai show.

* Several episodes of ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' and its SpinOff ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'' had the cast as fighters in the American Revolution, superheroes/supervillains, members of a ''Star Trek''-style future, and characters from various fairy tales.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has lasted [[LongRunners more than fifty years]] thanks to this trope, as the premise of the series (go anywhere in time and space) means the same characters can perform wildly different roles from episode to episode. SpaceOpera or UrbanFantasy, SurvivalHorror or TheCaper, DomCom or CostumeDrama, campy AlienInvasion story or gritty WarIsHell story, MysteryFiction or [[AnAesop morality tale]], the Doctor has done it all ([[RecycledScript and then some]]).

* Due to Creator/{{Sanrio}} [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters having a large number of characters]]. The company ain't no stranger to making adaptations of beloved fairy tales, Japanese mythology, and other stories with Sanrio characters placed as the stories' characters. Here are just a few examples:

* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' has its [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters large cast]] take on the roles of Japanese historical figures like UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi, or fight in the [[UsefulNotes/KaijuDefenseForce Heian Self-Defense Force]]. Of course Kintaro is a recurring character in the [[UrbanFantasy modern age]], so yeah... As usual, HilarityEnsues.

* The Brazilian, more kid-friendly[[note]]by way of the main characters being children rather than adolescents[[/note]] equivalent of Archie, ''ComicBook/MonicasGang'' -- helps that there alongside the core group there are LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters in various settings, such as Chuck Billy 'n' Folks (hillbillies), Lionel's Kingdom (jungle animals), the Funnies (an astronaut's adventures and encounters during his space travels), and the Cavern Clan (cave people). Also, such stories almost always integrate those settings into one, when in normal circumstances they don't intersect.

* The [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters massive and diverse cast]] of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' is this. Common fan fics and fan adventures involve taking the characters and transplanting them into different settings or genres. Some of the most popular examples include ''Fanfic/{{Trollcops}}'' (a homage to {{Buddy Cop Show}}s and crime thrillers) and ''Fanfic/{{Brainbent}}'' (where the cast are patients and staff at a mental hospital, [[DysfunctionJunction rather fittingly]]).

* ''Manga/OnePiece'' frequently puts the Straw Hats into alternate universes, such as one in which they are all fantasy monsters and another in which they -- even the males -- are middle-aged women. The most frequently used setting is one in 19th Century Japan, in which Luffy is in the police force of Japan under the rule of Cobra. The Chopperman setting, in which Chopper acts as a superhero with Nami as his assistant and Luffy as his HumongousMecha against Usopp, Franky and a QuirkyMinibossSquad composed of the rest of the crew, initially started out as special that was a few minutes long, but got a full-length filler episode after the Ice Hunter Arc.

* ''Script/AHDotComTheSeries'' likes to do this with SomethingCompletelyDifferent episodes such as "Story Hour" (which inserts the cast into ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'') and "Movie Night" (which inserts them into a 1950s B-movie). There are also full-fledged spin-offs starring the same cast, such as ''AH Dot Com Wars'' (''Franchise/StarWars'' parody) and ''Luaky Commer'' (''Literature/HarryPotter'' parody).

->''If you're familiar with things like Popeye and some of the old comic characters, you would oftentimes see this cast of characters that takes on different roles depending on the comic or cartoon. They might be businessman in one [cartoon] or a pirate in another. Depending on the story that was being told, they would change roles. So, to a certain degree, I look at our characters in a similar way and feel that they can take on different roles in different games. It's more like they're one big family, or maybe a troupe of actors.''

* David Willis’s ''Webcomic/{{Walkyverse}}'' and ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'' use the same cast in different settings with different backstories. (Essentially, ''[=DoA=]'' relocates everyone to the ''Webcomic/{{Roomies}}'' university setting and removes all the aliens, Drama Tags and general weirdness.)

* Franchise/{{Barbie}} was this in her earlier CGI movies. She has been [[WesternAnimation/BarbieAsRapunzel Rapunzel]], [[WesternAnimation/BarbieOfSwanLake Odette]], [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker Clara]], a [[GenderFlip genderflipped]] [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInAChristmasCarol Ebnezer Scrooge]], [[WesternAnimation/BarbieAndTheThreeMusketeers D'Artagnan]] and [[WesternAnimation/BarbieInThePrincessAndThePauper The Prince and the Pauper]]. Not to mention all the different professional Barbies that have been produced over the decades. Doctor, nurse, dentist, vet, rock musician, scuba diver, geisha (Japan only), RCMP officer (Canada only), infantryman, fighter pilot...

* The ''Franchise/{{Tsukipro}}'' franchise has created a cast of 50+ idol characters, and introduces a new fantasy setting for them every year. There are drama CDs and anime, but the AlternateUniverse scenarios have mostly been explored in the franchise's 30+ stage plays. They have done [[Theatre/TsukinoEmpire Space Opera]], [[Theatre/TsukinoHyakkiYakou Yokai]], [[Theatre/MachineElements Steampunk]], [[Theatre/TsukihanaKagura Fantasy Dance Olympics]], and more.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Shantae}} Shantae: Half-Genie Hero]]'' has a brief go at this for some of its extra DLC modes, such as completely removing Shantae's powers and turning her into a [[GratuitousNinja ninja]] for a standard action platformer, and the entire gameplay being adapted into the style of ''VideoGame/MightySwitchForce'' with some of the recurring cast having their looks changed accordingly to reference it.

** [[BunniesForCuteness My Melody]] actually started out as Sanrio's version of ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'' in 1975 before the titular character become its own thing in 1976. Due to originating as Little Red Riding Hood, My Melody has starred in a few Japanese animated adaptations of the story, such as ''Sanrio Anime Festival'', ''Hello Kitty's Animation Theater'', and ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody''. The company would even release occasional [[https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1772/1611/products/IMG_0001_c0c8ef1d-598a-4cbd-bcf9-62fcfb2d434f_grande.jpg?v=1487254217 My Melody Themed to Little Red Riding Hood]] [[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/83/0a/9a/830a9a33f6eca1b36e2e5815022335ca.jpg on special occasions]].

** {{Fighting Game}}s (''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'')

* The ''Fanfic/RiseOfTheBraveTangledDragons'' fandom was built on this, bringing together four protagonists - [[WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians Jack]], [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} Merida]], [[WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}} Rapunzel]] and [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon Hiccup]] - from different films and putting in every setting or AU available, from Hogwarts students to immortal nature spirits.

* The ''Fanfic/RiseOfTheBraveTangledDragons'' fandom was built on this, bringing together four protagonists - [[WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians Jack]], [[WesternAnimation/Brave Merida]], [[WesternAnimation/Tangled Rapunzel]] and [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon Hiccup]] - from different films and putting in every setting or AU available, from Hogwarts students to immortal nature spirits.

* The ''Fanfic/RiseOfTheBraveTangledDragons'' fandom was built on this, bringing together four protagonists from different stories (Tangled, Brave, Rise of the Guardians and How To Train Your Dragon) and writing them in every setting or AU available, from Hogwarts to nature spirits.

** Several Creator/DCComics {{Elseworlds}} play with the idea of the DC heroes and villains existing in a different era: Franchise/{{Batman}} as a privateer, Old Western Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, ComicBook/{{Steel}} in pre-Civil War America, Franchise/{{Superman}} in the Middle Ages, etc.