Often, when a movie turns into a box-office hit, the audience eagerly anticipates its sequel. Many times, these sequels are pre-planned during the development of the first film, bearing in mind that it may take a series of installments to deliver the full story, something that frequently happens with screen adaptations, such as Harry Potter. On other occasions, sequels are triggered almost fortuitously, spurred by the unexpected success of the original film. These follow-ups usually focus on a new storyline starring familiar and beloved characters and, due to the high expectations of the audience, they can either turn into huge hits or resounding flops.
Regardless of the circumstances, a sequel implies a great commitment from both the production team and the cast, as their dedication to a character and story usually lasts longer than expected. And for many reasons, in some cases, actors are unable to reprise their roles, which forces producers to find different ways to replace them in the sequel. Sometimes, they directly decide to kill off the character from the sequel, or if possible, to technologically reconstruct them, according to the relevance of the character. Other times, they choose to replace the original actor with another one who looks similar, hoping that the substitution won’t feel too harsh. This article reviews eight instances in which an actor had to be replaced by another one in a sequel, and why.
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8 Crispin Glover — Back to the Future Part II
Universal Studios
Crispin Glover was cast as George McFly, the father of Back to the Future’s main character, Marty. Following the blockbuster’s popularity, plans for Back to the Future Part II were quickly put in motion, calling back the actors from the previous cast. From the very beginning of negotiations, Glover was unable to reach an agreement with the producers: he asked for too much money to be involved in the script. Upon his refusal, the script was restructured in order to keep the character on screen as little as possible, with George being played by actor Jeffrey Weissman, who wore make-up to resemble Glover. In addition, images of Glover from the first film were used, which led the actor to file a lawsuit claiming that they had used his image without his consent, as outlined by Slash Film. Despite this and some other modifications, the film still became a box-office hit.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Rachel Weisz — The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
In 1999’s reboot of The Mummy, Rachel Weisz is Evelyn Carnahan, the clever librarian who ends up marrying the main character, Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser). The second installment of The Mummy, in 2001, featured all the main characters reprising their roles, but this was not the case for the third installment, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, in 2008. Several years after the second movie, Weisz decided to decline the offer to reprise her role as Evelyn. Per Screen Rant, the main reason for declining the part was that the actress wanted to spend more time with her family, but she also wasn’t very happy with the script. As a result, the character of Evelyn was played by Maria Bello, but unfortunately, the third film in the franchise was poorly received by critics and audiences alike.
6 Terrence Howard — Iron Man 2
Marvel Studios
Terrence Howard appeared in the 2008 movie Iron Man as Colonel James Rhodes, an Air Force officer and close friend of Tony Stark. Yet, the actor did not rejoin the MCU for any other film, since, upon being approached to take part in the Iron Man sequel, he could not come to an agreement with the producers about his salary. Thus, since Iron Man 2 and subsequently in other films of this cinematic universe, the character of Rhodey was entrusted to Don Cheadle. Thankfully, the fans were happy with this new casting, and grew fond of him throughout the rest of the films.
5 Gloria Foster — The Matrix Revolutions
Warner Bros.
During the first two films of The Matrix franchise, Gloria Foster is The Oracle, a crucial character for the development of the plot. However, for The Matrix Revolutions, the third installment released in 2003, Foster was sadly unable to take part as the actress passed away two years earlier due to complications from diabetes. The person in charge of carrying on with the character was Mary Alice, which resulted in a slight modification of the script to explain the transformation of the character’s appearance.
4 Richard Harris — Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Richard Harris’ story bears some similarity to that of Gloria Foster. Harris was responsible for bringing Albus Dumbledore, the mythical headmaster of Hogwarts, to life in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. A few weeks prior to this latter film’s premiere, the actor passed away, so production was left with the daunting task of replacing an actor who was already beloved by audiences. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the 2004 film, Michael Gambon made his first appearance as Albus Dumbledore, and through the use of makeup, the actor looked very similar to Harris. However, the tone of this new Dumbledore was considerably harsher than the one in the first two films, something that was criticized by fans. For that reason, by the next movie, his personality was somewhat softened, though progressively, as the movies got darker, so did Dumbledore.
3 Katie Holmes — The Dark Knight
In Batman Begins, the first movie of The Dark Knight Trilogy, Katie Holmes starred as Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend and eventual love interest. Three years later, The Dark Knight, the second installment of the trilogy, was released in theaters and the role of Dawes was passed on to Maggie Gyllenhaal, as Holmes decided not to reprise the character because she was interested in another project.
2 Edward Norton — The Avengers
The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 Marvel Studios production that was intended as a reboot of Hulk, the 2003 movie. In it, Edward Norton brought the giant green superhero to life, and his performance succeeded in vindicating the poor reviews of the 2003 film. However, Norton never rejoined the MCU after that installment, and has since been replaced by actor Mark Ruffalo, who first appeared in The Avengers. According to Norton, his departure from the MCU was a personal decision, as he wanted to branch out in his career. Yet, Marvel Studios stated that they recast the actor because they were looking to find a performer willing to become part of an ensemble cast. Either way, Ruffalo did a great job portraying the character, so much so that he became a fan favorite.
1 Jodie Foster — Hannibal
Orion Pictures
In The Silence of the Lambs, the 1991 film, Jodie Foster played Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee who is trying to catch a serial killer, and for this she seeks the help of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a killer psychiatrist and cannibal who is in prison. Their relationship in the film captivated the audience, and both actors’ performances earned them a great number of nominations and awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Actress. Yet, despite having stated that she would potentially be part of a sequel, Foster rejected the offer to reprise her role in Hannibal, the film that was released ten years later. There were several reasons behind this rejection. On one hand, Foster was working on the film Flora Plum, a project quite different in nature from Hannibal, and moreover, she was not too convinced by the script of this installment and how Clarice’s character was portrayed. Therefore, and after considering different options, Julianne Moore ended up taking over the role and went on to play Clarice Starling in the 2001 film. Moore’s portrayal of the character was very different from Foster’s, which is why she got mixed reviews from audiences and critics.
