For a multitude of reasons, actors don’t always come back for a sequel. It’s not even all that often that they are fired because they take off with viewers in the first film. What it comes down to, typically, is finances or willingness to possess a collaborative spirit. Those are the big-name franchise actors that follow, those who were there at the beginning but not all the way through. There were a few exceptions to inclusion here, though. First, if the actor passed away and was then replaced by another actor, e.g. Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, respectively, in the Harry Potter franchise, they were not included. And, naturally, it had to be a case of two actors playing the same character, not one actor departing resulting in their character being written out and replaced by a new character with a comparable amount of screentime. Lastly, if it was a reboot, that didn’t count, e.g. how James Bond and Spider-Man have been recast with each new era.
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When it comes to the following examples, more often than not the replacement ended up being better. And, equally frequently, the reasons for the separation between actor and franchise is understandable. Let’s unpack each path parting.
10) Mark Ruffalo Replaced Edward Norton in The Avengers
The Incredible Hulk‘s Edward Norton was initially slated to reprise his role as Bruce Banner / Hulk in The Avengers. However, Norton has always been the type of actor who requires a certain amount of creative control in his projects and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was at a point where a formula was being established and the higher-ups didn’t want any wavering in that.
The decision to separate was Marvel’s not Norton’s. President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige released a statement saying that their decision was “definitely not one based on monetary factors but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members.” Norton, however, went on to say he didn’t want to play Hulk again as he wished for more diversity in his roles.
Stream The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers on Disney+.
9) Maria Bello Replaced Rachel Weisz in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Most who have seen The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor can attest to how it lacks the lovable spirit of the first two films. For all its faults even The Mummy Returns had that. It also had Rachel Weisz returning in the role of Evie O’Connell.
Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, however, did not, and there were a few reasons for this. Director Rob Cohen said that Weisz didn’t want to play a character with a 21-year-old son, as in real life she had a newborn and didn’t think she looked the age of someone with a child in his 20s. There have been a few who refuted this explanation, including Weisz. Another reported reason was Weisz’s dissatisfaction with the script and, while this seems quite likely, Weisz has never confirmed it. As for Weisz’s explanation, she said she wasn’t comfortable with spending five months away from her aforementioned newborn son.
Stream The Mummy and The Mummy Returns on Peacock
8) Don Cheadle Replaced Terrence Howard in Iron Man 2
Like Norton, Terrence Howard was a one and done when it came to the MCU. For the original Iron Man, Howard was paid somewhere between $3.5 and $4.5 million while Robert Downey Jr. was paid a slim $500,000 upfront, as he was still considered something of a liability back in the aughts.
Howard left because his three-film contract would have had him receive $8 million for Iron Man 2, but Marvel knew that Downey Jr. was the real draw for these movies. Even with the contract in place, Marvel then said they would only pay Howard $1 million for the sequel, at which point they parted ways. In came Don Cheadle who did the movie for $1 million while Downey Jr. made twenty times what he did for the first Tony Stark adventure.
Stream Iron Man and Iron Man 2 on Disney+.
7) James Remar Replaced Christopher Lambert in Mortal Kombat Annihilation
Christopher Lambert clearly understood the assignment in Paul W. S. Anderson’s Mortal Kombat. Basically, stand still and allow fans to blow your long white hair with the occasional sly grin. It’s obvious he was having a really good time on the 1995 movie.
But the role of Raiden was then passed to James Remar (The Warriors, Dexter) for the rushed and outright unfinished mess that is Mortal Kombat Annihilation. The reason for this is perfectly understandable: Lambert read the script.
Stream Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation on HBO Max.
6) Maggie Gyllenhaal Replaced Katie Holmes in The Dark Knight
Both Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal did a great job as Rachel Dawes in, respectively, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. And were things to have gone as planned, that compliment would have only gone to Holmes.
In other words, it was Holmes’ decision not to star in The Dark Knight, which is now considered one of the very best superhero movies ever made. One would think that most actors would jump at the chance to be in a movie with that high-caliber script, but the fact remains that Holmes wanted to branch out. One wonders how she feels about that choice today.
Stream Batman Begins and The Dark Knight on HBO Max.
5) Jeffrey Weissman “Replaced” Crispin Glover in Back to the Future Part II
This is a complicated one. In fact, Glover’s involvement (or lack thereof) in Back to the Future Part II resulted in an industry-shaking lawsuit. But director Robert Zemeckis and the producers sure did want you to think that was Glover once again playing George McFly.
The ensuing lawsuit went a long way for actors, prohibiting future productions from replicating their likeness. They could find someone who looks like he original actor, sure, but they couldn’t apply a bunch of makeup to a new actor to make them look like the original actor. So why didn’t Glover didn’t just go ahead and star in Back to the Future Part II? it was partly due to a salary dispute and partly due to Glover’s disagreement with the movie equating money to happiness.
4) Brian Hull Replaced Adam Sandler in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
When in actor is in three straight movies of a franchise, you pretty much expect them to stick around for the long haul. Not the case for Adam Sandler and his role as “Drac” in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania.
However, this wasn’t the first time someone else voiced Drac, as David Berni played the character in the first season of Hotel Transylvania: The Series and Ivan Sherry took over for the second season. As for why Brian Hull voices Drac in the fourth film, there is nothing concrete, but there is speculation that it simply comes down to Sandler having signed a contract with Netflix while Transformania was a Prime Video exclusive.
Stream Hotel Transylvania: Transformania on Prime Video.
3) Val Kilmer Replaced Michael Keaton in Batman Forever
Thus far, all but one of our entries on this list have been examples of actors choosing to part ways with a franchise, as opposed to getting the boot. That applies to Michael Keaton and his iconic time as Batman, as well.
Keaton really only wanted to continue as the character if Tim Burton remained involved, but after Batman Returns scared kids, Warner Bros. decided to go in a lighter direction. Enter Joel Schumacher and the goofy script for Batman Forever, which represented to much of a left turn for Keaton to continue in the character. He wished them well and walked away. This will always be one of the more painful what ifs. What if we got a full Burton trilogy? Would it have been as rock solid as the first two or would it be a disappointing step down?
Stream Batman Returns and Batman Forever on HBO Max.
2) Dan Castellaneta Replaced Robin Williams in The Return of Jafar
Besides Glover, Howard, and Norton, most of this list has been stuffed with refreshingly amicable partings. The separation of Robin Williams from Disney after Aladdin wasn’t one of those.
Williams had a good time voicing the Genie, but he was clear up front that he didn’t want his voice and likeness used in more than 25% of the marketing and certainly not to sell toys. Disney then proceeded to make the Genie the biggest figure on the poster and used Williams’ voice to do exactly what he didn’t want them to. Because of this, Williams declined to come back for The Return of Jafar. He was instead replaced by The Simpsons‘ Dan Castellaneta. He did, however, return for Aladdin and the King of Thieves after the new chairman of Disney, Joe Roth, issued a public apology.
Stream Aladdin and Aladdin: The Return of Jafar on Disney+.
1) John Shepherd Replaced Corey Feldman in Most of Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Corey Feldman was not opposed to reprising his role as Tommy Jarvis in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. However, he was busy filming The Goonies by the time cameras started rolling on the fifth Friday the 13th.
While the previous film was titled Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, A New Beginning actually had the quickest turnaround of any movie in the franchise. It debuted in theaters only 11 months after Jason was supposedly killed off. So once Feldman moved on from The Final Chapter to Goonies there was simply no way for him to be around for the entire shoot of A New Beginning, which Paramount wanted out as soon as possible. However, Feldman made time for a cameo in A New Beginning‘s opening flashback sequence which, interestingly enough, was filmed in Feldman’s backyard.
Stream Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter and Friday the 13th: A New Beginning on Paramount+
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