These 13 Movie Characters Were Famously Recast For The Sequels, So Tell Us Which Actor You Prefer
by Kristen Harris · BuzzFeedMost movies are one and done, but when an actor signs on for a franchise, they're potentially committing years of their life to a role. However, their part isn't always guaranteed, because sometimes, characters get recast in the middle of a series.
Here are 13 movie franchise characters who were famously recast. I want to know — which actor do you prefer in each role?
1. In The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, Rachel Weisz played Evelyn Carnahan. However, when the franchise was resurrected seven years later, she opted not to return.
The third movie jumped ahead 13 years from the ending of The Mummy Returns. At the time, director Robert Cohen said that Rachel didn't come back because she didn't want to "play the mother of a 21-year-old."
However, the actor's reps said she didn't want to be away from her then-two-year-old son during the film's five-month shoot in China.
So, for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Maria Bello was recast as Evelyn.
2. In The Silence of the Lambs, Jodie Foster played Clarice Starling. However, when the sequel was made a decade later, she declined to return due to a combination of scheduling conflicts and her mixed feeling about doing a part two.
In 2005, she told Total Film, "The official reason I didn’t do Hannibal is I was doing another movie, Flora Plum [a long-cherished project that has yet to be shot]. So I get to say, in a nice, dignified way, that I wasn’t available when that movie was being shot. But Clarice meant so much to Jonathan [Demme, the original director] and I, she really did, and I know it sounds kind of strange to say but there was no way that either of us could really trample on her."
In Hannibal, Julianne Moore took over the role of Clarice.
3. In Iron Man, Terrence Howard — who had a three-picture deal with Marvel — played Rhodey/War Machine. However, during sequel negotiations, his salary was reduced to only 12.5% of the amount he'd initially been promised, which reportedly led him to refuse to return to the role.
On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, he said, "It turns out that the person I helped become Iron Man...took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out. I called my friend — that I helped get the first job — and he didn't call me back for three months."
In Iron Man 2, Don Cheadle took over as Rhodey. He's played the role in all subsequent MCU projects the character appears in.
4. In The Incredible Hulk, Ed Norton played Bruce Banner/The Hulk. At first, Marvel was onboard with his plans for a The Dark Knight-esque duology, but "as it turned out, that wasn't what they wanted."
In a 2010 statement, Marvel said, "We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers. Our decision is 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."
Then, Norton's agent released a statement, which said, "This offensive statement from Kevin Feige at Marvel is a purposefully misleading, inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light. Here are the facts: two months ago, Kevin called me and said he wanted Edward to reprise the role of Bruce Banner in The Avengers...This past Wednesday, after several weeks of civil, uncontentious discussions, but before we had come to terms on a deal, a representative from Marvel called to say they had decided to go in another direction with the part. Counter to what Kevin implies here, Edward was looking forward to the opportunity to work with Joss and the other actors in the Avengers cast, many of whom are personal friends of his. Feige's statement is unprofessional, disingenuous, and clearly defamatory. Mr. Norton's talent, tireless work ethic, and professional integrity deserve more respect, and so do Marvel's fans."
In 2019, Edward told the New York Times Magazine, "We had positive discussions about going on with the films, and we looked at the amount of time that would've taken, and I wasn't going to do that. I honestly would've wanted more money than they'd have wanted to pay me."
In The Avengers, Mark Ruffalo took over as Banner, and he's been the MCU's Hulk ever since.
5. In Batman and Batman Returns, Michael Keaton played Bruce Wayne/Batman. However, he decided to leave when director Joel Schumacher took over from Tim Burton for the third installment because they disagreed over the direction it should take.
Michael told the Backstage podcast, "To me, I know the name of the movie is Batman, and it's hugely iconic and very cool and cultural iconic and because of Tim Burton, artistically iconic, I knew from the get-go it was Bruce Wayne. That was the secret. I never talked about it. [Everyone would say] 'Batman, Batman, Batman does this,' and I kept thinking to myself, 'Y'all are thinking wrong here.' [It's all about] Bruce Wayne. What kind of person does that?… Who becomes that? What kind of person [does that]?
...And then when the director who directed the third one [came in], I said, 'I just can't do it.' And one of the reasons I couldn't do it was — and you know, he's a nice enough man, he's passed away, so I wouldn't speak ill of him even if he were alive—he, at one point, after more than a couple of meetings where I kept trying to rationalize doing it and hopefully talking him into saying, 'I think we don't want to go in this direction, I think we should go in this direction.' And he wasn't going to budge.
But I remember one of the things that I walked away going, 'Oh boy, I can't do this.' He asked me, 'I don't understand why everything has to be so dark and everything so sad,' and I went, 'Wait a minute, do you know how this guy got to be Batman? Have you read… I mean, it's pretty simple.'"
Val Kilmer took over the starring role in Batman Forever. However, he decided not to return for the final film.
In 2017, Joel told The Hollywood Reporter, "Batman Forever, when we were on the world tour, it just really went to his head. I’m not going to get into that. He wanted to do Island of Doctor Moreau because Marlon Brando was going to be in it. So he dropped us at the eleventh hour.”
In 2020, Val told the New York Times about a specific experience on set that made him feel replaceable. One day, after shooting ended, he kept the Batsuit on because Warren Buffet was bringing his grandchildren by. However, the kids were more interested in riding the Batmobile and trying on the mask than speaking to Batman, which made Val realize the hero was meant to be as anonymous as possible so other people could see themselves reflected in him.
He said, "That’s why it’s so easy to have five or six Batmans. It’s not about Batman. There is no Batman."
So, in Batman & Robin, George Clooney donned the Batsuit.
6. When the Batman franchise was rebooted in 2005, Katie Homes played Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins. However, she wasn't available for the sequel.
In The Dark Knight, Maggie Gyllenhaal played Rachel.
7. In Twilight and New Moon, Rachelle Lefevre played Victoria. Summit Entertainment announced her recasting due to "scheduling conflicts," but Rachelle was confused by their decision.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, she said, "I was stunned by Summit's decision to recast the role of Victoria for Eclipse. I was fully committed to the Twilight saga and to the portrayal of Victoria. I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules. My commitment to Barney's Version is only ten days. Summit picked up my option for Eclipse. Although the production schedule for Eclipse is over three months long, Summit said they had a conflict during those ten days and would not accommodate me. Given the length of filming for Eclipse, never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10 day overlap. I was happy with my contract with Summit and was fully prepared to continue to honor it. Summit chose simply to recast the part.
I am greatly saddened that I will not get to complete my portrayal of Victoria for the Twilight audience. This is a story, a theatrical journey, and a character that I truly love and about which I am very passionate. I will be forever grateful to the fan support and loyalty I've received since being cast for this role, and I am hurt deeply by Summit's surprising decision to move on without me. I wish the cast and crew of Eclipse only the very best."
In Eclipse, Bryce Dallas Howard took over as Victoria.
8. In Major League, Wesley Snipes played center fielder Willie Mays Hayes. However, before the sequel was greenlit, his acting career took off, and he was booked and busy.
His costar Corbin Bernsen told Sports Illustrated, "A couple years after Major League, I saw Wesley. I said, 'Hey, man, they're gonna make Major League II!' And he was like, 'You're gonna do that?' And I thought, Wow, how quickly they forget. He'd become Wesley Snipes. That rubbed me the wrong way."
In Major League 2, Omar Epps was recast in the role.
9. In George of the Jungle, Brendan Fraser played the titular role. In the sequel, "they built a joke into it that the studio was too cheap to hire [Brendan], which wasn't inaccurate."
In 2022, he also told Entertainment Weekly, "I was approached. I can't remember what I was doing at the time, but I felt like I wanted to go do The Quiet American instead with Michael Caine and shoot the first Western film in Vietnam ever, directed by Phillip Noyce, to tell an infinitely American story.
I'm always making diverse choices, and hopefully, that keeps me and an audience interested. With a bit of distance, I think they've all cumulatively led up to the place I'm in now."
Christopher Showerman took over the leading role in George of the Jungle 2.
10. In Halloweentown and its first two sequels, Kimberly J. Brown starred as Marnie Piper. However, she's "not really sure" why Disney decided not to bring her back for the fourth and final film.
In a 2018 YouTube video, she said, "Some people said that heard that I was working on something, which was not the case at the time. I was available and ready to do it and had talked to them about possibly doing it. But Disney decided to go in a different direction and recast the role."
In Return to Halloweentown, Sara Paxton played Marnie Piper.
11. In Back to the Future, Claudia Wells played Jennifer Parker. However, she declined to return for the sequels because her mother/manager became ill.
In Back to the Future II and II, Elisabeth Shue played Jennifer.
12. In Captain America: The First Avenger, Hugo Weaving — who also had a three-picture deal with Marvel — played Johann Schmidt/Red Skull. When Marvel asked him to return, they reportedly wanted to pay him less than his Captain America salary for both movies combined. So, he seemingly decided it wasn't worth it.
In 2020, he told Time Out, "I actually found negotiating with them through my agent impossible. And I didn't really wanna do it that much."