Replacing actors for an iconic role is tricky business and they run the risk of angering loyal fans. Here are actor replacements that totally ruined the movie.
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00:00Choosing someone to take over a role from another actor is never easy, especially when
00:04the original actor drew praise for their take on a character.
00:07But recasting is often an unavoidable fact of filmmaking, especially for sequels and
00:12remakes.
00:13Whether it's creative disagreements, financial setbacks, or simple timing issues at hand,
00:17actors often become unavailable to resume their roles and must be replaced.
00:21Sometimes, the newcomer can blend right into the blockbuster scene unnoticed.
00:25But in the case of these casting switcheroos, the change was just too drastic for audiences
00:29to endure.
00:31Clarice Starling
00:32When director Ridley Scott signed on to direct the Silence of the Lambs sequel, he did so
00:37without his Clarice Starling in place.
00:40Anthony Hopkins had already negotiated a return to the role of Hannibal Lecter, but Jodie
00:44Foster didn't share his enthusiasm for the second chapter in the serial killer's story,
00:48despite winning an Oscar for the role in the first film.
00:51She later told Total Film,
00:53"'The official reason I didn't do Hannibal is I was doing another movie, Flora Plum.
00:58So I get to say, in a nice, dignified way, that I wasn't available when that movie was
01:02being shot.
01:03But Clarice meant so much to Lambs director Jonathan Demme and I, there was no way that
01:07either of us could really trample on her."
01:10"'Now that's really interesting, Clarice.
01:14I'm really pressed for time.'"
01:17Several big-name actresses were considered to take her place, and the part ultimately
01:20went to Julianne Moore.
01:22While both Scott and Hopkins were happy with the choice, audiences weren't as convinced.
01:26Moore was inevitably compared to Foster, and couldn't measure up to her predecessor's
01:30screen savvy, nor rekindle the creepy connection Clarice had shared with Hopkins in the first
01:35film.
01:36Jodie Foster offered her own diplomatic but shady take on the film, saying simply,
01:40"'I saw Hannibal.
01:41I won't comment.'"
01:43Evelyn O'Connell
01:45The Mummy was a surprise smash for Universal, hosting global receipts of $415 million and
01:50landing on the top ten highest-grossing films of 1999.
01:54It launched Brendan Fraser's career as a Hollywood action hero, and introduced the
01:57world to a stunning new leading lady in Rachel Weisz.
02:01The pair made a compelling on-screen couple, and reprised their roles in The Mummy Returns,
02:05which managed to bring in a nice haul from the box office as well.
02:08But by the time the third film came around, Weisz was suffering from some serious Mummy
02:13fatigue and stepped aside.
02:14Weisz was rumored to call the script for The Mummy 3 crap, so the studio turned to Maria
02:19Bello to fill in for the role.
02:21Unfortunately for Bello, her turn in the role was criticized for lacking the charm
02:27of the original, and the film failed to recoup its production costs in the domestic box office.
02:31Why am I laughing?"
02:36The Genie
02:37The 90s marked a moment of resurgence for Disney's animated film collection, with films
02:42like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King offering a new generation of children some
02:45cartoon movies to sing along to.
02:48One of Disney's most beloved films of the era was Aladdin, an Oscar-winning take on
02:52the Arabic folktale about the street thief who sheds his rags and won the heart of a
02:56princess.
02:57Aladdin was packed full of great musical numbers, but the main reason it became such a smash
03:01was the input of the late Robin Williams as the Genie.
03:04"...it's all part and parcel, the whole Genie gig."
03:06"'Phenomenal cosmic power!'
03:09"'Anybody let me explain!"
03:12The actor confirmed that he wouldn't be lending his voice to the direct-to-video sequel The
03:16Return of Jafar.
03:17After an alleged row with Disney over its marketing tactics, so the search for a new
03:21Genie began.
03:22Dan Castellaneta, the legendary voice of Homer Simpson, was ultimately chosen to voice the
03:27big blue guy, but the Simpsons star just couldn't measure up to Williams' frenetic performance.
03:32The quality of the animation didn't help matters, but Castellaneta lacked the unpredictability
03:37that Williams brought to the Genie, essentially doing a watered-down impression of his predecessor.
03:43"'Don't!"
03:44Jack Ryan
03:46There are five films based on Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan books, but only one actor has played
03:51the protagonist twice.
03:52Eyebrows were raised when Alec Baldwin was given the boot after he successfully debuted
03:57Ryan onscreen in The Hunt for Red October.
03:59Baldwin later implied that the studio had gone behind his back and entered into negotiations
04:03with Ford to take the role of Ryan.
04:05"'Well, that was a guess, but it seemed logical."
04:08Even so, Ford's performance in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger became definitive
04:13for the character.
04:14Eight years later, another actor stepped in to bring a much younger version of Jack Ryan
04:18to the big screen.
04:19This time, it was Ben Affleck, who stepped in for the sum of all fears.
04:23His performance in the role was met with disdain, however, and the Jack Ryan franchise never
04:27really recovered after that, despite an attempt to reboot it with Chris Pine in the lead role
04:32more than a decade later.
04:34Sarah Connor
04:35Following in the footsteps of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise
04:39was never going to be easy for any actress.
04:42Hamilton gave a performance so layered and compelling that even the most talented performers
04:46have struggled to do the character justice.
04:48The first to give it a shot was Lena Headey, who was cast in the role in the short-lived
04:52TV series Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
04:55Fox canceled the show after two seasons, citing its high cost as a reason.
04:59But Headey's Game of Thrones colleague Emilia Clarke was willing to give it another go on
05:04the silver screen for Terminator Genisys.
05:06The film was a box office dud, and was heavily criticized for using the old time travel chestnut
05:12to rewrite the beginning of the Terminator story to suit the filmmakers' purposes.
05:16The main problem wasn't the infuriatingly muddled timeline, though.
05:20It was the casting.
05:21As much as TV lovers might dig Clarke's portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones,
05:27the film crowd was decidedly not wowed by her run as Sarah Connor, where her line deliveries
05:32packed a lot less punch than the original.
05:34Come with me if you want to live!
05:37Pass.
05:38Van Wilder
05:40National Lampoon's Van Wilder isn't going to be preserved in the Library of Congress
05:44National Film Registry any time soon.
05:47Yet for all of its failings, fans of a certain age remember this movie fondly.
05:51This was a time when frat humor was at its peak, and sitting down to watch a comedy usually
05:55meant turning your brain off for 90 minutes.
05:58Van Wilder might not have been the most cerebral comedy of all time, but Ryan Reynolds still
06:03delivered as the fast-talking cool guy who threw the best parties and was a softie underneath
06:08all those crazy antics.
06:09After the Cal-Penn-led sequel was destroyed by critics, the producers decided their next
06:14move was a prequel featuring a younger version of Van Wilder.
06:18So they brought in Mean Girls' Jonathan Bennett for Van Wilder Freshman Year, which was a
06:23terrible mistake.
06:24I have never seen such a sorry display in all my life.
06:28The actor couldn't come close to the charisma of his predecessor, and produced a feature-length
06:33failed impression effort as a result.
06:35Willie Mays' Hayes
06:37Major League was a surprise grand slam for Paramount Pictures and produced two increasingly
06:42terrible sequels.
06:43And while Charlie Sheen's Wild Thing came back for a second round at the mound in Major
06:47League II, there was another standout actor from the first film who refused to run the
06:51bases of this franchise again.
06:53Wesley Snipes, whose charming swagger as the speedy base thief was a home run in the first
06:58movie, had no interest in returning to the dugout for the second movie.
07:02At the time, he was well on his way to becoming a Hollywood MVP in his own right, thanks to
07:06movies like White Men Can't Jump and Demolition Man, so he pretty much priced himself out
07:10of the second movie.
07:11With the Cleveland Indians down a man on their roster, the filmmakers turned to relative
07:15newcomer Omar Epps to sub in as a pinch runner for the project.
07:19Unfortunately, Epps didn't have a strong background in comedy, and his performance was the cinematic
07:24equivalent of a foul ball.
07:25I read some of your reviews, man.
07:27One guy said Willie Mays' Hayes couldn't play dead.
07:30Just a bit outside.
07:32Albus Dumbledore
07:34The Prisoner of Azkaban might still be a favorite among some Harry Potter fans, thanks to the
07:39arrival of Sirius Black and that wild, whomping willow.
07:42But the fact remains that it's the lowest-grossing movie in the franchise, and for many, the
07:47subdued enthusiasm seems to stem from the unfortunate arrival of a new Hogwarts headmaster
07:52in the film.
07:53Richard Harris' take on Albus Dumbledore in the first two movies had become definitive
07:58for Potter fans, so when the actor died after a battle with Hodgkin's disease, the filmmakers
08:02had to turn to another actor to step in to the beloved Professor's cloak.
08:06Michael Gambon seemed like a fine choice to conjure up for the franchise, but his performance
08:11in his first run as Dumbledore was stunted by the fact that he'd never read the books.
08:15Rather than resuming Harris' spellbindingly calm and wise demeanor, Gambon delivered a
08:20much more stern and aggressive version of the character for his first few outings.
08:24How did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?
08:27No, sir.
08:28Did you ask one of the older students to do it for you?
08:30No, sir.
08:31Are you absolutely sure?
08:32Yes, yes.
08:33Gambon would later summon up the same sort of chill pill that saved the role from being
08:37ruined for children across the globe.
08:40But these moments of mismatching between the beloved book character and the screen interpretation
08:44still cost the movies many house points in the eyes of the true Potter fanatics.
08:50Catwoman
08:51Halle Berry taking over Michelle Pfeiffer's role in Catwoman is perhaps the most infamous
08:55example of recasting going terribly wrong.
08:58DC's leather-clad heroine has appeared in numerous Batman adaptations over the years,
09:03but Pfeiffer's psychotically sexy performance in Tim Burton's Batman Returns remains the
09:07cat's meow.
09:08I don't know about you, Miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier.
09:15The actress initially intended to reprise the role in the solo spinoff, but after years
09:19of development woes, her patience reached its limit and she decided to concentrate on
09:23other commitments.
09:25After a rigorous recruiting process, Berry was ultimately chosen to climb into the catsuit,
09:30and what a mess it all was.
09:32The film was a complete disaster, bombing hard at the box office while cleaning up at
09:36the razzies.
09:37Berry took her worst actress win in good humor and even turned up to accept her award in
09:41person.
09:43Batman
09:44Another error in judgment from the Batman universe occurred when Michael Keaton handed
09:48over the keys for Wayne Manor to Val Kilmer.
09:51Keaton had portrayed the role in 1989's Batman and its sequel Batman Returns, but he refused
09:56to reprise the role in a third film after reading the screenplay.
10:00When pressed for details, Keaton later said that the script he was shown sucked, and that
10:04it was just awful, pointing the blame for his departure squarely at the writers.
10:08Val Kilmer clearly didn't share Keaton's opinion.
10:10The Tombstone star accepted the role and went into the film knowing he'd have to contend
10:14with a wide cast of wacky villains as well as a new director.
10:18Joel Schumacher ultimately shouldered a lot of the blame for the badness of Batman Forever,
10:22though his leading man didn't escape criticism.
10:25What am I?
10:28Please!
10:29You're as blind as a bat!
10:33He was quickly replaced with George Clooney in Batman & Robin.
10:36The good news for Kilmer is that Clooney's turn as the Dark Knight wasn't any more love
10:40than his own, and soon everyone forgot about Kilmer's turn in the Batmobile.
10:44Forget it, take it off.
10:48It's Val Kilmer.
10:51Oh, you're an actor.