15 Movie Actors Who Were Asked Back For Sequels & Refused

15 Movie Actors Who Were Asked Back For Sequels & Refused

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Summary

  • Actors refusing to return for sequels can lead to characters being written out, recast, or sequels failing.
  • Notable recasts in movie sequels include Katie Holmes in
    The Dark Knight
    and Rachel Weisz in
    The Mummy 3
    .
  • Actors leaving can be due to personal decisions, disputes, script concerns, or not wanting to be part of unnecessary sequels.

Movie sequels have cut main characters from the story when the actor who played that character refused to return for the sequel. Rather than risk a replacement actor failing a major movie franchise, they decided to write the character out with the most serviceable explanation they could muster. However, sometimes the character is too important to the story, and the producers are forced to recast and hope for the best.

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Movie recasts that work are not impossible or even especially rare, but that is not to say they are easy. Actors refusing to return for a sequel puts the movie in a difficult situation, especially when the original actor was a hit with audiences. If the subsequent movie fails, it may be argued that it was because of that actor’s absence. People might also say that the sequel was always unnecessary and the actor in question dodged a bullet by turning down the chance to return — but there are some notable exceptions.

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Hulk-Edward-Norton-Shia-LeBouf-Indiana-Jones Related 10 Movie Actors Who Weren’t Asked To Return For The Sequel

Certain actors were not asked to return for movie sequels because of changes to the story or behind-the-scenes disputes with co-stars and the crew.

15 Katie Holmes As Rachel Dawes

Did Not Return For The Dark Knight (2009)

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The whole situation surrounding Rachel being recast for The Dark Knight was very professional. Katie Holmes said (via Business Insider) that she enjoyed making Batman Begins — in which she plays Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend and love interest — but that she made a personal decision at the time to pursue other projects which she does not regret. Director Christopher Nolan was understanding and lucked out with Maggie Gyllenhaal, another talented actress who bears some resemblance to Holmes. However, it is impossible not to think that Holmes missed out when she turned down The Dark Knight.

14 Tami Stronach As The Childlike Empress

Did Not Return For The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990)

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The NeverEnding Story is not the best fantasy movie but a fun cult classic. However, it wasn’t built to have a sequel. The second movie’s dramatically poor reviews prove that Tami Stronach (or her parents) made the right decision not to return. Stronach explained (via THR) that her parents “[prioritized] [her] having a normal childhood and felt strongly that if [she] wanted to pursue this path, it should be something that [she] chose to do as a young person in [her] 20s.”After her ethereal performance as the Childlike Empress, Stronach became a dancer instead, and now teaches and produces.

13 Keanu Reeves As Jack Traven

Did Not Return For Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)

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The critical and commercial fallout of Speed 2 is all the evidence one needs that Reeves’ concerns were well-founded. This did not stop 20th Century Fox from refusing to work with Reeves for 10 years.

After the smash hit of Speed, then-rising star Keanu Reeves turned down Speed 2: Cruise Control because he didn’t like the script (via PEOPLE). The critical and commercial fallout of Speed 2 is all the evidence one needs that Reeves’ concerns were well-founded. This did not stop 20th Century Fox from refusing to work with Reeves for 10 years. Maybe they thought that Reeves’ absence was part of the reason the movie failed. Meanwhile, Reeves scored the lead role in The Matrix and suddenly became far more famous than any of his previous movies had made him.

12 Geena Davis As Veronica Quaife

Did Not Return For The Fly II (1989)

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Geena Davis was interested in The Fly‘s unmade sequel due to how The Fly II handled her character. Davis and Jeff Goldblum led The Fly to success, with Goldblum’s character Seth dying in the final act while Davis’ character Veronica survives. However, The Fly II was then mostly a disappointment for fans and critics. Davis refused to return due to Veronica dying in childbirth at the beginning of the movie (via Bloody Disgusting). She was replaced by Saffron Henderson for this scene. Davis had her own ideas for a better sequel to The Fly, which never came to fruition.

  • The Fly

    From legendary director David Cronenberg, The Fly tells the story of Seth Brundle, a scientist who, in attempting to create a device that facilitates teleportation, accidentally merges his DNA with that of a fly, and begins to mutate into a human-fly hybrid. The film stars Jeff Goldblum as Brundle, with Geena Davis as Ronnie Quaife, Seth’s partner and love interest. 

  • The Fly II - Poster The Fly II

    The Fly II follows Martin Brundle (Eric Stoltz), the son of scientist Seth Brundle, as he grapples with the genetic mutations inherited from his father. Directed by Chris Walas, this 1989 sequel explores Martin’s accelerated growth and superhuman abilities while he confronts those responsible for his condition. The film continues the themes of transformation and ethics in scientific experimentation introduced in the original 1986 film, The Fly.

11 Bill Murray As Dr. Peter Venkman

Did Not Return For Ghostbusters III (Never Made)

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Bill Murray plays one of the four iconic, original Ghostbusters in the first two movies of the franchise. He would eventually reprise the role of Dr. Peter Venkman as a legacy character in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. With Afterlife technically being the third movie in the franchise (not including the 2016 reboot set in another universe), Ghostbusters 3 took more than 30 years to make. Murray’s hesitance to return always proved to be an obstacle to the continuation of Ghostbusters; he wasn’t sure about doing Ghostbusters II and was more determined not to return for Ghostbusters III.

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Ghostbusters II is the first sequel to the 1984 film starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Harold Ramis. The sequel follows the Ghostbusters as they investigate a river of ectoplasm and battle against a living painting of Vigo the Carpathia. Sigourney Weaver returns for the sequel alongside Rick Moranis and Annie Potts.

Director Ivan Reitman Release Date June 16, 1989 Cast Dan Aykroyd , Bill Murray , Ernie Hudson , Sigourney Weaver , Harold Ramis , Rick Moranis , Annie Potts Runtime 108 Minutes

10 Robert Duvall As Tom Hagen

Did Not Return For The Godfather Part III (1990)

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Robert Duvall plays the adoptive son and attorney of the Corleone family in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. However, he left the series due to pay disputes just in time before the disappointing conclusion to the trilogy. Tom is said to have died in The Godfather Part III and his legal work has been taken over by other characters. Duvall had this to say on his exit (via Far Out): “I said I would work easily if they paid Pacino twice what they paid me, that’s fine. But not three or four times, which is what they did.”

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Ralph Macchio, Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightely Related 10 Actor Exits That Destroyed A Movie Franchise

Not every franchise depends on its actors coming back for every film, but in some cases, when great actors leave, it lessens the series overall.

9 Crispin Glover As George McFly

Did Not Return For Back To The Future Part II (1989)

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Crispin Glover’s feud with Back to the Future after starring in the first installment is infamous in movie history. The reasons for him turning down Back to the Future Part II *before* the rest happened are muddled. Co-writer Bob Gale has long said it was due to Glover not liking the script and demanding more money, which Glover denies (via Collider). Following this, Glover sued the producers of Back to the Future for using his likeness without his permission when they did their best to make Jeffrey Weissman look like his predecessor.

8 Rachel Weisz As Evelyn Carnahan

Did Not Return For The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (2008)

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There are multiple, contradicting reports on why Rachel Weisz did not return for The Mummy 3. Some outlets claimed at the time that she did not want to spend time away from her newborn son. However, it has also been reported that Weisz took issue with the script for The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (via SlashFilm). Meanwhile, Digital Spy reported: “Director Rob Cohen has claimed that Rachel Weisz turned down a role in the third Mummy movie because her character was ‘too old’,” as Evelyn would have an adult son in the movie.

  • The Mummy Returns (2001) PG-13AdventureThrillerActionFantasy Where to Watch
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    A sequel to The Mummy, The Mummy Returns stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as Rick and Evelyn O’Connell. Now married, the O’Connells are once again drawn into a sinister plot surrounding the evil mummy Imhotep, now attempting to gain power over the army of Anubis by killing the legendary Scorpion King. John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, and Oded Fehr also star, and the film marks Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s feature film debut as The Scorpion King. 

    Director Stephen Sommers Release Date May 4, 2001 Cast Arnold Vosloo , John Hannah , Brendan Fraser , Oded Fehr , Rachel Weisz Runtime 130 minutes

  • The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) PG-13ThrillerFantasyActionAdventureHorror

    Rounding out The Mummy trilogy, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor stars Brendan Fraser in his return as Rick O’Connell, with Maria Bello replacing Rachel Weisz as Rick’s wife, Evelyn. Set 13 years after the previous film, the story follows the O’Connells as they are tasked with taking a gem called the Eye of Shangri-La back safely back to China, before being caught up in a plot to resurrect an ancient Chinese mummy called the Dragon Emperor along with their now adult son, Alex. Jet Li, John Hannah, and Michelle Yeoh also star. 

    Director Rob Cohen Release Date August 1, 2008 Cast Brendan Fraser , John Hannah , Jet Li , Michelle Yeoh , Maria Bello Runtime 112 minutes

7 Jodie Foster As Clarice Starling

Did Not Return For Hannibal (2001)

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While Hannibal is based upon the official sequel book to The Silence of the Lambs, it did not manage to re-recruit the two main stars linked to the original landmark horror movie. Regarding why she did not star in Hannibal, Jodie Foster said (via gamesradar.com): “[…] I was doing another movie, Flora Plum […] So I get to say, in a nice, dignified way, that I wasn’t available when that movie was being shot.” Given how iconic Foster’s performance is, it’s mildly surprising they didn’t wait for her to make the movie. Anthony Hopkins returned, this time alongside Julianne Moore.

6 Alan Cumming As Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

Did Not Return For X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

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Nightcrawler does not return in X-Men: The Last Stand because actor Alan Cumming hated the makeup process he went through to get into character (via SlashFilm). The Last Stand was also set to get a new director. X2: X-Men United is possibly the best-received movie of Fox’s first X-Men trilogy, featuring an amazing opening sequence of Nightcrawler infiltrating the White House. Nightcrawler later returned as one of the younger mutants at Charles Xavier’s school in X-Men: Apocalypse, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee. Given what a fan-favorite character Nightcrawler is, he deserved better than to be an inconsistent part of the franchise.

5 Will Ferrell As Buddy The Elf

Did Not Return For Elf 2 (Never Made)

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Luckily, an ill-advised Elf sequel never disrupted the legacy of the original.

It is safe to say that the producers really wanted to capitalize on the Christmas classic they had made by following it up with Elf 2. However, the idea was dead without the lead star on board. Will Ferrell reportedly turned down $29 million to star in Elf 2 because he felt that he could not promote the movie “from an honest place” when he didn’t believe it was good (via Business Insider). Additionally, Ferrell’s co-star James Caan said that Ferrell and director Jon Favreau didn’t get along. Luckily, an ill-advised Elf sequel never disrupted the legacy of the original.

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2003 Christmas comedy classic Elf follows Buddy (Will Ferrell), a human raised among Santa’s elves at the North Pole, when he sets off to New York to find his biological father (James Caan). After learning that children’s book publish Walter Hobbs is his father, Buddy works to immerse himself in human culture – including getting a job in a department store, where he meets and falls in love with fellow “elf” Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). However, when Santa’s sleigh crashes and Christmas is threatened, only Buddy can help save the holidays. 

Director Jon Favreau Release Date November 7, 2003 Cast Will Ferrell , Zooey Deschanel , James Caan , Mary Steenburgen , Edward Asner , Bob Newhart , Daniel Tay Runtime 97 minutes

movie-sequels-that-never-happened-good Related 10 Planned Movie Sequels That Thankfully Never Happened

There have been some brilliant film sequels, but these scrapped ideas could’ve been major disasters, potentially ruining some beloved movies.

4 Julie Andrews As Mary Poppins

Did Not Return For Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

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Legendary actress Julie Andrews was offered the chance to cameo in the legacy sequel Mary Poppins Returns, for which Emily Blunt replaced her as the title character. Andrews turned this down for possibly the most Mary Poppins-reason possible. According to director Rob Marshall (via Variety), Andrews said: “This is Emily’s show and I want her to run with this. She should run with this. This is hers. I don’t want to be on top of that.” They never pitched a specific role to Andrews. However, it would have been fun to see her, Andrews, and Lin-Manuel Miranda on screen together.

3 Marlon Brando As Don Vito Corleone

Did Not Return For The Godfather Part II (1974)

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Delivering another Oscar-winning performance as the same character, Robert De Niro took on the role of a young Vito Corleone, the character originated by Marlon Brando in The Godfather. However, Brando was supposed to return for a brief scene in the sequel, in a flashback closer to Michael’s present (via Far Out). Brando famously didn’t show up the day of the shoot, on bad terms with Paramount Pictures and Francis Ford Coppola, forcing the latter to quickly rewrite the scene without Vito’s physical presence. Brando was allegedly unhappy with his pay for the first movie and not being cast as young Vito himself.

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Francis Ford Coppola directed this 1978 classic that would go on to become one of the most iconic crime films ever made. Starring Marlon Brando, James Caan, and Al Pacino, The Godfather gives a tense and introspective look into the Corleone crime family of New York City.

Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date March 24, 1972 Cast Marlon Brando , Diane Keaton , James Caan , Al Pacino , Robert Duvall Runtime 175 minutes

2 Will Smith As Captain Steven Hiller

Did Not Return For Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

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Independence Day: Resurgence star Vivica A. Fox bluntly attributed the sequel’s disappointing reception to one of the original star’s absence (via Variety): “We had most of the original cast, but I think the one true link that was missing to the success of ‘Independence Day 2’ was that Will Smith wasn’t there.” Smith reportedly did not return as Capt. Steven Hiller due to salary disputes with the producers, while Fox reprised her role as Steven’s wife, Jasmine Hiller. However, given how well the original movie works as a standalone, it might have seen criticism regardless.

1 Linda Hamilton As Sarah Connor

Did Not Return For Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)

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Linda Hamilton reportedly chose not to return for the third Terminator movie because “it didn’t take [her] character in any new directions […] The film is really about turning the baton over to Sarah’s son John” (via Empire). In other interviews, she revealed that when Sarah was a part of the script, she died with “no time to mourn her” midway through the movie (via MTV). Furthermore, Hamilton repeatedly stressed that she didn’t think it would be as good without James Cameron directing. She was definitely right about that and ended up appearing only in the three best Terminator movies.

Source: Business Insider, THR, PEOPLE, Bloody Disgusting, Far Out, Collider, SlashFilm, Digital Spy, gamesradar.com, Variety, Empire, MTV

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