12 cases when replacing an actor in movie sequels did not work out (13 photos)

Let's look at cases where recasts of actors for the roles of famous characters did not suit the audience, and this is also why the films received low ratings.





Replacing actors in cases where film franchises drag on for decades is common and inevitable. The exploitation of characters and stories must continue as long as they make money (Hollywood law), and actors tend to age, thereby ceasing to be suitable for the role of their heroes.

Replacements can be quite successful, but putting another actor in the position of a character who is deeply embedded in pop culture, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Terminator,” is difficult, regardless of the coolness and talent of the replacement.

In general, sequels and especially reboots of films usually have many other problems besides the choice of people for roles, starting with the plot and ending with the atmosphere, but still it is the actors who are the face of the whole picture.

Hellboy



Replacing Ron Perlman with David Harbor in Hellboy (2019).

Agent Smith





Replacing Hugo Weaving with Jonathan Groff in The Matrix: Resurrection (2021).

Frankenstein's monster



Replacing Boris Karloff with Lon Chaney Jr. in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). Karloff had previously played the monster in three films.

Hercule Poirot



Replacing David Suchet with Kenneth Branagh in Murder on the Orient Express (2017). Suchet is known for playing the detective in the TV series Poirot (1989-2013).

Pinhead



Replacing Doug Bradley with Stefan Smith Collins in Hellraiser 9 (2011).

Raiden



Replacing Christopher Lambert with James Remar in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997).

Norman Bates



Replacing Anthony Perkins with Vince Vaughns in the 1998 remake of the thriller Psycho.

Paul and Peter



Replacing Arno Frisch and Frank Geering with Michael Pitt and Brady Corbett in the 2007 auto remake of Michael Haneke's thriller Funny Games. The director remade his own film in German, released in 1997.

Béatrice Goulard de Montmirail/ Frenegonde de Puy



Replacing Valérie Lemercier with Muriel Robin in Aliens 2: Corridors of Time (1998).

Jean Gray



Replacing Famke Janssen with Sophie Turner in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019).

Batman/Bruce Wayne



Replacing Michael Keaton with Val Kilmer in Batman Forever (1995).

Later, Kilmer himself will be replaced by another equally famous actor, and the film released with him will turn out to be even more of a failure.

Bonus: Daniel and Emilien



Replacing Sami Naceri and Frederic Diefenthal with Malik Benthalch and Frank Gastambide in the film Taxi 5 (2018). Along with the actors, the characters were also updated.