TVAndMovies
15 Movie Characters Who Disappeared Or Were Recast For Sequels, But It Wasn't Super Subtle
15 Movie Characters Who Disappeared Or Were Recast For Sequels, But It Wasn’t Super Subtle
Denis Villeneuve said one of the hardest things when making Dune: Part Two was having to make the decision to cut Thufir Hawat’s scenes. So, he simply just disappears after Dune.
There are obviously spoilers ahead for several movies.
1. First, after starring as Michael Moscovitz in The Princess Diaries, Robert Schwartzman didn’t appear in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, despite Michael being Mia’s main love interest in the first movie and the books. The sequel briefly explained that Michael was out on tour with his band, hence his absence.
2. In Dune, Stephen McKinley Henderson stars as Thufir Hawat, the Mentat for House Atreides. The character plays an important role in the first movie, as well as the book by Frank Herbert. However, Thufir is absent from Dune: Part Two and isn’t mentioned. Director and writer Denis Villeneuve said cutting Thufir from the sequel was “one of the most painful choices” he had to make.
3. After starring as Evelyn Carnahan in the first two movies in The Mummy franchise, Rachel Weisz was replaced by Maria Bello for the final movie, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. At the time, Digital Spy alleged that director Rob Cohen said, “I got a very angry phone call from her agent, saying she’ll never play the mother of a 21-year-old. I said, ‘OK, good, fine, bye.'”
4. Emma Fuhrmann played a teenage version of Cassie Lang, Scott’s daughter, in Avengers: Endgame. However, when Cassie returned in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Emma was replaced by Kathryn Newton.
5. After starring as James “Rhodey” Rhodes in Iron Man, Terrence Howard was replaced by Don Cheadle, starting with Iron Man 2. Don went on to portray the character in all subsequent Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. At the time, there were reports that Terrence was difficult to work with on set, and producers were reportedly “unhappy” with his performance.
6. In 1994, Keanu Reeves starred as Jack Traven in Speed alongside Sandra Bullock as Annie Porter. It was a commercial success and won two Academy Awards; however, when it came time for Speed 2: Cruise Control, Keanu didn’t return. The sequel explains Jack’s absence by saying Jack and Annie broke up.
7. Angela Bassett starred in Mission: Impossible – Fallout as Erika Sloane, the CIA director who has her suspicions about Ethan Hunt and the IMF. While her character plays a huge role in this movie, Angela is absent from the following film, Dead Reckoning.
8. Similarly, Jeremy Renner starred as William Brandt in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation; however, his character was absent in the following films. Recently, Jeremy explained he stepped away from the franchise in order to focus on his family.
9. Rachelle Lefevre starred as Victoria Sutherland in the first two Twilight movies in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Then, for the third installment, Rachelle was recast and Bryce Dallas Howard took over the role. At the time, Rachelle said she was “stunned” by the decision to recast her.
10. After starring as Ali Mills in The Karate Kid, Elisabeth Shue didn’t appear in the sequel, The Karate Kid Part II, or the subsequent films. Ralph Macchio explained how he now regrets how he handled Elisabeth not being part of the sequel. He said, “I didn’t even realize it until I was writing that chapter [in his book] — I would’ve handled it totally differently now. When that character was written off, I would’ve picked up the phone.”
11. In The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Vince Vaughn starred as Nick Van Owen, a documentarian who accompanies Malcolm on an expedition to Isla Sorna. But, during the movie, he simply disappears after they escape the island, and he never appears in another Jurassic Park movie.
12. In 2005, Katie Holmes notably starred as Rachel Dawes in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. But then, Katie stepped away from the role and was replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight. Before taking over the role, Maggie contacted Katie to make sure she “had her blessing.”
13. After starring as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs, a role that won her an Academy Award, Jodie Foster declined to return for the sequel, Hannibal, in 2001. Instead, Julianne Moore replaced Jodie and appeared alongside Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
14. Laurence Fishburne notably starred as Morpheus in three of The Matrix movies; however, when the series came back for the long-awaited film The Matrix Resurrections in 2021, Laurence was absent. Instead, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played an AI based on Morpheus in the fourth movie.
15. And finally, Rachel Covey starred as the adorable Morgan, Robert’s daughter, in Enchanted. However, when the movie finally received a long-awaited spinoff in 2022, Gabriella Baldacchino played Morgan, who was now 16 years old.
