Hey Steve Zahn fans, you might want to sit down for this one: He’s not in the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid! Thought y’all would like to know before sitting down at the theaters this weekend. In fact, none of his co-stars are back, including main Kid Zachary Gordon, who has grown out the role, which inspires this week’s gallery of 24 major cast replacements throughout history. Movie stars, they’re just like us: completely replaceable!
Michael Keaton didn’t do Batman Forever because the script ‘sucked.’ And when Val Kilmer was asked if he thought he dodged a bullet by not doing Batman & Robin: ‘Duh.’
Harrison Ford replaced Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan from The Hunt for Red October to Patriot Games, a move Baldwin says is due to the machinations of the ‘biggest, lyingest, thievingest scumbags on Earth.’
After playing Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, Edward Norton bristled at the multi-picture commitments of the nascent Marvel Cinematic Universe and was replaced by the game Mark Ruffalo.
Terrence Howard blames Robert Downey Jr. for taking his money and pushing him out, while it’s claimed Jon Favreau did not like working with him. Whatever the reason, Howard was replaced by Don Cheadle as James Rhodes in Iron Man 2 and for every subsequent War Machine appearance.
Katie Holmes reportedly chose not to continue on as Rachel Dawes for The Dark Knight, with Maggie Gyllenhaal in for Gotham District Attorney.
Peter Weller was busy shooting Naked Lunch at the time, so he allowed Robert John Burke to swoop in for Robocop 3. (We’re sure the fact that Robocop 2 sucks also influenced his decision.)
Party of Five kept Lacey Chabert from voicing Griffin family punching bag Meg for more than a dozen Family Guy episodes; every time she’s opened her dumb mouth since, that’s been Mila Kunis’ voice.
Richard Harris passed away a month before the release of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and so stepped in Michael Gambon for the Dumbledore role for the rest of the series.
Rachelle Lefevre played Victoria in the first two Twilight movies before being replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard, a move Lefevre told Access Hollywood left her ‘hurt deeply.’
The Simpsons‘ Dan Castellaneta became the Genie for Return of Jafar after Robin Williams got pissed off that Disney Corp. violated an agreement not to use his voice to sell Aladdin merchandise. Williams was coaxed back into the role for King of Thieves after an apology from Joe Roth and a salary that included a Picasso painting.
It takes guts (with a nice chianti and some fava beans) to take over an Oscar-winning role from Jodie Foster, but Julianne Moore did just that as Clarice Starling for 2001’s Hannibal.
Elizabeth Shue took over the role of Jennifer, Marty McFly’s girlfriend, for the Back to the Future sequels after original actor Claudia Wells took time off to take care of her sick mother. Wells would return to the character decades later by voicing Jennifer for Telltale’s BttF games.
Some more cast replacement chicanery from the BttF crew: Crispin Glover refused to come back for the sequels and so his role was shot with Jeffrey Weissman under heavy prosthetics. Glover successfully sued the producers and permanently altered actors’ image rights there on.
Sandwiched between Julie Newmar and Lee Merriwether, Eartha Kitt was the second Catwoman on the Batman TV series and the second significant TV role for a black actress after Nichelle Nichols as Uhura in Star Trek.
Janet Hubert got in three seasons as Aunt Viv on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before the character was recast with Daphne Maxwell Reid for the rest of the series.
Bewitched‘s Dick York played the lead male member for five years before giving the show the shaft due to health issues, so the network got in touch with another Dick (Sargent).
Patrick Troughton was the first to replace the original Time Lord, William Hartnell, three years into Doctor Who‘s tenure.
First played by Corey Feldman, Tommy Jarvis is the only Friday the 13th character to face off against Jason twice (along with “Jason” in A New Beginning) and live.
Eric’s sister Laurie on That 70s Show was played by Lisa Robin Kelly until she bolted from the show mid-season 3 due to drinking and drugs. Laurie was then played by Christina Moore in the show’s final season, and Kelly passed away from an overdose in 2013.
Wesley Snipes had graduated into the Hollywood elite by the time Major League: Part Deux was ready to go, and in came Omar Epps to pinch hit.
George Lazenby knocked out one performance as Sean Connery’s 007 replacement for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, before Connery returned for one more official go with Diamonds Are Forever.
After a pay and contract dispute that led to a lawsuit against Warner Bros., Marcus Chong was written out of The Matrix (he played Tank) and replaced by Harold Perrineau Jr. in the sequels.
Her? The original joke on Arrested Development was to have George-Michael’s soft-focus girlfriend Egg be played by a different actress every season. They got as far as Alessandra Torresani before permanently settling on Mae Whitman.
Whitman herself was cast out from Independence Day‘s First Family and was replaced by Maika Monroe for Resurgence. Is that why the movie bombed? Word around town is that you DO NOT fünke with Mae Whitman. Ever.
