Recasting an iconic character can be a near impossible task. Just imagine that in a few years someone other than Robert Downey Jr will be flying in the Iron Man suit, or that some poor chump will have to fill the shoes left after Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Those franchises are real goldmines and since it’s Hollywood we’re talking about, I’m 110% sure they won’t just let it go on a high note. Now, with those two, there are still option like alternate universes, failed clones, and such. But there are certain roles that should have never been recast, as they’ve ruined the entire movie.
1. Robin Williams to Dan Castellaneta (Genie)
To the real Disney fans Genie will always talk in Robin Williams’ voice. The comedic genius, sadly, refused to voice the same Genie in the sequel, so Disney scratched their heads and said “let’s recast the best part of our movie”! And although Dan Castellaneta is a great voice actor, he wasn’t even half as good. The janky animation didn’t help either.
2. Linda Hamilton to Emilia Clarke (Sarah Connor)
I’m extremely happy that the future Terminator movie will star Linda Hamilton, but what the hell were they thinking casting the Mother of Dragons as Sarah Connor? The entire “Terminator Genisys”, or however the hell you spell that piece of work, was by far the worst crapsicle popped out by Hollywood in the recent decade, and recasting Linda made it even worse somehow.
3. Michelle Pfeiffer to Halle Berry (Catwoman)
On the one hand we had Michelle Pfeiffer as a sexy secretary-turned-latex-clad Catwoman, and on the other hand there’s Halle Berry’s… “technically” Catwoman. It’s not even a competition. We could’ve had Pfeiffer instead of Berry, but things didn’t align and Hollywood being Hollywood, decided to get some easy cash. This also killed Halle Berry’s acting career, so thanks a lot.
4. Michael Keaton to Val Kilmer (Batman)
In the 90’s when every Batman movie had a different cast, and there was no such thing as continuity, Michael Keaton refused to reprise his role in the future Batman movies, so they hired, what could’ve probably been the worst option at that time, Val Kilmer. Not only was his performance bad, everyone and their dogs would recognize that jawline with or without the mask.
5. Brandon Routh to Henry Cavill (Superman)
After all the praise that “Superman Returns” got, it seems like Routh would continue playing the Last Son of Krypton. Unfortunately, years went by, and Brandon still kept hoping for that role… Then Zack Snyder waltzed in with his humorless, dark, and gritty vision and ruined the character for good. He didn’t even consider Routh, and went with Cavill, who looks the part for sure, but is so incredibly boring and plain, that I’d rather re-watch the Suicide Squad. Hell, I’d rather join the Suicide Squad than deal with Cavill and Snyder. At least Brandon Routh is playing DC’s Atom on Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, so there’s that.
6. Richard Harris to Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore)
As a muggle who does not appreciate JK Rowling’s fairy tales or movies based on them, I was kinda surprised that there were two Dumbledore actors. People were sad and disappointed when Michael Gambon was cast for the third movie “The Prisoner of Azkaban”. Although he’d played the character in 6 movies, the fans never really got over the loss of Richard Harris, who died of the Hodgkin’s disease. It’s one of those “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situations.
7. Peter Weller to Robert John Burke (RoboCop)
This one’s a bit tricky, but if Batman is allowed then so is RoboCop. As you may know RoboCop almost always wears his iconic helmet and suit, so almost anyone can be inside, right? Wrong! After RoboCop 2 Peter Weller, the OG Murphy, said he was out, so it was time to look for a replacement. Nothing was particularly wrong with his face or performance, he just was a poor imitation of Peter Weller.
