One of the biggest last-minute actor replacements that worked out well (that wasn’t mentioned in this video) was the replacement of Stuart Townsend with Viggo Mortensen for the role of Aragorn in the Lord of The Rings trilogy. Townsend was replaced the day before principal photography.
@@journeysands2622, I was an adult myself and I remember kind of being disappointed by the movie really, so much potential and they chose a cheesy way to go about it. Not totally horrible, but the dialog and special effects were pretty bad. But yay Sean Connery right?
Replacing Eric Stoltz with Michael J. Fox in "Back to the future" is probably the best replacement I can think of. Also replacing Lance Henrksen with Arnold Schwarzenegger was a very wise move in "The Terminator".
Fox was cast before Stoltz but couldn't do it because of Family Ties, but when Stoltz didn't work out, the studios managed to work out a way for Fox to take the role and still do his FT work.
Replacing Rachelle Lefevre in Eclipse was an awful recasting decision. Bryce Dallas Howard was so cartoonish; appearance and performance. Rachelle was such a great choice for Victoria and it’s a damn shame they didn’t keep her on.
Agree. I watched the Twilight Saga on DVD not knowing anything about it and the cast change was so "off" that it ruined the series. The cool lethal vibe was gone.
@@writewoodcreations7091 I heard that Bryce Dallas Howard was originally offered the role of Victoria back in 2007, but turned it down. When Rachelle Lafevre was fired three years later, Bryce was again offered the role and accepted it this time based on the popularity of the films and books. This could be true, but it sounds like they’re trying to minimize Rachelle’s contribution by saying that Bryce was the original Victoria after all.
While there are plenty of last minute changes that made movies great, and I LOVE this list, for me, the best change is still *Will Smith dropping out of The Matrix, and Keanu Reaves being cast as NEO instead!*
@@masterexploder9668 Matrix one of the best and Wild Wild West, one of the worst movies that year. That wasn't Will Smith's only poor choice, mind you. He also decided to marry Jada Pinkett. 😂
There are quite a few I'm genuinely surprised you left out of this list: - Michael Biehn in Aliens (replacing James Remar after filming had already started - the back of his head is visible in some scenes) - Viggo Mortensen in Lord of the Rings (replacing Stuart Townsend the day before filming started) - Hugh Jackman in X-Men (replacing Dougray Scott only weeks before filming started) - Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator (replacing Lance Henriksen after he'd had the role throughout development and pre-production)
I had no idea about Viggo Mortenson but I reject the idea that he was better than the actor who was intended. Mortenson is an example of the worst casting of all time. Not only does he not look right for the part of Aragorn (explicitly described as physically unattractive in the book), his performance is wooden and dull in the extreme. Stuart Townsend would have been wrong as well for the same reason that Mortenson was. Tommy Flanagan would have been a solid choice from the big name stars of the time.
@jamesdominguez7685. An actor first considered for the Terminator role was O J Simpson - but the production team could not see Simpson as a cold hearted killer...
It would of had a very different vibe, but I could totally see Lance Henriksen nailing the Terminator role as he's a great actor. I feel he would of had a less physical, but more psychologically menacing take for playing the T-800, more like the T-1000 had in the sequel.
I would include viggo mortensen in lord of the rings who replaced Stuart Townsend. Because I recently rewatched the og trilogy and you can’t deny that viggo was perfect Aragon. And Stuart would have been a good legolas but not Aragon.
I think the title should end on "worked out" not all replacements worked out for the better. Transformers was a success because the main storyline was not the romance, but I don't personally know any fan who has not said the only downside was missing Megan Fox. Something similar in the Twilight replacement, and I have read many comments of people saying they stopped watching the Grindelwald saga after Depp's replacement and I don't doubt the reason future filming has been put on hold is because now that it is clear Amber Heard lied, more fans of Depp are upset with the decision to recast him.
He did an action-adventure movie called High Road to China in 1983 that was basically an unlicensed Indiana Jones knockoff. I remember enjoying it as a kid, but who knows if it was actually any good. :)
@@jamesdominguez7685 It's actually an excellent movie and one of my favorites. I've watched it numerous times over the years (have the DVD), he and Bess Armstrong have great chemistry and the movie is a lot of fun. It's really a forgotten gem. And it's not at all an Indiana Jones knockoff, the story is completely different as his Selleck's character. It's in the same genre; light hearted action movie but that's all.
Maybe, but I'm sure it would be a different sort of India Jones with Tom Selleck and then you could fight which one is better. Fact is Ford did an excellent job, if Selleck in that role had done the same is hard to say. Good actors in the wrong role didn't come out very good. But of course the makers have seen in Selleck something that he could fill that role. At least their choose for Ford didn't ruined that films at all.
Kate Mulgrew taking over from Genevieve Bujold on “Star Trek: Voyager”. A terrific casting change at the last minute, which saved the series and the franchise. 😎
@@crazyman8472half agree with him, I don't think it destroyed the franchise but I cant stand Janeway. She was too indecisive then suddenly overly confident in the start of Voyager so I couldn't watch the rest of it, friends have and said it was good but either the writing/direction/acting choices made her frustrating and difficult to put up with watching personally 🤷♂️
@@crazyman8472 you're right; I was being overly hyperbolic when I suggested that Mulgrew single-handedly ruined the series. She was only 50% of it; I should add that 40% of what ruined the series was Robert Beltran, and 10% was Ethan Phillips.
In casting for Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks first offered the role of The Waco Kid to John Wayne, who turned it down due to it being too blue for his family-friendly image (but said he’d be first in line to see it), and 40’s and 50’s star Dan Dailey was also considered. The role went to Gig Young, but when he collapsed on set from alcohol withdrawal during his first day shooting, Brooks fired him and put in a call to Gene Wilder.
Personally I still prefer Colin Farrell as Grindelwald. Depp is a good actor with a unique style but he doesn't really feel like a Wizarding World character to me. He feels like he's from a different movie than everyone else.
@@CristiNeagu That's a very different perspective to mine and I'm wondering what you enjoyed about Depp in the role. To me he was supposed to be this brilliant charismatic leader and I don't understand why anyone (especially Queenie) would be sucked in by what we saw of him onscreen . But I also like to hear and understand different perspectives.
I agree, Johnny Depp was outstanding as Grindelwald. To me he felt much more dangerous then Mikkelsen, because throughout the whole movie his greatest strength was how he was able to turn people over to his side because of his wit and his ability convince people. Mikkelsens Grindelwald was this really powerful wizard but to me thats far less interesting.
@@Halbarad3019 That was the main issue I had with Depp. The script had him as this brilliant manipulator who could sway people with his words and woo them to his side with intelligence and charm. And I didn't get that from Depp's performance at all. He seemed creepy and weird to me and I don't understand why anyone, especially Queenie would be sucked in by him.
I remember people complaining when the first film replaced Colin Farrell with Depp, as the change of actor was seen as unnecessary, as Farrell had been praised for his role. Besides, Mads Mickelsen is a good actor.
@@bluerisk Depp was the greatest thing in the second movie, which was a bit too confusing in terms of storytelling. Mikkelson played a powerful, but far less seductive Grindelwald.
Yeah although timing wise Bryce worked out for Twilight, that's it. Rachelle embodied Victoria way better, Bryce brought nothing new to admittedly a character that was more interesting in the books but still.
WOW I knew Tom Selleck had been considered for Indy, but had no idea he'd tested with Sean Young as Marion. That casting would not have been bad at all.
The last one about Depp and Warner Brothers, they acted with bias. Depp was accused while there was simultaneous videos of Heard actually being abusive, they dropped him and kept her. He is the bigger name by miles so they wanted to show they were taking abuse allegations seriously whilst not doing so across the board; and subsequently it massively backfired on them as they've cancelled all future fantastic beasts, because the film wasn't financially successful enough to give studio confidence the rest would be worth making
@@Thurgosh_OG yep, that's the double standard I was talking about, but as the DC films are being revised/restarted under James Gunn, Aquaman is likely done with the 2nd film so they'll cut their losses again
I see someone already mentioned Michael J. Fox replacing Eric Stoltz in "Back to the Future", so I'll just bring up the other one I thought of that wasn't mentioned: Geena Davis replacing Debra Winger in "A League of Their Own". It seems Winger objected to casting Madonna in the film and left four weeks before shooting began, after training with the Cubs for three months.
What a shame that you didn;t point out that Judy Garland’s drug and alcohol problems were the direct result of the studio that ‘owned’ her during her teenage years, pumped her full of all kinds of drugs for variousl reasons, ranging from keeping her weight down, to giving her the energy needed to cope with 18-20 hour days of shooting common at the time.
I'm not sure if the 50 Shades franchise is a great example of "Worked Out For The Better". While one can make the argument that the source material was so bad, nothing good could come from it, it's not like the two leads got good reviews either.
Jamie Doornan and Dakota had absolutely no chemistry, but I have a feeling that it wouldn’t have mattered given the material and I personally don’t find Dakota that great of an actress.
Least Hot Take: The Predator Design is like 50% of what makes that movie iconic. The cast is amazing, but if the original design was retained, it would have taken all the wind out of the film's sails.
It's probably worth mentioning that Crispin Glover also left the Back to The Future franchise because of creative differences. He thought that the sequel was promoting the wrong ideals in life. In particular the notion that you can only be successful when you are rich and wealthy.
First, the video states that he was making the half of what his costars were making and he wanted to renegotiate. Nothing about him wanting to be paid the same as costars. Second, after he tried to renegotiate (which is a usual practice and not at all reprehensible) he was basically fined by the studio bosses for even trying to do so, when they reduced his salary even more. Which is violation of employee's rights. So he was in every right to be pissed with them and fight for what's fair. And third, you can be unhappy with the movie theme, it is your right, but you have to be paid fairly for working on it regardless.
@@elbrujo9507 They wanted him gone so did everything they could to make him walk. If they fired him they would probably have had to pay him anyway. Some sources said he didn't like the fact he was a secondary character and wanted more of the spotlight, with the plot more about George than Marty.
@@adelucas4824 Yep, then he shouldn't have been surprised at the backlash. It is fine when an actor give his input to the movie, but only if he is in a leading role and when it makes sense for the movie. Changing a movie for a totally side character to have more screen time is absolutely insane. But to be fair, I don't know with what promises they hired him. But when I see that they tried to literally cloning him in the movie, is see there also a critical problem on the production side.
Stallone actually made the movie from those rewrites. Called it Cobra. Didn't do as well as Beverly Hills Cop but it made $175 million against a $25 million budget.
My favorite example of this is the movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Heath ledger died part way through filming so the scenes he did film were kept and the remaining scenes used several other actors.
Michael J Fox for Eric Stoltz as Marty Mcfly in Back to the Future could have been in this video. There are scenes in Back to the Future showing Stoltz as Marty. By the way, Halle Berry's much maligned (and deservedly so because it was that bad) Catwoman was originally supposed to be a spin off solo movie for Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman from Batman Returns that became something else entirely.
at that point in his career, Stoltz was that kind of 'experimental' method actor who didn't bother to turn the character (McFly) off after Zemeckis yells 'cut', and seemed to rub his fellow actors the wrong way including the crew members alike, for example demanding everyone on set to keep addressing him as Marty in front and as well behind the camera. That style of approach might work for some actors like Daniel Day Lewis or Jared Leto but, Stoltz was not that good of an actor to begin with, which led to his exit just after two weeks of principal shooting, as Spielberg admitted in past interviews stating his sense of humor and timing just didn't fit with the tone of the story. That also reminds me of Terence Howard on the set of Iron Man (2008) when he requested the crew members to come the next work day with name tags on because he had difficulty remembering their names, so ....... the next day they all wore their name tags, and every one of those tags read 'BOB' 😉 Safe to say it worked out well more for the crew than the actor in question, especially for the following sequels.
One mistake, Harrison hadn't;t starred in 3 Str wars films with Lucas when Raiders was being made. Return of the Jedi hadn't been made at that time. However, Ford had been in 3 Lucas films(Star Wars, Empire and American Graffiti).
Crispin Glover isn't telling the whole story. I took a writing class in college with Tom Wilson (Biff from BTTF). He said that Glover was disruptive and sometimes manic on set, sometimes behaved badly, and made much of the cast feel uncomfortable. This was before they were set to film the next movie so at that point Tom was under the impression that all of the original cast would be returning. Sounds like Crispin was asked not to come back because he was simply difficult to work with.
9:50 Judy fired: director abuse pushed her over the edge! Contacted, Susan insisted they pay Judy in full: "She's a star. You don't treat stars like that" - also demanded and got 2x as much.
As a suggestion, I sometimes see loopers vids and the topic looks interesting but I often skip for watchmojo or what culture purely for the fact that there are no audio breaks in between entries. We don’t need a full title card but even just numbering each entry helps me know you’re talking bout a new entry. Lists like these are often good for listening. I “watch” these lists while I’m cooking, cleaning or showering so I don’t SEE when y’all are talking bout something new. Especially seeing as the voice keeps a relatively monotone pace. So it just all seems like it’s running on. Please can you all have the narrator start numbering entries
It is broken up into 'Chapters' which you can in the description at top. Or you can see when it is playing by simply hovering over the time meter, which will then even tell you what that chapter is about. I knew what was coming up simply by hovering over it and seeing what was coming next. As well as knew precisely when the next chapter started.
Being cemented in iconic roles doesn't necessarily imply that the actors who didn't end up in the roles would've been worse. That said, I can't imagine a better fit for Keanu than Neo. At least not until he started playing hilarious versions of "himself," like in Always Be My Maybe
Dumbest thing movie producers did is to refuse pay an actor his desired salary and fire him then use prosthetics to create a likeness of the fired actor and get sued in the process only to lose the case and then have to pay the fired actor huge amount of money.😂😂😂
So, if they were last-minute replacements, and we didn't experience the original actor and only the replacement, how do we know it turned out for the better? We literally have ZERO basis for comparison.
When Johnny Depp was accused of domestic violence, WB had to move fast and ask him to resign from his part as Grindelwald. When the trial proved that Depp wasn't the aggressor, but the victim, did WB move just as fast to ask Amber Heard to resign from her role as Mera Reed in Aquaman 2? Hmm...
Replacing Rachelle for Bryce was a stupid decision. Not that these movies were fantastic, but I watched them for the fact that Rachelle, Peter, Cam and a whole lot of other actors were in them that I do like.
You covered Bryce Dallas Howard for Rachel Lefevre in Twighlight, but left out the most important and potentially impactful replacement for that movie trilogy - the part of Bella was originally offered to Michelle Trachtenberg, but she had to withdraw from the role when Disney wouldn't let her out of her contract for Ice Princess.
bahahahahahahahahahahahaha 50 shades of grey, "worked out for the better". It was a casting change, there's nothing 'good' about 50 shades that could elevate anything about the films to the status of 'better'. Hilarious Looper. Nice one :D
Disagree on the last one. If Secrets of Dumbledore was such a success, why has the entire series stopped? Depp was Grindelwald, nobody liked the recasting and the reasons for it. With Depp fantastic beasts would still be an ongoing franchise.
The Big Bang theory was also full of recasts. The initial Penny was different and there was another nerdy neurotic scientist friend who was cut. As well as recasting Penny, they also added Howard and Raj.
By all accounts, Crispin Glover was far more difficult than that. In a completely unrelated film, "Charlie's Angels 2", Glover refused to speak any dialogue. It's cute that he wants to explore these techniques as an actor, but save it for the stage when a film isn't gambling millions of dollars.
Nicole Kidman ended up having a small voice only role in Panic Room as the ex-husband's girlfriend. She answers the phone when Jodie Foster's character calls him.
That was the worst mispronunciation of Grindelwald lol. Its clear when people are just reading a script someone else wrote without looking into anything themselves.
I find it very hilarious that nobody is talking about Emilia Clarke "refusing a role in 50SOG due to nudity required" when she already exposed herself completely on TV by that point. Several times. The role may have been better written back then, but that ship has sailed, Em.
I recall reading that Harrison Ford was only brought in to feed lines to actors auditioning for Star Wars Episode IV. Lucas had worked with Ford on American Graffiti, so brought him in to help with auditions. I don't think Lucas wanted known actors to be in Star Wars, so initially had not considered Ford for the role of Han Solo.
Claudia Wells left the Back to the Future franchise because her mother had become sick w/cancer and she wanted to stay home and take care of her. So yes she was replaced, but by her own choosing.
I know she got nominated for an Oscar for this role, but I feel like Melissa McCarthy's performance in Can You Ever Forgive Me is still *massively underrated.*
Doesn't feel like all of these worked out for the "better." Maybe just for the "different." I feel like Natalie Portman would have been great in Romeo and Juliet. And I certainly would have rather seen Gosling in The Lovely Bones than Mark Wahlberg attempting to act. Really, I would say the only ones that were clear improvements are Indiana Jones and Axel Foley.
Sandra Bullock in Demolition Man was the perfect choice I think. I can't think of any other actress in that role, she did a fantastic job because she had me and my late wife laughing so many times.
Another one where you completely missed the mark was Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp. Not only was JD kicked off over mere (now proven to be false) allegations; Mikkelsen's replacement caused the entire Fantastic Beast franchise to tank. So how exactly did that "work out for the better"? Depp was a fantastic choice and replacing him with Mikkelsen was a very bad choice. The movie also flopped at the box office so what exactly are you guys trying to pull here? The best choice WB could have made was to wait until the lawsuit was actually over. Now they had paid Depp in full while also having to pay for Mikkelsen and effectively lost a ton of cash as well as the franchise. So yeah, that last bit should have been in a video about "Last-Minute Actor Replacements That Tanked a Franchise". Nothing personal against Mikkelsen by the way. I kinda liked how he portrayed Galen Erso in that one Disney Star Wars movie that didn't completely suck but the studio really should have kept on Depp as they were merely unproven allegations. Meanwhile that same studio was bending over backwards trying to keep Amber Turd in the Aquaman movie long after she had been found guilty of defamation and being the actual abuser. So an innocent JD was immediately fired yet a guilty AH gets to keep going? And some women still have the audacity to claim that men have it better? All it takes is one false allegation and a man's life is ruined; meanwhile women practically can get away with murder with no issues (Did Heard sleep with all the directors and had dirt on all of them or something? Or was sugar-daddy Elon throwing his weight around?). Seriously, Heard should have been kicked off immediately and replaced by Emilia Clarke or something. Now she's the reason two franchises will be ruined.
How you think Depp's replacement "worked out for the best" in Fantastic Beasts, is beyond me. The movie tanked, not least because fans of Depp were appalled at his treatment for alleged offences that were not only unproven but were later found by a court to be entirely fabricated to cover Heard's own abuse of Depp.
Can you think of any other last minute replacements that worked out?
Was that jab against Halle Berry necessary?
None of them. Stallone would never fits as Axel Foley
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings!
Kate Mulgrew replacing Genevieve Bujoli on ST Voyager
How did it work out for the better with Mads replacing Johnny Depp? The movie bombed and the series is now dead.
One of the biggest last-minute actor replacements that worked out well (that wasn’t mentioned in this video) was the replacement of Stuart Townsend with Viggo Mortensen for the role of Aragorn in the Lord of The Rings trilogy. Townsend was replaced the day before principal photography.
Townsend went on to play Dorian Grey in "TLOEG" with Sean Connery
@@caronstout354 I remember liking that movie as a teenager despite it being so hated by the critics.
@@masatoshik870I was a full adult and I'm still baffled by how much hated it got
@@journeysands2622, I was an adult myself and I remember kind of being disappointed by the movie really, so much potential and they chose a cheesy way to go about it. Not totally horrible, but the dialog and special effects were pretty bad. But yay Sean Connery right?
@@JacksonHoulihan Maybe because i watched at home rather in the cinema, but I thought it was okay. And yes, yay Sean Connery.
Replacing Eric Stoltz with Michael J. Fox in "Back to the future" is probably the best replacement I can think of. Also replacing Lance Henrksen with Arnold Schwarzenegger was a very wise move in "The Terminator".
Fox was cast before Stoltz but couldn't do it because of Family Ties, but when Stoltz didn't work out, the studios managed to work out a way for Fox to take the role and still do his FT work.
Replacing Rachelle Lefevre in Eclipse was an awful recasting decision. Bryce Dallas Howard was so cartoonish; appearance and performance. Rachelle was such a great choice for Victoria and it’s a damn shame they didn’t keep her on.
Rachelle would’ve been awesome as Victoria for a third time.
Such an underappreciated actress
Completely agree.
Agree. I watched the Twilight Saga on DVD not knowing anything about it and the cast change was so "off" that it ruined the series. The cool lethal vibe was gone.
@@writewoodcreations7091 I heard that Bryce Dallas Howard was originally offered the role of Victoria back in 2007, but turned it down. When Rachelle Lafevre was fired three years later, Bryce was again offered the role and accepted it this time based on the popularity of the films and books. This could be true, but it sounds like they’re trying to minimize Rachelle’s contribution by saying that Bryce was the original Victoria after all.
While there are plenty of last minute changes that made movies great, and I LOVE this list, for me, the best change is still *Will Smith dropping out of The Matrix, and Keanu Reaves being cast as NEO instead!*
Yeah Will Smith would have ruined the matrix. There wouldn't be any sequels.
Will Smith dropped out of the Matrix to film Wild Wild West instead.
Imagine dropping out of Matrix to film Wild Wild West, oh dear.
Whoah!
@@masterexploder9668 Matrix one of the best and Wild Wild West, one of the worst movies that year. That wasn't Will Smith's only poor choice, mind you. He also decided to marry Jada Pinkett. 😂
There are quite a few I'm genuinely surprised you left out of this list:
- Michael Biehn in Aliens (replacing James Remar after filming had already started - the back of his head is visible in some scenes)
- Viggo Mortensen in Lord of the Rings (replacing Stuart Townsend the day before filming started)
- Hugh Jackman in X-Men (replacing Dougray Scott only weeks before filming started)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator (replacing Lance Henriksen after he'd had the role throughout development and pre-production)
I had no idea about Viggo Mortenson but I reject the idea that he was better than the actor who was intended. Mortenson is an example of the worst casting of all time. Not only does he not look right for the part of Aragorn (explicitly described as physically unattractive in the book), his performance is wooden and dull in the extreme. Stuart Townsend would have been wrong as well for the same reason that Mortenson was. Tommy Flanagan would have been a solid choice from the big name stars of the time.
@jamesdominguez7685. An actor first considered for the Terminator role was O J Simpson - but the production team could not see Simpson as a cold hearted killer...
It would of had a very different vibe, but I could totally see Lance Henriksen nailing the Terminator role as he's a great actor. I feel he would of had a less physical, but more psychologically menacing take for playing the T-800, more like the T-1000 had in the sequel.
I would include viggo mortensen in lord of the rings who replaced Stuart Townsend. Because I recently rewatched the og trilogy and you can’t deny that viggo was perfect Aragon. And Stuart would have been a good legolas but not Aragon.
Some were a great choice, other's not so much. 50 shades would've been terrible regardless
AMEN!!!!!
The books were unreadable, she was a terrible writer, so why should the movies be any better.
Dakota was defiantly a terrible choice.
Jamie Dornan was the subject of a huge #NotMyChristian revolt on Twitter. And rightly so; he was mediocre.
I think Tom Selleck would probably have made an equally good Indiana Jones. A somewhat different Indiana, but not worse than Harrison Ford's Indiana.
I'm not sure anything pertaining to 50 Shades of Grey could be described as good choices.
Bryce Dallas Howard was not at all able to fill Rachelle's shoes as Victoria.
I think the title should end on "worked out" not all replacements worked out for the better.
Transformers was a success because the main storyline was not the romance, but I don't personally know any fan who has not said the only downside was missing Megan Fox. Something similar in the Twilight replacement, and I have read many comments of people saying they stopped watching the Grindelwald saga after Depp's replacement and I don't doubt the reason future filming has been put on hold is because now that it is clear Amber Heard lied, more fans of Depp are upset with the decision to recast him.
Frankly, Indiana Jones may have been just as excellent with Tom Selleck if they'd have given him the time off from Magnum P.I. We'll never know.
He did an action-adventure movie called High Road to China in 1983 that was basically an unlicensed Indiana Jones knockoff. I remember enjoying it as a kid, but who knows if it was actually any good. :)
@@jamesdominguez7685 I re-watch this movie with my mom every few years. Honestly it's been more timeless for us than the Indiana series.
@@jamesdominguez7685 It's actually an excellent movie and one of my favorites. I've watched it numerous times over the years (have the DVD), he and Bess Armstrong have great chemistry and the movie is a lot of fun. It's really a forgotten gem. And it's not at all an Indiana Jones knockoff, the story is completely different as his Selleck's character. It's in the same genre; light hearted action movie but that's all.
Yep.
Maybe, but I'm sure it would be a different sort of India Jones with Tom Selleck and then you could fight which one is better. Fact is Ford did an excellent job, if Selleck in that role had done the same is hard to say. Good actors in the wrong role didn't come out very good. But of course the makers have seen in Selleck something that he could fill that role. At least their choose for Ford didn't ruined that films at all.
Kate Mulgrew taking over from Genevieve Bujold on “Star Trek: Voyager”. A terrific casting change at the last minute, which saved the series and the franchise. 😎
Counterpoint: A horrifically bad casting change that destroyed the series.
@@elimgarak7330 You’re entitled to your opinion; even if it’s crazy. 😵💫
@@crazyman8472half agree with him, I don't think it destroyed the franchise but I cant stand Janeway. She was too indecisive then suddenly overly confident in the start of Voyager so I couldn't watch the rest of it, friends have and said it was good but either the writing/direction/acting choices made her frustrating and difficult to put up with watching personally 🤷♂️
@@andyhutley2857 Well, I liked Janeway, especially Mulgrew’s performance. Bujold just wasn’t a good fit for Star Trek. 👽
@@crazyman8472 you're right; I was being overly hyperbolic when I suggested that Mulgrew single-handedly ruined the series. She was only 50% of it; I should add that 40% of what ruined the series was Robert Beltran, and 10% was Ethan Phillips.
How about Hugh Jackman stepping in as Wolverine a couple of weeks into filming of X-Men?
Whom did he replace?
@@wharfrat7900 Dougray Scott, who was filming the second Mission: Impossible movie.
In casting for Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks first offered the role of The Waco Kid to John Wayne, who turned it down due to it being too blue for his family-friendly image (but said he’d be first in line to see it), and 40’s and 50’s star Dan Dailey was also considered. The role went to Gig Young, but when he collapsed on set from alcohol withdrawal during his first day shooting, Brooks fired him and put in a call to Gene Wilder.
Well that's Leo's thing now lol
first thing I thought when I heard the age gap :D
There is also Sean Bean being brought in when the original actor for Sharpe's Rifles broke his leg. Bean OWNED the part!
I still prefer Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald. Yes Mads Mikkelsen did good as Grindelwald but I still prefer Johnny Depp.
Personally I still prefer Colin Farrell as Grindelwald. Depp is a good actor with a unique style but he doesn't really feel like a Wizarding World character to me. He feels like he's from a different movie than everyone else.
Same.
@@CristiNeagu That's a very different perspective to mine and I'm wondering what you enjoyed about Depp in the role. To me he was supposed to be this brilliant charismatic leader and I don't understand why anyone (especially Queenie) would be sucked in by what we saw of him onscreen . But I also like to hear and understand different perspectives.
I agree, Johnny Depp was outstanding as Grindelwald. To me he felt much more dangerous then Mikkelsen, because throughout the whole movie his greatest strength was how he was able to turn people over to his side because of his wit and his ability convince people. Mikkelsens Grindelwald was this really powerful wizard but to me thats far less interesting.
@@Halbarad3019 That was the main issue I had with Depp. The script had him as this brilliant manipulator who could sway people with his words and woo them to his side with intelligence and charm. And I didn't get that from Depp's performance at all. He seemed creepy and weird to me and I don't understand why anyone, especially Queenie would be sucked in by him.
Dismissing Depp was a huge mistake!!
I remember people complaining when the first film replaced Colin Farrell with Depp, as the change of actor was seen as unnecessary, as Farrell had been praised for his role.
Besides, Mads Mickelsen is a good actor.
@@dhenderson1810 The fact the franchise is dead now says enough
@@VaeVictisVII True, Depp killed it. Only the first one was really good. With Depp it went all downhill and even Mikkelsen couldn't salvage it.
@@bluerisk Depp was the greatest thing in the second movie, which was a bit too confusing in terms of storytelling. Mikkelson played a powerful, but far less seductive Grindelwald.
@@blueriskyour opinion is obviously biased and wrong lol
Yeah although timing wise Bryce worked out for Twilight, that's it. Rachelle embodied Victoria way better, Bryce brought nothing new to admittedly a character that was more interesting in the books but still.
If Natalie Portman had been cast in "Romeo + Juliet" it would have been the last time DiCaprio dated a woman only 7 years younger than him.
WOW I knew Tom Selleck had been considered for Indy, but had no idea he'd tested with Sean Young as Marion. That casting would not have been bad at all.
The last one about Depp and Warner Brothers, they acted with bias. Depp was accused while there was simultaneous videos of Heard actually being abusive, they dropped him and kept her. He is the bigger name by miles so they wanted to show they were taking abuse allegations seriously whilst not doing so across the board; and subsequently it massively backfired on them as they've cancelled all future fantastic beasts, because the film wasn't financially successful enough to give studio confidence the rest would be worth making
And WB still allowed Amber Turd to not only co-star in but continue to be in Aquaman 2 (at all) after all of the court revelations.
@@Thurgosh_OG yep, that's the double standard I was talking about, but as the DC films are being revised/restarted under James Gunn, Aquaman is likely done with the 2nd film so they'll cut their losses again
@andyhutley2857 - another factor - I believe WB still had to pay Depp his fee as he had a play or pay contract.
As great as Ford was as Indy, I think without him in our memories, Selleck would have done a good job too.
no
River Phoenix was originally gonna be jack in Titanic until his tragically untimely death
I see someone already mentioned Michael J. Fox replacing Eric Stoltz in "Back to the Future", so I'll just bring up the other one I thought of that wasn't mentioned: Geena Davis replacing Debra Winger in "A League of Their Own". It seems Winger objected to casting Madonna in the film and left four weeks before shooting began, after training with the Cubs for three months.
No mention of Viggo Mortensen replacing Stuart Townsend as Aragorn?
What a shame that you didn;t point out that Judy Garland’s drug and alcohol problems were the direct result of the studio that ‘owned’ her during her teenage years, pumped her full of all kinds of drugs for variousl reasons, ranging from keeping her weight down, to giving her the energy needed to cope with 18-20 hour days of shooting common at the time.
I'm not sure if the 50 Shades franchise is a great example of "Worked Out For The Better". While one can make the argument that the source material was so bad, nothing good could come from it, it's not like the two leads got good reviews either.
Jamie Doornan and Dakota had absolutely no chemistry, but I have a feeling that it wouldn’t have mattered given the material and I personally don’t find Dakota that great of an actress.
Hugh Jackman for Dougray Scott for X-Men
Don't care who replaced who, but the 50 shades franchise is just a big MEH... with downright problematic themes at times.
Least Hot Take: The Predator Design is like 50% of what makes that movie iconic. The cast is amazing, but if the original design was retained, it would have taken all the wind out of the film's sails.
It's probably worth mentioning that Crispin Glover also left the Back to The Future franchise because of creative differences. He thought that the sequel was promoting the wrong ideals in life. In particular the notion that you can only be successful when you are rich and wealthy.
Funny how he wanted to be paid the same as Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd, yet complains about the theme of being rich makes you successful.
First, the video states that he was making the half of what his costars were making and he wanted to renegotiate. Nothing about him wanting to be paid the same as costars. Second, after he tried to renegotiate (which is a usual practice and not at all reprehensible) he was basically fined by the studio bosses for even trying to do so, when they reduced his salary even more. Which is violation of employee's rights. So he was in every right to be pissed with them and fight for what's fair. And third, you can be unhappy with the movie theme, it is your right, but you have to be paid fairly for working on it regardless.
@@elbrujo9507 They wanted him gone so did everything they could to make him walk. If they fired him they would probably have had to pay him anyway. Some sources said he didn't like the fact he was a secondary character and wanted more of the spotlight, with the plot more about George than Marty.
@@adelucas4824 Yep, then he shouldn't have been surprised at the backlash. It is fine when an actor give his input to the movie, but only if he is in a leading role and when it makes sense for the movie. Changing a movie for a totally side character to have more screen time is absolutely insane. But to be fair, I don't know with what promises they hired him. But when I see that they tried to literally cloning him in the movie, is see there also a critical problem on the production side.
I think Tom Selleck could have been a great Indy too.
Robert Pattinson WOULD have been good as Christian Grey; Fifty Shades Of Grey started its life as a Twilight fan fiction 😁
Stallone actually made the movie from those rewrites. Called it Cobra. Didn't do as well as Beverly Hills Cop but it made $175 million against a $25 million budget.
But it was too dark for 1984, instead of 1986. If Stallone did play Axel Foley, the soundtracks would never get made or take place.
You talk about "Saving private Ryan" while showing footage from "The Specialist".
My favorite example of this is the movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Heath ledger died part way through filming so the scenes he did film were kept and the remaining scenes used several other actors.
Michael J Fox for Eric Stoltz as Marty Mcfly in Back to the Future could have been in this video. There are scenes in Back to the Future showing Stoltz as Marty. By the way, Halle Berry's much maligned (and deservedly so because it was that bad) Catwoman was originally supposed to be a spin off solo movie for Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman from Batman Returns that became something else entirely.
at that point in his career, Stoltz was that kind of 'experimental' method actor who didn't bother to turn the character (McFly) off after Zemeckis yells 'cut', and seemed to rub his fellow actors the wrong way including the crew members alike, for example demanding everyone on set to keep addressing him as Marty in front and as well behind the camera. That style of approach might work for some actors like Daniel Day Lewis or Jared Leto but, Stoltz was not that good of an actor to begin with, which led to his exit just after two weeks of principal shooting, as Spielberg admitted in past interviews stating his sense of humor and timing just didn't fit with the tone of the story. That also reminds me of Terence Howard on the set of Iron Man (2008) when he requested the crew members to come the next work day with name tags on because he had difficulty remembering their names, so ....... the next day they all wore their name tags, and every one of those tags read 'BOB' 😉 Safe to say it worked out well more for the crew than the actor in question, especially for the following sequels.
@@al28854 Howard also wanted paying the same as Robert Downey Jr as he said he was the bigger name
Vigo Mortensen in LoTR gotta be on this list..... He is the iconic Aragorn.
One mistake, Harrison hadn't;t starred in 3 Str wars films with Lucas when Raiders was being made. Return of the Jedi hadn't been made at that time. However, Ford had been in 3 Lucas films(Star Wars, Empire and American Graffiti).
Even though it's a small part as a drag racer and I'm not sure that Harrison was credited at the time of release.
Matthew McConaughey turned down Titanic. Crazy.
But good. Where would he have fit in the world of that movie?
Might have been ok if he was playing the uptight fiance.
Crispin Glover isn't telling the whole story. I took a writing class in college with Tom Wilson (Biff from BTTF). He said that Glover was disruptive and sometimes manic on set, sometimes behaved badly, and made much of the cast feel uncomfortable. This was before they were set to film the next movie so at that point Tom was under the impression that all of the original cast would be returning. Sounds like Crispin was asked not to come back because he was simply difficult to work with.
9:50 Judy fired: director abuse pushed her over the edge! Contacted, Susan insisted they pay Judy in full: "She's a star. You don't treat stars like that" - also demanded and got 2x as much.
She was class act. And very good actress
Trading Gosling for Wahlberg is not "for the better".
Michael J. Fox substituted for Eric Stolts in Back to the Future.
As a suggestion, I sometimes see loopers vids and the topic looks interesting but I often skip for watchmojo or what culture purely for the fact that there are no audio breaks in between entries. We don’t need a full title card but even just numbering each entry helps me know you’re talking bout a new entry. Lists like these are often good for listening. I “watch” these lists while I’m cooking, cleaning or showering so I don’t SEE when y’all are talking bout something new. Especially seeing as the voice keeps a relatively monotone pace. So it just all seems like it’s running on. Please can you all have the narrator start numbering entries
It is broken up into 'Chapters' which you can in the description at top. Or you can see when it is playing by simply hovering over the time meter, which will then even tell you what that chapter is about. I knew what was coming up simply by hovering over it and seeing what was coming next. As well as knew precisely when the next chapter started.
Fight Club came out in 1999.
Michelle P. was absolute kick-ass as Catwoman!
Um, Eddie Murphy had already been launched into movie stardom with 48 Hours and then Trading Places.
Please no retroactive title changes. It was and always will be just “Raiders of the Lost Ark”
yep cause the same outcome would have happened without indy
Being cemented in iconic roles doesn't necessarily imply that the actors who didn't end up in the roles would've been worse. That said, I can't imagine a better fit for Keanu than Neo. At least not until he started playing hilarious versions of "himself," like in Always Be My Maybe
Now I am curious what Tank Girl would've been like in Demolition Man.
Dumbest thing movie producers did is to refuse pay an actor his desired salary and fire him then use prosthetics to create a likeness of the fired actor and get sued in the process only to lose the case and then have to pay the fired actor huge amount of money.😂😂😂
So, if they were last-minute replacements, and we didn't experience the original actor and only the replacement, how do we know it turned out for the better? We literally have ZERO basis for comparison.
Emília Clarke refused 50 shades due to the nudity required... So ironical!!! 😂😂😂😂😂
8:20 "The problematic age gap quickly became apparent."
Leo: "What's the problem?"
When Johnny Depp was accused of domestic violence, WB had to move fast and ask him to resign from his part as Grindelwald. When the trial proved that Depp wasn't the aggressor, but the victim, did WB move just as fast to ask Amber Heard to resign from her role as Mera Reed in Aquaman 2? Hmm...
Replacing Rachelle for Bryce was a stupid decision. Not that these movies were fantastic, but I watched them for the fact that Rachelle, Peter, Cam and a whole lot of other actors were in them that I do like.
14:33 Damn, they re-cast that so well I didn't even notice.
Shameful that the studio's were the cause of Garland's addictions and then exploited it.
"Welp, just have to give this Foster person a shot, i guess. What's she been in?"
You covered Bryce Dallas Howard for Rachel Lefevre in Twighlight, but left out the most important and potentially impactful replacement for that movie trilogy - the part of Bella was originally offered to Michelle Trachtenberg, but she had to withdraw from the role when Disney wouldn't let her out of her contract for Ice Princess.
The author had actually imagined Michelle Trachtenberg for that role.
Tobey Maguire filmed all his scenes? THAT MEANS WE CAN HAVE A TOBEY MAGUIRE Life of Pi? I want to see his version now
bahahahahahahahahahahahaha 50 shades of grey, "worked out for the better". It was a casting change, there's nothing 'good' about 50 shades that could elevate anything about the films to the status of 'better'. Hilarious Looper. Nice one :D
Disagree on the last one. If Secrets of Dumbledore was such a success, why has the entire series stopped? Depp was Grindelwald, nobody liked the recasting and the reasons for it. With Depp fantastic beasts would still be an ongoing franchise.
The Big Bang theory was also full of recasts. The initial Penny was different and there was another nerdy neurotic scientist friend who was cut.
As well as recasting Penny, they also added Howard and Raj.
Paul Dano is an exceptional actor. IMHO, probably the absolute best of his generation.
Claire Daines was GORGEOUS and soooo good in that movie though
The replacement choice for Predator was obviously a good one 👍
By all accounts, Crispin Glover was far more difficult than that. In a completely unrelated film, "Charlie's Angels 2", Glover refused to speak any dialogue. It's cute that he wants to explore these techniques as an actor, but save it for the stage when a film isn't gambling millions of dollars.
Nicole Kidman ended up having a small voice only role in Panic Room as the ex-husband's girlfriend. She answers the phone when Jodie Foster's character calls him.
theres also War Machine from Iron Man 1 that was replaced, and Dulcea from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers the movie who was originally Mariska Hartigay
war machine change was not good i cant stand don, preferred the orginal actor
Terrence Howard was Rhodey in Iron Man 1.
I agree. While the replacement wasn't terrible, the first actor had a lot more charisma and better chemistry with Iron man@@the_ejj
Nothing on Madds...I was looking forward to seeing Depp back in Fantastic Beasts.
That was the worst mispronunciation of Grindelwald lol. Its clear when people are just reading a script someone else wrote without looking into anything themselves.
Leo DiCaprio with a 14 year old Natalie Portman started something there for Leo that would come back to visit when he was older.
What's with the V thumbnail? V for Vendetta wasn't in the video...
I watched the whole thing waiting for that. Should have just checked the timeline.
And it should've been, since that was another great last-minute change -- Hugo Weaving rocked it.
I find it very hilarious that nobody is talking about Emilia Clarke "refusing a role in 50SOG due to nudity required" when she already exposed herself completely on TV by that point. Several times. The role may have been better written back then, but that ship has sailed, Em.
Ed Murphy also turned down Ghostbuster to do Beverly Hill's Cop
I'm sure the age gap between DiCaprio and Portman wasn't a problem for DiCaprio... 🤣🤣🤣
I just can't see Annette Benning in any way has Catwoman
You mention Judy Garland well Dorothy in Wizard of Oz was supposed to be played by Shirley Temple
Shirley was considered, but Judy was the first choice. 😊
Steven Spielberg never prepared to make "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark". He only ever prepared to make "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
can't even imagine Indy not being Harrison Ford!
I recall reading that Harrison Ford was only brought in to feed lines to actors auditioning for Star Wars Episode IV. Lucas had worked with Ford on American Graffiti, so brought him in to help with auditions. I don't think Lucas wanted known actors to be in Star Wars, so initially had not considered Ford for the role of Han Solo.
I always felt Rachel lost out to Bryce Dallas Howard because Bryce knew the films were a hit and asked "daddy" to get her the role.
Claudia Wells left the Back to the Future franchise because her mother had become sick w/cancer and she wanted to stay home and take care of her. So yes she was replaced, but by her own choosing.
Warner Brothers wasn't forced to do anything. They honored allegations over truth and the presumption of innocence.
Hugh Jackman for Dougray Scott - Wolverine
Bryce Dallas Howard was awesome replacement
I know she got nominated for an Oscar for this role, but I feel like Melissa McCarthy's performance in Can You Ever Forgive Me is still *massively underrated.*
8:22 lol
Shrek - John Candy was going to be Shrek before he died, and Mike Myers did the part.
omg imagine 500 shades with Charlie Hunnam
Doesn't feel like all of these worked out for the "better." Maybe just for the "different." I feel like Natalie Portman would have been great in Romeo and Juliet. And I certainly would have rather seen Gosling in The Lovely Bones than Mark Wahlberg attempting to act. Really, I would say the only ones that were clear improvements are Indiana Jones and Axel Foley.
Sandra Bullock in Demolition Man was the perfect choice I think. I can't think of any other actress in that role, she did a fantastic job because she had me and my late wife laughing so many times.
Another one where you completely missed the mark was Mads Mikkelsen replacing Johnny Depp. Not only was JD kicked off over mere (now proven to be false) allegations; Mikkelsen's replacement caused the entire Fantastic Beast franchise to tank. So how exactly did that "work out for the better"?
Depp was a fantastic choice and replacing him with Mikkelsen was a very bad choice. The movie also flopped at the box office so what exactly are you guys trying to pull here? The best choice WB could have made was to wait until the lawsuit was actually over. Now they had paid Depp in full while also having to pay for Mikkelsen and effectively lost a ton of cash as well as the franchise.
So yeah, that last bit should have been in a video about "Last-Minute Actor Replacements That Tanked a Franchise".
Nothing personal against Mikkelsen by the way. I kinda liked how he portrayed Galen Erso in that one Disney Star Wars movie that didn't completely suck but the studio really should have kept on Depp as they were merely unproven allegations. Meanwhile that same studio was bending over backwards trying to keep Amber Turd in the Aquaman movie long after she had been found guilty of defamation and being the actual abuser. So an innocent JD was immediately fired yet a guilty AH gets to keep going? And some women still have the audacity to claim that men have it better? All it takes is one false allegation and a man's life is ruined; meanwhile women practically can get away with murder with no issues (Did Heard sleep with all the directors and had dirt on all of them or something? Or was sugar-daddy Elon throwing his weight around?). Seriously, Heard should have been kicked off immediately and replaced by Emilia Clarke or something. Now she's the reason two franchises will be ruined.
How you think Depp's replacement "worked out for the best" in Fantastic Beasts, is beyond me. The movie tanked, not least because fans of Depp were appalled at his treatment for alleged offences that were not only unproven but were later found by a court to be entirely fabricated to cover Heard's own abuse of Depp.
Michael J Fox for Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future. How could you leave out that one?