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Mads Mikkelsen should've played Grindelwald from the very beginning.
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00:00One of the key things filmmakers absolutely hate doing above almost anything else is
00:05having to recast an actor for a sequel. Even when the casting fundamentally works
00:10Audiences generally hate change and will endlessly compare the new actor to the prior portrait
00:15trail. And while there are certainly many examples where recasting doesn't quite fit
00:20or is clearly inferior to what came before, there are also those rare winning cases.
00:25Where the recast ends up improving the new movie. So with that in mind then I'm Ellie with
00:30pop culture and here are 10 actor replacements that actually improved movies.
00:35Number 10 Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight
00:40In Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, the role of Bruce Wayne's primary love interest Rachel Dawes
00:45was played by Katie Holmes. Holmes is totally fine performance nevertheless.
00:50He flies into the periphery while up against top shelf work from the likes of Christian Bale,
00:55Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy and Morgan Freeman. Holmes opted
01:00not to return for sequel The Dark Knight however preferring instead to shoot the crime comedy Mad
01:05with one of her idols Diane Keaton, a film unfortunately which bombed both critically
01:10and commercially. Holmes was ultimately replaced with Maggie Gyllenhaal for The Dark Knight
01:15and while Holmes is far from an incapable actress, Gyllenhaal was just a much better fit for this case.
01:20Holmes was a character in every fibre of her being. Holmes seemed a little too young and fresh face to
01:25be fully convinced as Gotham's assistant district attorney while Gyllenhaal carried herself with an inherent
01:30apparently more mature and sophisticated air. This is evident from the first time we see Gyllenhaal
01:35new take on Rachel and to boot she also has far more persuasive chemistry with
01:40Christian Bale than Holmes ever did. The series would have been absolutely fine if Holmes stayed on
01:45board but Gyllenhaal probably should have been cast in the part from the very beginning.
01:49Number 9
01:50Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth in X-Men Origins Wolverine.
01:55Iconic X-Men villain Sabretooth made his first cinematic appearance in 2000's
02:00X-Men where he was played by professional wrestler turned actor Tyler Mayne. There's no
02:05denying that Mayne brings a heft and physicality to the part though his Sabretooth isn't much more than a
02:10hulking brute, a blunt object who tussles with Wolverine and ultimately gets disposed of a little too
02:15easily. In 2009's prequel film X-Men Origins Wolverine
02:20a younger Sabretooth is portrayed by the great Liev Schreiber who while lacking Mayne's
02:25massive stature is nevertheless a lithe force of nature in his own right and
02:30one who matches it with his sheer charisma. Schreiber gets far more of an opportunity to crack
02:35wise and show off his easy chemistry with Jackman's Logan. Mayne did the best with what he had
02:40but Schreiber took the character to another more entertaining and nuanced direction that Mayne
02:45hardly an actor of Schreiber's caliber would have struggled to.
02:488. Don
02:5014. Don
02:5514. Don
02:5614. Don
02:5915.
03:01Don
03:0716. You
02:55Iron Man, the role of Tony Stark's good pal James Rhodey Rhodes was played by Terence Howard.
03:00Howard, a recent Oscar nominee at the time, commanded the highest salary on...
03:05...in the entire set, far more than even Robert Downey Jr., but was reportedly offered less...
03:10...money to return for Iron Man 2, prompting him to bulk and be replaced by Don Cheadle.
03:15Terence Howard's acting skill certainly isn't in doubt here, and he did a solid job as...
03:20...in the first Iron Man, but Don Cheadle's more affable and gently sarcastic demeanor...
03:25...instantly made him much easier for the audience to warm to.
03:28Cheadle really helped take...
03:30...the roadie-Tony dynamic to the next level, and it's difficult to picture Howard bringing quite the...
03:35...same to a deceptively tricky role, a part that requires the actor to be both stern and...
03:40...likeable. As with the Katie Holmes Batman situation, there's no way Howard would have...
03:45...plunk Iron Man 2, but one suspects roadie wouldn't be nearly as well regarded by fans had...
03:50...but Cheadle not taken over.
03:52Number 7, Moira Kelly as Donna Haywood...
03:55...in Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me. Donna Haywood was a significant character...
04:00...in David Lynch's series Twin Peaks, though also one of its more divisive major players.
04:05...in part because Lara Flynn Boyle's performance as Laura Palmer's troubled best friend...
04:10...and split audiences right down the middle. When Boyle couldn't return for the 1992...
04:15...prequel film Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me due to scheduling conflicts, she was replaced with...
04:20...Moyra Kelly, who many fans maintain gave a far more vibrant and persuasive performance...
04:25...in a single film than Boyle did across 30 episodes of the show.
04:30Granted, the two actresses are in many respects playing two starkly different versions of the...
04:35...same person on separate sides of a traumatic, life-changing event, but even so...
04:40...Kelly's portrayal feels more well thought out, while Boyle's is more skittish and ultimately...
04:45...irritating. Kelly had the advantage of only performing the part for a comparatively short...
04:50...time, while most fans agree that Donna's characterisation veers off a cliff in the show...
04:55...the 22nd season and Boyle's performance with it.
04:58Number 6. Antonio Bandera
05:00The actresses as El Mariachi in Desperado. The curious case of El Mariachi...
05:05...might well be the biggest no-brainer on this list. In Robert Rodriguez's 1992...
05:10...featured debut El Mariachi, the part of the title character was portrayed by Rodriguez's...
05:15...and co-producer Carlos Galado, who had scarcely little acting experience...
05:20...prior to taking the role and likely played it himself in order to keep the budget down. After the film...
05:25...became an indie hit, Rodriguez was approached to make a sequel and soon enough came up with Desperado...
05:30...however, now armed with a larger budget and having to answer to major Hollywood studios...
05:35...Rodriguez had Galado replaced in the lead role by a more recognisable actor...
05:40...Antonio Banderas, while Galado remained on board as a co-producer. It was a...
05:45...certainly the right call. 99.8% of the people alive today couldn't compete with Bandera...
05:50...Rodriguez's rugged handsomeness and infectious charisma, so it's difficult to argue with the...
05:55...replacement of Galado, who, all things considered, did a totally respectable job in El Mariachi.
06:00But when you're presented with a studio budget and all the resources to make a bigger, more...
06:05...successful movie, you'd be silly not to play ball. Rodriguez did and Desperado...
06:10...was a massive commercial success, enough that Rodriguez, Banderas and Galado all...
06:15...returned for the again successful 2003 sequel, Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
06:20Number 5. Carol Kane as Grandmama Adams in Adam's Family...
06:25...Values. This is a piece of recasting subtle enough that more casual fans of the...
06:30...Adams Family movies might not even notice. In Barry Sonnenfeld's original 1999...
06:35...Film Grandmama Adams was played by the late Judith Molina in a relatively small...
06:40...reporting role. For 1993's sequel, Adam's Family Values, however, Sonnenfeld...
06:45...replace Molina with Oscar nominee Carol Kane. Beyond the fact that Kane was given far more...
06:50...memorable dialogue to work with, Kane's more expressive, over-the-top rendition of Grandmama...
06:55...simply left Molina's more subdued version in the dust. Sonnenfeld had...
07:00...never stated publicly why he decided to recast the part. Though given that Kane is a whole 20...
07:05...6 years younger than Molina, it's entirely possible he wanted an actor who could more easily bring a...
07:10...lively physicality and vibrancy to the part. Number four, Kane...
07:15...in order as Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th, Part 7, The New Blood.
07:20Friday the 13th's iconic serial killer Jason Voorhees has been played by 10...
07:25...different actors over the years. Though there's undeniably one who is far and away the most...
07:30...closely associated with the role, and also the best. Friday the 13th, Part 3 is where...
07:35...the classic hockey mask-wearing Jason we all know and love came into being.
07:40...as played by Richard Brooker, before the part was taken over by Ted White, Tom Morgan and...
07:45...DJ Graham in each of the next three films. For Friday the 13th, Part 7, The New...
07:50...Blood however, Kane Hodder took the role of Jason and categorically made it his own through...
07:55...intensely intimidating, wordless performance. Hodder brought a subtle physicality...
08:00...to Jason, which implied a lot without actually saying anything. Enough that Hodder became a distinct...
08:05...fan favourite and returned to play Jason in the series 8th, 9th and 10th entries.
08:10More than any other actor. While each Jason performer has in some fashion put their own...
08:15...sly stamp on the character, Hodder quickly established himself as the definitive portrayal...
08:20...of Jason. Number 3, Patton Oswalt as Max in The Secret Life of Pet...
08:25...Illuminations 2016 smash hit animated comedy...
08:30...and The Secret Life of Pet starred Louis CK as Max, our Jack Russell Terrier protagonist.
08:35CK was widely expected to return in the role for the sequel but was dropped after being...
08:40...accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in late 2017.
08:45...and ultimately being replaced with Patton Oswalt.
08:47Beyond the fact that Universal effectively had to recalve...
08:50...the role in order to avoid a massive PR headache...
08:53...they actually settled on a much better...
08:55...suited actor for the part anyway. CK's deadpan even hangdog...
09:00...pardon the pun, vocal delivery really doesn't measure up to Oswalt's more expressive joe...
09:05...of your voice when it comes to casting the protagonist of an animated movie...
09:08...who needs to appeal to kids.
09:10Even though Max is supposed to have a bit of an edge to him as a character, CK always...
09:15...felt a bit miscast in the role, even if it clearly didn't hurt the box office bottom line.
09:20The original made $875.5 million worldwide.
09:25And though the sequel didn't crack even half that number, Oswalt makes Max a far more endearing character...
09:30...kids and adults alike will actually want to spend 90 minutes with.
09:34Number 2
09:35Mads Mikkelsen as Galert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts The Secret of Dumbledore...
09:40...the world was left with their jaws on the floor when Johnny Depp made a surprise...
09:45...cameo appearance at the end of the first Fantastic Beasts film, revealing himself to be the...
09:50...the true visage of the evil dark wizard Galert Grindelwald.
09:54Though many lamented...
09:55...that Colin Farrell, who played Grindelwald disguised as Percival Graves, didn't simply play Grindelwald...
10:00...or so, some fans nevertheless warmed to Depp's full-on portrayal in the otherwise highly...
10:05...divisive sequel, The Crimes of Grindelwald.
10:07But the franchise was thrown into a tail...
10:10...spin, when mere days into shooting his role in 3quel The Secrets of Dumbledore...
10:14...depp...
10:15Shep was asked to resign after losing a libel case against a newspaper that characterised
10:19him as a crime.
10:20Mads Mikkelsen was swiftly subbed in to take over the part.
10:25While The Secrets of Dumbledore was ultimately a mixed bag of a movie, critics were near
10:29you.
10:30But Mikkelsen's more mannered, menacing and less campy performance
10:35in the role was considerably more effective.
10:38Number 1, Felicia Rashad.
10:40As Mary-Anne Creed in Creed.
10:42Throughout the Rocky franchise, Apollo Creed's
10:45wife Mary-Anne has appeared five times, first in the original Rocky as played by
10:50Lavelle Roby and then by the late Sylvia Means in Rocky 2 and 4.
10:55Although Roby and Mills did fine enough work with what they had, neither of their Mary-Annes
10:58had much dimension at all.
11:00all as characters and so there was only so much they could do with the part.
11:04But Mary-Anne was given...
11:05...a significantly greater bite when she reappeared in both Creed movies and also its upcoming
11:10sequel as now played by Tony Award winner Felicia Rashad.
11:15Rashad...
11:15That brings soul and dignity to the fore as the adoptive mother of Apollo's son, Donnie.
11:20Serving as an indispensable well of wisdom, even when Donnie doesn't heed her advice.
11:25Instantly sympathetic as a concerned parent and further elevated by Rashad's author...
11:30...compassionate performance, this is a textbook example of a brilliant recast...
11:35...that worked in perfect tandem with superior writing.
11:38And that concludes our listening...
11:40If you can think of any other examples then do let us know in the comments below and while
11:44you're there don't forget to like...
11:45...and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
11:47Also head over to Twitter and follow us there and I can...
11:50...can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
11:53I've been Ellie with Watco...
11:55...I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real soon.
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