10 Actors Who Refused To Return For Sequels To Acclaimed Films

10. Katie Holmes - The Dark Knight

Not every piece of forced recasting immediately pisses off a franchise's fanbase.

In fact, there's an argument to be made that Maggie Gyllenhaal's portrayal of Rachel Dawes in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008) was something of an improvement on Katie Holmes version of the role which was seen in Batman Begins (2005).

Yet, it's still not exactly clear why Holmes decided to back out of the sequel to the critically adored first entry in Nolan's epic trilogy.

When The Dark Knight finally hit screens, the Dawson's Creek star simply stated, 'I had a great experience working with Chris Nolan (and) I'm sure it's going to be a great movie.' Instead of sharing scenes with Heath Ledger's iconic Joker, Holmes chose to appear in Mad Money (2008) with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah. The comedy would go on to earn $26.4 million at the box office, while the second Batman feature in Nolan's series earned widespread acclaim and $1.005 billion worldwide.

Holmes later admitted it 'was a decision that (she) made at that time and it was right for (her) at that moment', but you have to think she kicked herself once arguably the greatest comic book movie of all time changed the game forever.