10 Actors Who Almost Starred In 2017's Biggest Movies

Kong: Skull Island proved to be a rather divisive film, though you can't deny its impressive box office haul: the blockbuster pulled in over $566 million on a budget of $180 million this year, which made for some very happy executives.

The cast list, which includes Tom Hiddleston, John C. Reilly, Brie Larson, Sam Jackson, and John Goodman, is pretty top notch, but it almost worked out differently. That's to say, both Michael Keaton and J.K. Simmons - two immensely talented and highly watchable actors - originally signed on to star in this crazy reboot, only to eventually leave the production on account of - you guessed it - "scheduling conflicts."

In the end, it was Jackson who filled in for Simmons, playing Preston Packard, a determined US Army Colonel who leads the expedition, whilst Reilly stepped in to Keaton's abandoned shoes as one Hank Marlow, a US Army Lieutenant who has been stranded on the island of the title for almost 30 years.

Would It Have Been Any Good?

Silly question, really. Obviously Keaton and Simmons would have brought their inimitable genius to these roles. Had it been the other way round, though, and Jackson and Reilly had been the ones who'd left due to scheduling conflicts, we'd almost certainly be saying the same thing - all these people are awesome!