10 Actors Who Refused To Return For Sequels To Acclaimed Films
2. Robin Williams - Aladdin: The Return Of Jafar
It doesn't matter if your film goes on to be a box office smash hit and garners praise from critics and fans alike, if you p*ss off your main attraction they aren't going to be in a rush to come back for the sequel.
Robin Williams was happy to take on the role of the Genie in Disney's animated family adventure Aladdin (1992) for less money than he usually demanded. However, he would only agree to do after the studio swore to keep his name and voice away from any of the promotional material, so the film wouldn't directly compete with another feature he had coming out around the same time - Toys (1992).
Quickly going back on their word, Disney used Williams' voice heavily in the marketing for Aladdin and pushed his now iconic performance as the Genie as one of the movie's main attractions. This understandably annoyed the star and led to him outright refusing to return for the direct-to-video sequel Aladdin: The Return of Jafar (1994).
The story had a happy ending for Williams, however, as the acting legend finally agreed to return to the role for Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) after accepting an apology from Walt Disney Chairman Joe Roth.