10 Awesome Movie Characters Everybody Forgot Was Recast
4. Raiden - Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
When Mortal Kombat made its way to theaters with one of the best opening musical sequences of all time, fans of the video game were pretty happy. The movie wasn't all that great, but the musical score made up for the cheesy dialogue and strange casting of Raiden.
That's not to say Christopher Lambert was bad in the role, but it was strange to see a French actor portray a Japanese character. Granted, he was in Highlander with a Scottish actor playing an Egyptian, so audiences let it pass. Lambert's Raiden was a decent character thanks to Lambert's charming presence, but he wouldn't keep the role for long.
When it came time to make another film in the series, Raiden took on a slightly different look thanks to being played by James Remar. Lambert was available to reprise his role, but he opted not to for a good reason: he didn't like the script.
I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t think the script was very good. I didn’t like it. I liked the first one”
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation wasn't a great movie, and while it would have been fun to watch Lambert reprise his role, Remar did an outstanding job. The script truly was the fatality that ruined this movie for a lot of fans.