10 Iconic Movie Characters Weirdly REPLACED In Movie Sequels

Basically any movie that makes a killing at the box office is destined to get a sequel, with very few exceptions - looking at you, Inception - and it's obviously expected that characters which make an impact with audiences will return for more.

This doesn't always happen, though, for myriad reasons: perhaps the production gave the actor a low-ball offer to return, or the actor wasn't happy with the script. In less adversarial terms, perhaps the writers simply decide to go in another direction.

Whatever the reason, these 10 iconic movie characters were all unexpectedly subbed out for sequels and replaced in extremely peculiar fashion.

Whether their replacement was a laughably inferior attempt to recapture the original character's magic or a lazy effort to reboot the character outright, their sheer presence was distracting and odd.

In some cases the replacement basically worked regardless, while in others it may have actually helped sink the entire movie.

Whether for better or worse, these filmmakers dealt with some of their most beloved and memorable characters in totally baffling fashion, more often than not leaving fans scratching their heads...

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a practically perfect movie from its writing to its direction and casting.

As impossible as it is to imagine anyone but Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones, it's equally tough to picture somebody other than Karen Allen in the role of Indy's spunky love interest Marion Ravenwood.

Their dynamic in Raiders was absolute dynamite, and so there was little doubt among fans that Marion would be returning for the inevitable sequel.

And indeed, director Steven Spielberg originally intended to bring Marion back for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, with a plot said to be focused around Marion's archaeologist father Abner who was briefly mentioned in Raiders.

Yet it was ultimately decided between Spielberg and George Lucas that it'd be more fun for Indy to have a different female companion in each movie, mirroring the James Bond franchise's revolving door policy to 007's love interests.

Temple of Doom was written as a prequel set a year prior to Raiders in order to avoid having to use Nazis as villains again, while also ensuring it wouldn't make any logical sense for the estranged Marion to appear.

But even so, many were taken aback when Marion's replacement turned out to be Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), an almost polar opposite character in terms of appearance and personality.

With her platinum blonde feathered 'do, penchant for fancy clothes, distaste for dirt, and generally shrill demeanour, she couldn't have been much more different than Marion, which was absolutely the point.

It was still incredibly jarring for fans, though: Marion was so beloved by comparison, and the idea of shuffling her out for a character near-universally regarded as inferior seemed totally unnecessary, as did the film's general placement as a prequel.

Marion did finally return for a small role in the fourth film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, at least.