10 Insane Reasons Actors Didn’t Return for Sequels

Sequels can be a tough business. They tend to be at the forefront of everyone's mind as soon as a film sees success, and yet many of them fail to live up to the expectations set. For example, Joker: Folie à Deux is the latest in a long line of underwhelming sequels that probably shouldn't have happened in the first place.

There's a tough line to balance in producing a follow-up film, between showing something new enough to keep audiences interested while not straying too far as to feel completely disconnected from what came before.

As a consensus, one thing that should typically stay the same would be the cast, right? If there is more of the story to tell revolving around the same characters, it would be fair to expect the same faces to portray them. However, this doesn't always happen, and characters are either recast or left out of the thing entirely.

This could come down to fairly mundane reasons like schedule conflicts and such, but there can also be some more unexpected twists behind the scenes. Lies, drugs, industry politics, and even a star comparing their director to Hitler have all resulted in actors stepping away from their roles.

There are certain superheroes that have become synonymous with certain actors when it comes to live-action portrayals. Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man. Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. Tom Hiddleston is Loki. At the other end of the spectrum, however, there have been seven men to bring Batman to life on the big screen, beginning with Lewis Wilson back in 1943.

Five decades later in 1995's Batman Forever, Val Kilmer took the cowl from Michael Keaton as Tim Burton was replaced in the director's chair by Joel Schumacher. While Schumacher went on to produce the critically panned Batman and Robin, Kilmer himself was replaced after just one turn as Bruce Wayne.

In recent years there have been multiple big-name actors, including Winston Duke, Alan Ritchson, and Jensen Ackles clamouring to be the next Batman, but the life was not for Kilmer, something that was driven home when Warren Buffet and his grandchildren stopped by the set.

Despite the role of Batman helping solidify the actor as one of the biggest names in the business at the time, according to the man himself, no one paid much notice to him. The children's attention was with the Batmobile rather than Batman, leaving him feeling completely invisible, expendable, and happy to see the job go to someone else for Batman and Robin two years later.