10 Major Movie Recastings You Didn't Even Notice
8. Mary Alice As The Oracle (Matrix Revolutions)
When she's not making a delightful batch of cookies, The Oracle serves as a sort of narrator across the original Matrix films.
Depicted as a nice old lady inside The Matrix, The Oracle first appears to aide Neo and his team using her powers of foresight. It is she who prophesises the coming of The One and that Neo will have to sacrifice his life for Morpheus'.
Gloria Foster plays the character in the first Matrix movie and reprised her role for its sequel, The Matrix Reloaded. Unfortunately, before filming could begin for her part in The Matrix Revelations, Foster passed away due to complications with diabetes. She was 67.
In the face of this tragedy, the team behind the movie needed to find a new Oracle and so cast Mary Alice in Foster's place. Alice was an accomplished actor on both big and small screens, even winning an Emmy in 1993 for her work on the TV Show I'll Fly Away.
Sadly, there was no getting round this recasting. Gloria Foster's untimely passing forced the directors' hands, but thankfully they were able to find a replacement who was able to carry the role with the weight it deserved.