10 Movie Characters They Couldn't Stop Recasting
8. Tommy Jarvis - Friday The 13th
Tommy Jarvis is one of Friday the 13th series' stalwart heroes - one of the few to actually defeat Jason Voorhees and survive to tell the tale to this very day.
Tommy first appeared in the fourth film, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, as a child, where he was played by Corey Feldman. Tommy instantly became a fan favourite character, and is singled out for even managing to "kill" Jason at movie's end.
Jason of course returned soon enough, though, and in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, the part of a traumatised teenage Tommy was primarily played by John Shepherd, with Feldman making only a brief cameo as a younger Tommy.
But Shepherd turned down an invitation to reprise the role for Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, and so he was recast for a second and to-date final time, with Thom Mathews portraying a more mentally stable, now-adult Tommy.
Since then, Tommy Jarvis has been missing from the franchise despite his esteem among fans. Attempts were made to include him in both Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and 2009's remake, yet neither ultimately came to fruition.
If the legal issues surrounding the rights to the franchise are ever cleared up, though, don't be surprised if Tommy turns up in a reboot, as almost certainly played by yet another actor.