10 Movie Characters Whose Personalities Suddenly Changed In Sequels

A film often deals with fictional people who go on a journey that changes their worldview by the end of the narrative. This is called character development and is a time-tested storytelling trope, but sometimes these individuals change in such jarring ways that it ends up looking like a personality switch.

Movie sequels often tweak things to improve on what worked with their predecessors while changing certain elements that needed some fixing; something that extends to fictional characters. They may have been too underdeveloped or dull in a previous film, and so writers make fixes to make them more endearing. But these changes can be so drastic to the point where these heroes and villains act like completely different people.

Sure, the good version of these consists of decent and competent writing, but when it's bad, these characters end up looking inconsistent and unrecognizable. That's not to say that drastic personality shifts are always a negative. though. Some characters have benefited from this, as you'll read later on, while others have not.

With that said, let's take a look at ten movie characters whose personalities were changed in abrupt ways for sequels.

Henry Cavill's portrayal of Superman has been divisive among comic book fans. Though all can agree that he certainly looked the part, some believe Zack Snyder turned the Man of Steel into a sombre and brooding hero, while others claim it was a good updating of the character.

The latter's common criticism of Big Blue was attempted to be fixed in 2017's Justice League.

Joss Whedon infamously reshot several scenes and attempted to turn Superman into a more traditional rendition of the character as seen in the Christopher Reeve movies. He's pleasant, light-hearted, and is the Boy Scout comic book fans recognize. But by doing this, Kal-El ends up acting way too different from his previous appearances. Of course, it doesn't help that the infamous CGI moustache removal is terrible, and so the character is not only acting differently but looks jarring as well.

Ironically, Whedon's intent was better executed in Zack Snyder's Justice League as Superman's shift in personality is better executed. Clark here is portrayed as a man who has been lifted of his burdens because he finally accepts his calling as a hero. And while the character is more upbeat than in previous versions, it never clashes with the person we saw in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.