10 Movies That Were Almost Completely Unrecognisable

9. Smokey IS The Bandit Morphed Into Smokey And The Bandit Part 3

The third instalment in the Smokey And The Bandit series had to come up with something special to overcome Burt Reynolds and Sally Fields declining to return. Jackie Gleason came back as Smokey (aka Sheriff Justice), and the plan was for Gleason to play dual roles. The film was shot under the title Smokey IS The Bandit with Gleason playing Sheriff Justice chasing a new Bandit, who was also played by Gleason. A teaser trailer was released with Gleason hinting at this story, in addition to containing the original title. There is also a publicly picture of Gleason dressed up as the Bandit. But test audiences found the dual role idea horribly confusing, and in a panic the studio reshot scenes with Jerry Reed (Reynolds sidekick in the other movies) as the new Bandit instead. They also snagged Burt for a tiny cameo at the end. These changes did little to help, as bad reviews and poor box office awaited it upon release.