Last week,
I wrote an article about actor replacements in movie sequels that actually turned out to be a relatively awesome. It consisted of iconic roles originally played by actors who chose not to return to reprise their parts in further installments, only for
other actors to step in and take over where they left off. In the cases I highlighted, the swap paid off immensely - the replacements didn't just do a good job, they arguably did a
better one. But there's another side of the coin. Now and again an actor will make the decision not to return to a role they've so brilliant embodied, only for movie studios to decide that they're sitting on a cash cow, and, hey, what if we just cast somebody else in the role instead? Here comes an actor who believes (or is dumb enough to think) that they can do justice to the part - one that the public may already have an ingrained affection for. All eyes on you. In the cases of the 8 actors I've gathered here, all of whom decided to replace other actors in some famous or iconic roles who chose not to come back (or, like, died), the transition just didn't pay off. Be it because they were simply unable to tap into the same spirit as their predecessor, or because their performance seemed too at odds with the one that came before it, these replacements tried and failed to recapture the magic...