8 Movie Re-Castings That Were Totally Justified

6. Maggie Gyllenhaal Replaces Katie Holmes - The Dark Knight

Although Batman Begins has been reappraised in some circles as the high-point in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, consensus maintains that it's the eponymous entry in that series that takes the cake.

Although not a primary reason for why that is the case, the decision to replace Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal for the part of Rachel Dawes in 2008's The Dark Knight undoubtedly worked to the film's benefit, with Holmes' performance in Begins having been criticised by some, who felt she failed to compete with the expressive and domineering personalities of Christian Bale's Batman, Gary Oldman's Jim Gordon, and Cillian Murphy's Jonathan Crane.

Gyllenhaal, on the other hand, really did the part justice. Part of that is down to the way Rachel's role changes in the sequel, but the actor still imbues the part with the kind of confidence that elevates the character altogether, despite her unfortunate refrigerating at the hands of Heath Ledger's Joker in the second act.