Top 10 Last Minute Recastings That Made the Movie Better

“Barbie” (2023)
The casting directors’ first choice to play the only Allan in Barbie Land was someone who might be better known for his voice than his face. Jonathan Groff plays the lovable Kristoff in the “Frozen” franchise, and he was not happy about having to turn down “Barbie” due to scheduling conflicts. Ultimately the part went to Cera, who has exactly the right go-with-the-flow energy to embody Ken’s multi-color-clad friend. Groff went on to star in the M. Night Shyamalan thriller “Knock at the Cabin” the same year, so this casting decision ended up being a win for everyone involved.

“Batman Returns” (1992)
After the success of 1989’s “Batman,” producers had their pick of women eager to jump into Catwoman’s shiny black boots for the sequel. They originally settled on Annette Bening, but she had to quit the production after she became pregnant. As the producers searched for a replacement, Sean Young was so determined to land the role that she showed up unannounced at Tim Burton’s office to talk him into it. She even went on “The Joan Rivers Show” in costume to call out the director for refusing her phone calls. Of course, the part eventually went to Pfeiffer, who absolutely nailed the villain’s attitude, charisma, and sex appeal.

“Iron Man 2” (2010)
It’s unclear exactly why Terrence Howard was replaced for the sequel to the MCU movie that started it all. The stories are muddled, with some claiming he was hard to work with, and others saying it was just a contract dispute. What we do know is that Don Cheadle got a phone call out of the blue, offering him the role of Rhodey, a.k.a. War Machine, with less than a day to make up his mind. Cheadle hadn’t seen a script and had no idea where the character was headed, and of course, no one knew that the MCU was going to explode into the behemoth that it’s become. We’re glad Cheadle accepted the offer, and we’re willing to bet that he is too.

“Shrek” (2001)
It’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role now, but prior to his death in 1997, comedian Chris Farley was cast as the lovable green ogre. In fact, Farley had almost finished recording his dialogue when he suddenly passed away. Mike Myers was brought on to replace him, and the script was totally overhauled. Shrek went from an innocent do-gooder to a surly contrarian, but even then, the character hadn’t yet reached his final form. After seeing an early cut of the movie, Myers wanted to re-record all of his dialogue with a Scottish accent. Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg went along with it, and the result is the massively successful franchise you know today.

“Romeo + Juliet” (1996)
You’ve probably heard that in the original play, the pair of star-crossed lovers are very young. So it makes sense that 13-year-old Natalie Portman was first cast in the role of Juliet. Unfortunately, when they put her next to 21-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo, the studio realized it wasn’t a good look. She was soon replaced with Claire Danes, who was 17 at the time – still younger than her co-star, but at least the age gap wasn’t quite so problematic. The decision was a smart one, since Danes was perfect in the part, and the on-screen chemistry between the two leads is electric.

“Beverly Hills Cop” (1984)
Imagine a version of this movie that has tons of violence, no humor, and stars Sylvester Stallone as Axel Foley. That’s the movie we almost got. After being cast in the lead role, Stallone took the liberty of completely rewriting the script, adding more action and removing most of the comedy. The studio and producers didn’t like the changes, so Stallone left the picture just two weeks before it was supposed to begin shooting. Fortunately, Eddie Murphy was eager to take over the part, and was even encouraged to improvise many of his lines. The result is one of the funniest and most successful action comedies of all time.

“X-Men” (2000)
Not many actors can say they’ve played the same character in nine different movies (and counting). Even as the other mutants were recast in the prequels, Jackman has carried on, thanks to Logan’s incredibly slow aging process. But it almost didn’t happen. Dougray Scott was initially cast as Wolverine in the first “X-Men” film. However, he wasn’t able to wrap up filming his scenes in “Mission: Impossible 2” and he had to bow out. “X-Men” was already several weeks into filming by the time Jackman signed on to replace Scott. The role turned into his breakout performance and helped launch a major superhero franchise.

“Back to the Future” (1985)
Fox was always the first choice to play Marty McFly, but “Family Ties” producer Gary David Goldberg wasn’t too keen on letting the young star step away from the sitcom. Instead, the creators cast Eric Stoltz, who was fresh off an impressive turn as Rocky Dennis in “Mask.” Director Robert Zemeckis shot over a month of footage with Stoltz before accepting the fact that the actor couldn’t give the comedic performance that was needed. Once he had confirmed that Fox could indeed take over the part, Zemeckis made the difficult decision to fire Stoltz. It was tough for everyone at the time, but the result is a nearly perfect trilogy that has held up for almost four decades.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)
If it wasn’t for “Magnum, P.I.,” Tom Selleck would have probably become Indiana Jones. Selleck had already committed to the TV series when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg approached him to play the iconic archaeologist. CBS wouldn’t let Selleck out of his contract, and with only three weeks left before shooting was scheduled to start, “Raiders” still had no Indy. While there are some discrepancies about how exactly Harrison Ford got the part, cast he eventually was: with the more popular story having Spielberg and Lucas meeting the actor after the former watched “The Empire Strikes Back” and thinking he’d be perfect after his turn as Han Solo. The rest, as Indy himself might say, is history.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Imagine Frank Sinatra Reading This Famous Line

Colin Firth Left After the Production Realized His Voice Just Didn’t Fit the Young Bear

Julianne Moore Almost Played the Downtrodden Forger with Alcohol Use Disorder

Debra Winger Walked Away from the Part of Dottie After Madonna Was Cast

Director Mary Harron Fought Hard to Cast Bale After Leonardo DiCaprio Dropped Out

“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)
It might sound unbelievable now, but both Daniel Day-Lewis and Nicolas Cage were offered the part of Aragorn. That certainly would have made for a very different movie. Irish actor Stuart Townsend was actually cast as the rightful king of Gondor, but he was only in his late twenties at the time. During production, director Peter Jackson realized he was too young to play the rough and weathered Ranger of the North. One of the executive producers suggested Mortensen as a replacement, and the actor’s young son, who was a fan of the novels, convinced him to accept. It’s rare that an actor embodies a character so perfectly, but it feels like Mortensen was born to play this role.