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Second time’s the charm

33 Recasts and Reshoots Responsible for Classic Works of Cinema

February 13, 2024

All the planning and money in the world can go down the drain if a presumed blockbuster isn't filmed or cast quite right. Thankfully, these films were willing to go back to the drawing board to make cinema history.

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33

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS GOOD THING HARRISON FORD GOT INJURED! After screenings, J.J. Abrams wanted to make tweaks. While Harrison Ford recovered from a flying accident, he had time to add Rey and Finn fixing the Falcon, which strengthened their bond. CRACKED — Source

32

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS DEADPOOL 2 FROM A MESS TO A MESS OF AWARDS. After test screenings, multiple audiences wanted more scenes with Domino and Cable. Reshoots added more of these lovable characters, and made a good movie even better. CRACKED — Source

31

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS BUMBLEBEE NOBODY LIKED JOHN CENA. Test audiences felt Cena was more serious and cutthroat, because his character lost a loved one to a Transformer. That was cut, and reshoots made him much more likable. CRACKED — Source

30

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS WORLD WAR Z RESHOOTS CHANGED THE ENTIRE STORY. Producers finally realized that the book it's based on lacked a real story, and after Brad Pitt called an early cut atrocious, the entire third act (40 minutes!) was reshot. CRACKED — Source

29

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS NEL CHAN ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY SOME SNL GREATS GOT THE АХ. Anchorman underwent reshoots after jokes fell flat in screenings, and a subplot involving hippie robbers was scrapped-which cut Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph out completely. CRACKED — Source

28

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL E.T. ORIGINALLY DIED! With a humans are the real monsters theme, E.T. originally died in military custody. Test audiences hated it, because they loved E.T. so they reshot an emotional goodbye (complete with flying bicycle). CRACKED — Source

27

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS JAWS FROM LAUGHS TO SCREAMS. After audiences laughed at the cheap-looking shark, Steven Spielberg took a less is more approach to build suspense, and added character beats that spoke about how scary the shark is. You know what they say: Tell, don't show. CRACKED — Source

26

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD THE MOVIE GAVE THE BOOKS A BETTER ENDING. Originally, Scott and Knives got back together, but they reshot an ending where Knives moves on. Creator Bryan Lee O'Malley liked it so much, he used this ending for the books that the movie was based on. CRACKED — Source

25

Dr. Strangelove

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS DR. STRANGELOVE THE JOKE (AND THE PIE) WERE A LITTLE ON THE NOSE. The film originally ended with a pie fight in the war room, but it was too silly for the more subtle, satirical film. Stanley Kubrick later called the scene a disaster of Homeric proportions. CRACKED — Source

24

Mad Max

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS MAD MAX: FURY ROAD FROM A MESS TO A MESS OF AWARDS. Director George Miller talked the studio into financing reshoots. Не added more action, and expanded the Citadel scenes, which helped the overall story, and won the film six Oscars. CRACKED — Source

23

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS SONIC THE HEDGEHOG SONIC NEEDED A FACELIFT. After Paramount released a first look, fans hated his eyes and teeth enough to cause a complete redesign. Every scene needed the new Sonic plunked in, and the release date was pushed. CRACKED — Source

22

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD THE MOVIE WASN'T CANCELED! After Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct, Christopher Plummer replaced him, reshot all of Spacey's scenes in only nine days, and got an Oscar nom for his work. CRACKED — Source

21

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS ROCKY KADNYSYN MEFICO.1 ROCKY ORIGINALLY GAVE UP! Test audiences hated the original, much darker plot, and the fact that Rocky gave up in the fight with Apollo Creed. The now iconic ending where Rocky goes the distance is a reshoot! CRACKED — Source

20

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS BACK TO THE FUTURE THEY BASICALLY SHOT THE MOVIE TWICE. After producers (and SSteven pielberg himself) thought Eric Stoltz was miscast, almost the entire movie had to be reshot with Michael J. Fox, adding millions to the budget. CRACKED — Source

19

MOVIES SAVED BY RESHOOTS ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY HAPPIER DOESN'T MEAN BETTER. The movie originally had a much happier ending, but Tony Gilroy came on during reshoots,and wrote the now iconic Darth Vader cameo that seamlessly passes the baton to A New Hope. CRACKED — Source

18

HEATH LEDGER PASSED ON THE ROLE OF SPIDER-MAN. CRACKED.COM According to his agent, Ledger was offered the role of Peter Parker in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, but Ledger felt the role was wrong for him and rejected it because he felt he would be taking away somebody else's dream job. So instead of watching Ledger swatting out the dumpster fire that was Spider-Man 3, we got his legendary Joker performance. — Source

17

ARMIE HAMMER, D.J. COTRONA, AND COMMON WERE ALMOST IN THE JUSTICE LEAGUE. CRACKED.COM George Miller (of Mad Max fame) almost got to make his own version of Justice League, but the bottom dropped out right before filming was about to start. So we never got to see Armie Hammer as Batman, D.J. Cotrona as Superman, or Common as Green Lantern. Johnny Depp wasn't cast as Robin, but we'll always have Tonto. — Source

16

The Lord of the Rings

NICOLAS CAGE ALMOST PLAYED ARAGORN. CRACKED.COM Cage was offered the role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but turned it down claiming family obligations, because the shoot was scheduled to take place over three consecutive years. Cage's accent work alone would have been breathtaking. — Source

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33 Recasts and Reshoots Responsible for Classic Works of Cinema — Source

14

JAMES CAMERON ORIGINALLY BASED THE TERMINATOR ON LANCE HENRIKSEN. CRACKED.COM Cameron had a fever dream about a robotic assassin rising from a fire, and that dream inspired him to create The Terminator as a vehicle for Henriksen. Не abruptly changed his mind after having lunch with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Henriksen did appear as a police officer killed by Arnie's Terminator, so there's that. — Source

13

ABC WANTED CONNIE BRITTON TO PLAY THE LEAD IN SCANDAL. CRACKED.COM When the show got the green light, ABC recommended Connie Britton for the role of Olivia Pope. They also gave creator Shonda Rhimes a list of their other top choices, all of whom were white. Rhimes held her ground, insisting the role was made for a Black actress. She won out, and the job went to Kerry Washington. — Source

12

SETH ROGEN AUDITIONED FOR DWIGHT ON THE OFFICE. CRACKED.COM sletter S N inci и A bonus feature on the box set for Season 9 of The Office revealed the previously unseen tape of Rogen's audition for the role of Dwight. The show's producers ultimately decided Rainn Wilson was better Dunder-Mifflin material. But hey, Rogen avoided Jim's Jell-0 prank. So there's that. — Source

11

STEPHENIE MEYER REALLY WANTED HENRY CAVILL TO PLAY EDWARD CULLEN. CRACKED.COM The Twilight author had been championing Cavill for years, describing him as her perfect Edward. She didn't have much say in the casting process, but by the time the movie started production, Cavill was too old for the role anyway. So we missed out on a sparkly, emo Henry Cavill. Time is cruel to mortals. — Source

10

TIM ROTH WAS THE FIRST CHOICE FOR SEVERUS SNAPE. CRACKED.COM It's hard to picture anyone but Alan Rickman portraying Snape, but he wasn't the original choice. Roth was offered the role, and even tried to juggle his schedule so he could shoot Sorcerer's Stone and Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes at the same time. Не ultimately realized it just wasn't possible, and in a decision that should still haunt him, he chose ape over Snape. — Source

9

NATASHA LYONNE PASSED ON BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. CRACKED.COM During her Slums of Beverly Hills breakthrough years, Lyonne was offered many roles that didn't interest her. One of them was Buffy, which she turned down because she didn't like the vampire part of the show, and because she wasn't interested in doing TV at the time. Lyonne says her mother asked her for two things: to get implants and to play Buffy. She disappointed her on both fronts. — Source

8

PAMELA ANDERSON COULD HAVE BEEN AGENT SCULLY. CRACKED.COM FBI Gillian Anderson revealed in an interview that Pamela Anderson (no relation) was the producers' initial choice for the skeptical Dana Scully. Apparently the producers were banking on Pamela's experience and Baywatch popularity. Can aliens run in slow motion? We'll never know. — Source

7

THE DROOGS IN A CLOCKWORK ORANGE WERE NEARLY THE ROLLING STONES. CRACKED.COM Not only did Mick Jagger campaign to be the main ultra-violent thug in Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, but he also managed to convince the film's original director that the rest of his bandmates should come along for the ride. Unfortunately, the producer dropped out and the movie was recast. By the way, not only did we miss out on the Stones murdering people with phallic statues, but the Beatles were also supposed to provide the soundtrack. — Source

6

DAVID SCHWIMMER WAS NEARLY AGENT J CRACKED.COM IN MEN IN BLACK. While playing Ross on Friends, Schwimmer was offered the role of Agent J before it was given to Will Smith. Schwimmer turned it down because of a prior commitment with a small theater company he and his college friends had founded. So presumably we missed out on Agent к learning to pivot. — Source

5

TIM BURTON WANTED JOHN LITHGOW TO BE HIS JOKER. CRACKED.COM Jung ANG AER Ur Kill the the Burton approached Lithgow for the role of the Joker in his 1989 Batman. Lithgow admits that he did not anticipate the success of the film, and regrets that he didn't actively pursue the part. Instead he wound up with a different secret identity: high commander of the expedition to the Third Rock from the Sun. — Source

4

SANDRA BULLOCK TURNED DOWN THE ROLE OF NEO. CRACKED.COM ... I I CCV MBY The producers of The Matrix approached a number of actors in their long search to find Neo. One of them was Bullock, and they were willing to change Neo into a woman if she accepted. Bullock wasn't interested, deciding that starring in Forces of Nature, a now-forgotten romcom, was a better career choice. — Source

3

MARILYN MONROE COULD HAVE STARRED IN CRACKED.COM BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. Truman Capote's novel had a more tragic tone than the Paramount production, and the author always pictured the character of Holly as a blonde. However, producers chose to put a more positive, innocent spin on the role, and chose Audrey Hepburn. And just like that, the world missed out on a breathy, sultry rendition of Moon River. — Source

2

LUCILLE BALL TRIED OUT FOR SCARLETT IN GONE WITH THE WIND. CRACKED.COM Before her groundbreaking years in I Love Lucy, a relatively unknown Ball auditioned for Scarlett O'Hara. The role went instead to Vivien Leigh, and it netted her an Oscar. Ball later conceded that she was probably not cut out for the part. It's a shame, because a dose of Vitameatavegamin just might have cured some of Scarlett's ills. — Source

1

RICK MORANIS WAS ALMOST ACE VENTURA. CRACKED.COM ACE PET VENTURA Jim Carrey's breakout role nearly went to SCTV/ Ghostbusters / Honey I Shrunk The Kids star Rick Moranis. But luckily for fans of butt-talking, Moranis had pretty much retired from acting at that point. All things being equal, Moranis was probably fine with skipping the whole being-birthed-from-a- rhino's-sphincter thing in the sequel. — Source

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