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Evelyn Quan Wang in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' (2022) -

It's hard to imagine anyone but Michelle Yeoh as the star of 2022's runaway hit, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.' However, her role was originally written with Jackie Chan in mind. Chan and Yeoh are old friends but there's also a competitive nature to their friendship. "Did you know that the boys came to see me in China?"  Chan texted her after she had started filming, referring to co-directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who are often called the Daniels. Yeoh responded, "Yes, your loss, my bro!" She has suggested in interviews that it was a mutual decision between Chan and the Daniels as he was busy at the time and they were considering focusing on a female lead. 

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Kyle Pratt in ‘Flightplan’ (2005) -

The 2005 thriller starring Jodie Foster tells the story of an aircraft engineer and mother whose daughter goes missing on a flight from Berlin to the US.

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Kyle Pratt in ‘Flightplan’ (2005) -

Speaking to MTV about the fact that her role was originally written for a guy, Foster said that the story "just didn't ring true with a man."

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Evelyn Salt in ‘Salt’ (2010) -

The lead role in the 2010 action thriller 'Salt' was originally offered to Tom Cruise before it was given to Angelina Jolie. Her character, Evelyn Salt, is a CIA agent accused of being a double agent for the KGB.

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Evelyn Salt in ‘Salt’ (2010) -

Although Cruise was never signed, he was keen, and director Philipp Noyce initially thought it was a crazy idea to send the script to Jolie. However, when he thought about it, he realized it "only had pluses."

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Jane Bodine in ‘Our Brand Is Crisis’ (2015) -

Sandra Bullock's character in 'Our Brand Is Crisis' is the no-messing about political consultant "Calamity" Jane Bodine. The actress told People in 2015 that the part was originally meant for George Clooney.

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Jane Bodine in ‘Our Brand Is Crisis’ (2015) -

Bullock apparently landed the role after she became disillusioned with what was on offer and addressed filmmakers, saying: "I’m not reading anything I’m excited about. Are there any male roles out there that they don’t mind switching to a female role?"

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Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ series -

The original script for the first 'Alien' movie (released in 1979) was written for an all-male cast, and the Ellen Ripley character was to be played by Tom Skerritt.

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Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ series -

Ultimately, however, the producers decided to follow the contemporary trend of strong female leads, and they cast Sigourney Weaver instead. Weaver starred in the first three 'Alien' films.

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Murph in ‘Interstellar’ (2014) -

Jessica Chastain's character in 'Interstellar,' Murph, was originally written male, a fact that even Chastain wasn't aware of until they started to do press for the movie.

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Murph in ‘Interstellar’ (2014) -

Director Christopher Nolan told Dazed that it may have been because his first child is a daughter that he changed Murph into a girl. He said that writing the father-daughter relationship came very easily.

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Jess in ‘Secret in Their Eyes’ (2015) -

The 2015 thriller 'Secret in Their Eyes' is a remake of the 2009 Argentinian film of the same name. In the remake, Julia Roberts plays a character that blends two male characters from the original.

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Jess in ‘Secret in Their Eyes’ (2015) -

Speaking to reporters, Roberts, who has often been asked to play roles that were initially intended for a man, joked, "It takes two men to make one me."

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Kate in ‘Overboard’ (2018) -

The 2018 movie 'Overboard' is a remake of the 1987 rom-com starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. In the original, Hawn plays a beautiful but spoiled heiress and Russell a struggling carpenter.

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Kate in ‘Overboard’ (2018) -

In the 2018 remake, the genders of the protagonists are reversed and Anna Faris plays Russell's character. It is she who comes out on top when Hawn's character (played by Eugenio Derbez) begins to suffer from amnesia.

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Captain Phasma in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015) -

The villain of the 2015 'Star Wars' film, 'The Force Awakens' is Captain Phasma, a female stormtrooper played by Gwendoline Christie. Originally, however, the character was conceived as a man.

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Captain Phasma in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015) -

Christie was apparently unaware of this until after the movie was released. She told a journalist: "It's so interesting, because I'm really uncovering more about this film from people like you than I knew before."

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Zula in ‘Conan The Destroyer’ (1984) -

In the Conan comics, Zula is a male character. He is a Darfarian warrior of royal blood, who is reluctantly educated to be a sorcerer.

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Zula in ‘Conan The Destroyer’ (1984) -

In the 1984 film 'Conan The Destroyer,' the character of Zula was played by Grace Jones. She starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and former NBA player Wilt Chamberlain.

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M in the ‘James Bond’ films -

Dame Judi Dench portrayed the character of M in a grand total of eight 'James Bond' films. Before her, there were Bernard Lee and Robert Brown. After her was Ralph Fiennes.

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M in the ‘James Bond’ films -

The legendary actress obviously holds the role of M very close to her heart. Speaking of when she found out her time was up, she said: "They told me gently and I laughed through my tears."

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Alicia Clark in ‘The Paper’ (1994) -

Glenn Close's character in Ron Howard's 1994 comedy 'The Paper' was originally written for a man. When Close was hired for the role the script was adjusted, but only slightly.

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Alicia Clark in ‘The Paper’ (1994) -

In fact, Close was allegedly so determined to play the role as it was originally written, that she insisted they keep in the fist fight between her character and Michael Keaton's.

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Hobson in ‘Arthur’ (2011) -

In the 1981 film 'Arthur,' Sir John Gielgud plays the chauffeur of wayward billionaire,Arthur Bach (Dudley Moore). In the 2011 remake, Helen Mirren plays Gielgud's character.

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Hobson in ‘Arthur’ (2011) -

Mirren's character is Arthur's nanny rather than his chauffeur, but she exhibits the same levels of patience and love for Arthur as Gielgud's character does in the original film.

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Paula in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ (2005) -

In the 2005 comedy, Jane Lynch plays a store manager called Paula, who was originally intended to be a Paul. The character's gender was changed after Steve Carell's wife said the film needed more women.

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Paula in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ (2005) -

Paula the store manager is not Lynch's only role that was written for a man: apparently her character in 'The Fugitive' (1993) was also written with a man in mind.

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Starbuck in ‘Battlestar Galactica' -

Technically not a character in a film but a TV series, Starbuck from 'Battlestar Galactica' was a man in the original 1970s series. In the 2004 reboot, she is a cigar-wielding, liquor-soaked female pilot.

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Starbuck in ‘Battlestar Galactica’ -

Speaking of his decision to make Starbuck a woman, creator Ronald D. Moore said: ”Making Starbuck a woman was a way of avoiding what I felt would be ’rogue pilot with a heart of gold’ cliché.”

Sources: (People) (E!) (Ranker) (The Guardian)

See also: Underrated female directors you should definitely watch

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