Actors who refused to return for sequels

Will Ferrell has revealed that he was offered US$29 million to return and play Buddy, 'Elf' (2003), in a sequel. Some might say he was a fool to reject such an offer, but his reasons prove he has some artistic integrity. He turned it down because the original was so magical that he felt it should stand on its own, and that a sequel would just be an attempt to rehash it. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ferrell said "I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place, which would've been, like, 'Oh no, it's not good. I just couldn't turn down that much money, and I thought, 'Can I actually say those words? I don't think I can, so I guess I can't do the movie.'"

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Brendan Fraser -

'George of the Jungle' (1997) was a box office smash, but Brendan Fraser wasn't part of the sequel, and it might have been a money issue. "I think 'George' got a remake, and they built a joke into it that the studio was too cheap to hire me, which wasn't inaccurate," the actor told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published December 7 2022. Instead, Christopher Showerman takes on the lead role in the 2003 sequel which indeed makes references to Fraser's absence.

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Brendan Fraser - "I was approached," 'The Whale' actor explained. "I can't remember what I was doing at the time, but I felt like I wanted to go do 'The Quiet American' instead with Michael Caine, and shoot the first Western film in Vietnam ever, directed by Phillip Noyce, to tell an infinitely American story." Fraser continued, "I'm always making diverse choices, and, hopefully, that keeps me and an audience interested. With a bit of distance, I think they've all cumulatively led up to the place I'm in now."

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Daniel Radcliffe -

To the dismay of Harry Potter fans the world over, Daniel Radcliffe confirmed that he won't be reprising his iconic role for the upcoming film adaptation of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.' The new movie is based on a highly successful Broadway play and will be directed by the original director of the film series, Chris Columbus. Columbus made it clear that he'd like Radcliffe to return to the franchise and play Harry Potter once again, but Radcliffe has said unequivocally that he isn't interested. He acknowledged that "This isn't the answer that anybody's going to want," but said, "I'm getting to a point where I feel like I made it out of Potter OK and I'm really happy with where I am now, and to go back would be such a massive change to my life." He did say, however, that it's something he might consider in the distant future.

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Marlon Brando -

Although Marlon Brando’s character in ‘The Godfather,’ Don Vito, died in the first movie, there were plans to have him return for the second movie, which would feature flashbacks to when Vito was alive.

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Marlon Brando -

Despite Francis Ford Coppola’s public appeal to Brando, he decided against returning. The character was played instead by Robert De Niro, who won an Oscar for the performance.

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Jodie Foster -

After the success of ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (1991), Jodie Foster apparently reassured fans she would return to play Clarice Starling in a sequel, if there were to be one.

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Jodie Foster -

When it came to it, however, Foster ultimately said no to ‘Hannibal’ (2001) and the character of Clarice Starling was played instead by Julianne Moore.

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Linda Hamilton -

Linda Hamilton starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in both ‘Terminator’ (1984) and ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ (1991). In ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,’ she is nowhere to be found.

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Linda Hamilton -

Sources suggest that Hamilton decided not to return for the third film because she didn’t like the script and thought that the movie needed the direction of James Cameron, who had been replaced.

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Sean Connery -

The original James Bond appeared in the third Indiana Jones film, ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989). He then retired from acting in 2003.

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Sean Connery -

Steven Spielberg tried to coax him out of retirement for the fourth instalment of the series, but the part was reportedly too small to tempt Connery back into the business.

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Keanu Reeves -

Keanu Reeves didn’t join his co-star Sandra Bullock for the sequel to the 1994 action movie ‘Speed.’ In a 2018 interview on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ he said it was because he didn’t like the script.

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Keanu Reeves -

In the original movie, Reeves played police officer Jack Traven, who is also the love interest of Sandra Bullock’s character, Annie. When Reeves said no to the sequel, an off-screen breakup was introduced.

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John Cusack -

John Cusack played Adam Yates in the 2010 comedy ‘Hot Tub Time Machine.’ The film was a box-office hit, but Cusack didn’t return for its sequel (which happened to be a flop).

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John Cusack - The story goes that Cusack did not actually refuse the role, but was replaced by Adam Scott in an effort to save money. The budget for ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’ was more than halved.

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Robert Duvall -

Robert Duvall played consigliere and lawyer Tom Hagen in both ‘The Godfather’ (1972) and ‘The Godfather II’ (1974). He didn’t return for the final film, however, and sources suggest it was because of money.

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Robert Duvall -

In a 2004 interview that was aired on CBS, Duvall said: “If they paid Pacino twice what they paid me, that’s fine, but not three or four times, which is what they did.”

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Crispin Glover -

When the cast returned for the 1989 sequel to ‘Back to the Future’ (1985), there was a key cast member missing: Crispin Glover. The actor allegedly turned down the movie because he didn't like the film's message that money equals happiness.

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Crispin Glover -

His character in the first movie, George McFly, is a major character, and so filmmakers made the disastrous decision to hire actor Jeffrey Weissman and use makeup and special effects to make him look and sound like Glover.

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Richard S. Castellano -

Richard S. Castellano is another member of the original ‘The Godfather’ lineup who did not return for the second movie. According to one source, it was because he didn’t like the way the script developed his character.

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Richard S. Castellano -

However according to Francis Ford Coppola, Castellano didn't do the movie because he wanted (and was refused) script approval for his dialogue. Ultimately his character was completely rewritten and was played by Michael V. Gazzo.

Sources: (Ranker) (The Hollywood Reporter)

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Jim Carrey -

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Jim Carrey -

Instead, the plot was reworked and the supporting actor in the original movie, Steve Carrell, was given the lead role in the renamed ‘Evan Almighty’ (2007).

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Will Smith -

Will Smith decided not to return for the follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster ‘Independence Day,’ but not for any dramatic reason: he had a simple scheduling conflict.

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Will Smith -

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Jamie Lee Curtis -

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Jamie Lee Curtis -

Apparently by that point she was no longer interested in the franchise, since she had found success elsewhere during the intervening years.

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Natalie Portman -

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Natalie Portman -

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Richard Dreyfuss -

Richard Dreyfuss played the character of Matt Hooper in the iconic thriller ‘Jaws’ (1975). He decided not to do the sequel, however, since it wouldn’t be Steven Spielberg at the helm.

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Richard Dreyfuss -

In a 2014 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said: "I knew what made 'Jaws' good, and we weren't talking about Steven [Spielberg] directing it [the sequel]."

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Katie Holmes -

Katie Holmes starred opposite Christian Bale in ‘Batman Begins’ (2005), but, for reasons that are not widely known, she made the decision not to return for ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008).

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Katie Holmes -

In a 2016 interview with Business Insider, she said: “It was a decision that I made at that time and it was right for me at that moment, so I don't have any regrets.”

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Will Ferrell -

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Brendan Fraser -

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Daniel Radcliffe -

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Marlon Brando -

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Marlon Brando -

Despite Francis Ford Coppola’s public appeal to Brando, he decided against returning. The character was played instead by Robert De Niro, who won an Oscar for the performance.

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Jodie Foster -

After the success of ‘Silence of the Lambs’ (1991), Jodie Foster apparently reassured fans she would return to play Clarice Starling in a sequel, if there were to be one.

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Jodie Foster -

When it came to it, however, Foster ultimately said no to ‘Hannibal’ (2001) and the character of Clarice Starling was played instead by Julianne Moore.

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Linda Hamilton -

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Linda Hamilton -

Sources suggest that Hamilton decided not to return for the third film because she didn’t like the script and thought that the movie needed the direction of James Cameron, who had been replaced.

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Sean Connery -

The original James Bond appeared in the third Indiana Jones film, ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989). He then retired from acting in 2003.

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Sean Connery -

Steven Spielberg tried to coax him out of retirement for the fourth instalment of the series, but the part was reportedly too small to tempt Connery back into the business.

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Keanu Reeves -

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Keanu Reeves -

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John Cusack -

John Cusack played Adam Yates in the 2010 comedy ‘Hot Tub Time Machine.’ The film was a box-office hit, but Cusack didn’t return for its sequel (which happened to be a flop).

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John Cusack - The story goes that Cusack did not actually refuse the role, but was replaced by Adam Scott in an effort to save money. The budget for ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’ was more than halved.

NL Beeld

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Robert Duvall -

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Robert Duvall -

In a 2004 interview that was aired on CBS, Duvall said: “If they paid Pacino twice what they paid me, that’s fine, but not three or four times, which is what they did.”

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Crispin Glover -

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Crispin Glover -

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Richard S. Castellano -

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Richard S. Castellano -

Sources: (Ranker) (The Hollywood Reporter)

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Actors who refused to return for sequels

For one reason or another

05/03/25 | StarsInsider

MOVIES Film franchises

Whenever a film is a box-office hit, the natural next step is to make a sequel. And the majority of the time that sequel has roughly the same cast, at least when it comes to the leading roles. Sometimes, however, the cast of a sequel can look rather different from the cast of the original. Whether they like it or not, directors have to deal with the fact that actors aren't always keen for a sequel, even if the first film did well.

Check out this gallery to see which actors refused to return for sequels.