#30. Evelyn – The Mummy 3
The first installment of The Mummy franchise was a worldwide hit, which helped put Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz on the map. This allowed Weisz to get better roles, and she eventually got an Oscar.
Sadly, after that Oscar, she got too big to be in the disaster that was The Mummy 3, and so she dropped out. Her character, Evelyn, was replaced by Maria Bello, who just couldn’t help save that trainwreck of a movie.
#29. Daario Naharis – Game of Thrones
On season 3 of Game of Thrones, we were introduced to Daario Naharis, played by Ed Skrein. He was an adventurous, untrustworthy but charming character with long, luscious hair. Then, in season 4, we saw a completely different Daario, who was underwhelming, to say the least.
He was replaced by Michiel Huisman, who delivered a performance which wasn’t bad, but was extremely forgettable. If you took his version of Daario out of the show, nothing would’ve changed at all. What a shame!
#28. Batman – Batman & Robin
Although Ben Affleck received a lot of criticism for his portrayal of Batman, most hardcore fans agree that the worst rendition of Batman was given by none other than George Clooney, which was… awful.
It wasn’t entirely his fault though, as the whole Batman & Robin movie is a dark memory we all wish to replace with happier thoughts and the Christian Bale version. We still love you, George!
#27. Alex Murphy – Robocop 3
The problem with sequels, in general, is that studios see a profitable film and then decide to milk it and get as much money out of it as possible, even if that means destroying a perfectly good story with unnecessary, ridiculous sequels.
The Robocop movies fell victim to this curse, and the worst casualty was the character of Alex Murphy. Again, it wasn’t actor Robert John Burke‘s fault, because he had to make a terrible script work, and he certainly tried his best.
#26. Bruce Banner – The Hulk
Do you remember when Edward Norton had his own The Incredible Hulk movie? We do, and we wish we didn’t! Although Marvel has had the highest-grossing films in the last decade, this one definitely should be forgotten.
This time, however, we can totally blame Norton for it. Not only was he a bad fit for the role, but he allegedly messed with the script and demanded that several changes be made to the story. He should probably stick to acting.
#25. Kevin McCallister – Home Alone 4
Who in the world thought that making four Home Alone movies would be a good idea? Again, the first two movies were massively successful so, of course, they had to keep milking the cow for more cash.
However, they seem to have forgotten that 90% of the charm of the original movies was actor Macaulay Culkin, and when he didn’t sign up for the third and fourth installments, the whole franchise came crashing down.
#24. Barney Rubble – The Flintstones
We can all agree that the first The Flintstones movie was okay. It wasn’t Oscar-worthy, but it was just fine for a family movie. The cast itself wasn’t the problem; it was the script.
However, when Rick Moranis was replaced as Barney Rubble by Stephen Baldwin on the sequel, the decline in quality really showed. The sequel was terrible and unnecessary, and Baldwin just made it even less enjoyable.
#23. Jack Ryan – Jack Ryan: The Shadow Recruit
Many actors have portrayed the character of Jack Ryan over the years: Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and more. The worst rendition of this character, however, was done by Chris Pine.
Not that Pine is a bad actor, but the whole movie just wasn’t good, and he didn’t bring anything special to the table anyway. Luckily for fans, the newest version of the character, played by John Krasinski, has been very well-received.
#22. Agent Mulder – The X-Files
The X-Files was once one of the most successful TV shows around, which is the reason why it went on and on for many, many seasons. But playing the same character for years can be exhausting and unfulfilling for an actor, which is why David Duchovny, who played Agent Mulder, decided to leave.
The show should’ve ended then and there, or producers should’ve offered Duchovny more money to stay. However, they chose to replace him with Gillian Anderson for a whole season, and it was just horrible.
#21. Sarah Connor – Terminator Genisys
Everyone knows Emilia Clarke can act, and we all love her as Daenerys on Game of Thrones. However, she managed to give a very dull, emotionless portrayal of Sarah Connor on Terminator Genisys somehow.
To be fair, we should just throw the whole movie away, because it was terrible in every way and there was no need to make this movie in the first place. And, spoiler alert, this movie will come up later on this list again.
#20. Gellert Grindelwald – Fantastic Beasts
Yes, this is technically not a recast, but bear with us. Throughout the whole Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie, we get to see our hero, Newt, go on a journey while the supposed antagonist, Graves, played by Colin Farrell, got in the way.
Then, in the end, it is revealed that Graves was actually evil wizard Gellert Grindelwald in disguise, and was played by Johnny Depp. The revelation was just bland and disappointing, and we’d much rather see mysterious, gruff Farrell on-screen than boring, quirky Depp.
#19. Shrek – Shrek
We all love Shrek, and we can’t deny that it is one of the best animated movies of all time. However, Mike Myers, who plays the title character, is actually a recast, and the actor who was originally going to play Shrek is the late Chris Farley.
Farley recorded almost all of his lines before he tragically passed away, and the studio recast him. Although Myers is great in the role, we can’t help but think that Farley would have delivered something incredible.
#18. Kyle Reese – Terminator Genisys
It would take hours to mention everything that’s wrong with this movie; from the inexplicable reason why they spelled “genesis” that way, to turning the character of Kyle Reese into the most boring person in the universe.
Again, we just can’t blame actor Jai Courtney for this disaster. He did what he was told to do by the director and the script. After so many sequels and remakes, it’s time to lay Terminator to rest once and for all.
#17. Lestat – Queen of the Damned
Queen of the Damned, a sequel to the famous Interview with a Vampire, is an insult to the original. Part of the reason is that the legendary character of Lestat, originally played by Tom Cruise, was played by Stuart Townsend.
While Townsend is a formidable actor, he does not bring the spice and the charm that Cruise did. They didn’t even try to make him look like Cruise, who had platinum blond hair in the original. You had one job!
#16. Mary Corleone – The Godfather Part III
Technically, this is a recast because a child Mary Corleone appears in the second Godfather movie, but this is more of a casting issue. In the third movie of the saga, Francis Ford Coppola decided to cast his own daughter, Sophia, to play Mary.
Sophia is a great director, but she is one of the worst actresses ever, and it shows. What’s even more frustrating about this nepotism-filled tragedy is that Winona Ryder, an actual actress, was originally going to play the role.
#15. Clarice Starling – Hannibal
Ok, before you get mad, we are not going to sit here and say that Julianne Moore is anything but an amazing actress. However, it is very fair to say that she wasn’t right for the part of Clarice Starling in Hannibal.
Hannibal is a sequel to the famous Silence of the Lambs, in which Jodie Foster brought the character of Clarice to life. Foster was so amazing in the role that she won an Academy Award after all, so it’s frustrating that she got recast,
#14. Superman – Superman Returns
Superman Returns wasn’t bad, but honestly, it wasn’t good either. It was entertaining but extremely forgettable. This is due to many reasons, so we can’t put all the blame on actor Brandon Routh, who portrayed the man of steel in the movie.
But for a highly-anticipated reboot of the most famous superhero in the world, this was extremely disappointing and bland. Luckily, the following Superman movies were much better and revived the franchise.
#13. Genie – The Return Of Jafar
The history of the Genie is pretty frustrating. Allegedly, Robin Williams agreed to be paid a mere $75,000 to play the character instead of his usual $8 million fees under the condition that his name or image would not be used for marketing purposes.
What did Disney do, though? Yup, they used it anyway. So when it was time to prepare the sequel to Aladdin, Williams wanted nothing to do with it, and Dan Castellaneta got the role instead. Needless to say, it was bad.
#12. Everyone – Captain Planet And The Planeteers
For the first time on this list, we have a movie where the entire original cast was recast, and it was awful. In the first seasons of Captain Planet and the Planeteers, the cast included renowned actors such as Jeff Goldblum, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Sheen, and Meg Ryan.
One by one, they started dropping out, and they all eventually got replaced. Although the replacements included great actors like Tim Curry and Malcolm McDowell, it just wasn’t the same, sadly.
#11. Shaggy – Scooby-Doo
Matthew Lillard has been playing the character of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo since the early 1990s. Not only has he played the character on the animated series, but he also played him in the two live-action movies that were made in the early 2000s.
He basically is Shaggy, isn’t he? Nobody could do a better Shaggy…right? Well, the studio producing the new Scooby-Doo reboot doesn’t seem to think so, because they have chosen another actor to play Shaggy. Oh, and apparently, they didn’t even let Lillard know this was happening.
#10. Freddy Krueger – A Nightmare On Elm Street
In the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, we are introduced to one of the creepiest horror villains in history: Freddy Krueger, who deeply enjoys killing people in their sleep. One of the most disturbing things about the character is that he seems to love every second of it, and he always has a smile on his terrifying face.
But in the 2010 reboot, Jackie Earle Haley plays a very, very serious Freddy Krueger, who doesn’t seem to enjoy what he’s doing. This made him much less scary and enjoyable to watch.
#9. Lex Luthor – Batman Vs Superman
It’s funny to think that Kevin Spacey‘s Lex Luthor in Superman Returns wasn’t very well-received by fans. If only they had known who would step into the role a few years later! The worst Lex Luthor in history has definitely been Jesse Isenberg.
His portrayal of the character is very similar to what he did on The Social Network, where he played Mark Zuckerberg. This Luthor just looks and sounds like Zuckerberg with a wig on. Yikes!
#8. Norman Bates – Psycho
It is still baffling after more than 20 years that people thought that remaking Psycho shot-by-shot was a good idea. Not only that, but casting Vince Vaughn to play the main character, Norman Bates, is even more insane.
This film was completely unnecessary, it didn’t bring anything new or interesting to the table, and Vaughn just wasn’t good. He has proven himself to be a great dramatic actor over the years, but this just wasn’t it.
#7. Nick Morton – The Mummy
The highly-anticipated The Mummy turned out to be a major flop, and nobody saw it coming. But, once you actually watch it, you realize it was destined to fail. Although it is technically not a reboot nor a sequel of the 1990s The Mummy, it doesn’t do it any justice.
Tom Cruise being cast as the lead just doesn’t work, especially when you compare his performance to the energetic, charismatic, and slightly goofy Brendan Fraser. Cruise and the rest of the cast are boring and forgettable.
#6. Oldboy
The original Oldboy movie is a Korean film about a man who was imprisoned for 15 years and is released into the world to find his captor and get his revenge. The character, played by Min-Sik Choi, is a crazy, desperate man you don’t want to pick a fight with.
Then, Hollywood decided to remake it and cast Josh Brolin on it. His rendition of the character can only be described as a bar drunk that wants to fight everyone. There was no need to remake this movie in the first place!
#5. Godzilla (2014)
The 1998 version of Godzilla was a huge hit. And while the special effects don’t hold up today, back then it was incredibly thrilling and scary. But of course, Hollywood decided to make a remake of it, and it flopped.
Everything and everyone in the 2014 remake of Godzilla is a no-go, and the only improvement is the CGI. The movie was just boring and incoherent, and none of the actors stood out for their performances.
#4. Poltergeist (2015)
Again: why does Hollywood keep remaking perfectly good films? Oh right, money. In 2015, Poltergeist was a victim of the remake curse, and one of the worst parts of it is the recast of the main character.
In the original, Craig T. Nelson gives an excellent performance of a suburban father, but in the remake, all we get with Sam Rockwell is a more strange, unstable version that is is not interesting at all. Meh.
#3. Lavender Brown – Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
The recast of the character of Lavender Brown, Ron Weasley‘s love interest in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is kinda problematic. Although she doesn’t really do much in the earlier movies, the character was there, and she was played by two black actresses: Kathleen Cauley and Jennifer Smith.
Then, when it was Lavender’s time to shine and actually get some screen time, she was…white. We are not saying that there were any ill intentions behind the recast, but whitewashing characters once they get a speaking part has happened many times before, and it’s not cool.
#2. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
Mortal Kombat, as we all know, is one of the most famous videogames of all time. But did you know that it was also made into a movie? If you didn’t, it’s probably because it was not successful.
But its sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was a mega failure, and it has been called by many the worst movie of all time. One thing that contributed to its failure was recasting Christopher Lambert with James Remar as the God of Thunder, which was just plain awful.
#1. The Joker – Suicide Squad
Whoever tried to fill Heath Ledger‘s huge clown shoes was going to have a hard time gaining the public’s approval – or at least, that’s what people thought. Then, Joaquin Phoenix came along and gave us an amazing portrayal of The Joker.
But before Phoenix came along, there was the infamous Joker of Jared Leto, which was, ironically, a clownish version of the character. The fact that he was part of the awfulness that was the whole movie of Suicide Squad just made things worse.