Stallone
Stallone, who is not only an excellent actor but also a skilled writer with an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for the movie “Rocky”. Initially, Stallone was attached to the Beverly Hills Cop project. However, a misaligned vision between Stallone and the studio led to his departure.
Specifically, at first, the actor from the movie “Rocky” agreed to participate in the project, but he was not too interested in the comedy angle and wanted to change the script to more action. Unfortunately, the studio was less than enthusiastic about Stallone’s proposed changes. As a result, just before production began, his contract was terminated, paving the way for Eddie Murphy to step into the iconic role.
Eric Stoltz
Michael J. Fox was not the first choice for Marty McFly in the “Back to the future” series. The honor initially went to Eric Stoltz, a promising young actor who was making a big splash at the time. However, after a few weeks of filming, director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale felt something was wrong.
With a bold proposal, Zemeckis and Gale approached studio head Sid Sheinberg, suggesting they replace Stoltz with Fox. Sheinberg eventually agreed, but the transition was not immediate. Stoltz continued working, unaware that his days as Marty were coming to an end.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman was originally cast in the lead role in the film “Panic Room” directed by David Fincher. However, Kidman had to leave the project due to a knee injury she suffered while filming a movie “Moulin Rouge!”. The rigorous physical demands of her role in “Panic Room” would aggravate her injuries, so she had to say goodbye. Jodie Foster later replaced Kidman in the film, taking over the role of Meg Altman.
Dougray Scott
Dougray Scott was originally cast as Wolverine in the 2000 film, “X-Men”. However, due to unexpected schedule problems, he had to leave the project. Before that, Scott also committed to filming “Mission: Impossible 2”. This forced X-Men producers to quickly find a replacement, leading to Hugh Jackman eventually taking on the iconic “X-Men” role. Scott’s departure from “X-Men” was the result of inevitable conflicts in filming schedules.
Stuart Townsend
Stuart Townsend was originally cast as Aragorn in “The Lord of the Rings”. However, he was replaced by Viggo Mortensen shortly before filming began. The decision to replace Townsend was primarily due to creative differences and concerns about the character’s general direction.
According to reports, director Peter Jackson and the producers believed that Townsend’s portrayal of Aragorn did not fit their vision of the character and they agreed to part ways. Although Townsend’s departure was amicable, it ultimately led to differences in interpretation and creative direction of the film.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman was originally cast as Juliet in “Romeo + Juliet”. However, during pre-production, there were concerns about the age difference between her and Leonardo DiCaprio, who was cast as Romeo. Portman was 13 years old at the time, and the filmmakers decided to recast the role with an older actress to create a more age-appropriate pairing with DiCaprio.
Claire Danes was ultimately cast as Juliet to account for the age difference between the two main characters. And the film directed by Baz Luhrmann went on to be released in 1996.
Megan Fox
Megan Fox did not appear in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” due to her breakup with the film’s director, Michael Bay. According to the official statement, Megan Fox left and was replaced due to “creative differences”, a joint decision by both Fox and the film’s production team. Finally, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley replaced Megan Fox as the female lead in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”.