Comingsoon.net is taking a look at franchises that have continued on by recasting their lead actors. Take a look at our picks in the gallery below!
Now more than ever, moviegoers understand the staying power of a recognizable and beloved franchise. Naturally, though, actors age and filmmakers get tired and ideas run dry. So, the next logical step is to either start over—whether that’s a soft reboot or a complete overhaul—or recast.
With reboots and recasts alike, viewers must set aside what they remember about the actor who played the role before and surrender to the new interpretation of the same character. It’s an incredibly strange phenomenon, but it happens more than you might think. From superheroes to action stars, detectives to spies, these are five roles played by multiple actors.
Roles by multiple actors
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Batman
Maybe the most iterated comic book hero in film and television, Bruce Wayne and his vigilante alter ego Batman have been a staple across multiple mediums since his inception in 1939. Over the past 70 years, he’s been played by Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and voiced by Kevin Conroy, Rino Romano, Bruce Greenwood, Benjamin McKenzie, Peter Weller, Troy Baker, Jason O’Mara, Craig Smith, and countless others.
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Jack Ryan
Most recently portrayed by John Krasinski, the Tom Clancy character of Jack Ryan comes from the author’s popular series of action-packed novels. Chris Pine, Ben Affleck, Harrison Ford, and Alec Baldwin have all given the character a spin, dating all the way back to 1990’s The Hunt for Red October.
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James Bond
Perhaps the most notable instance of a character being played by an endless stream of actors, the Ian Flemming character of James Bond has had an unstoppable run since James Bond’s on-screen debut in 1962’s Dr. No. The character has since been played by Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig, with the role up for recasting after Bond 25 in 2020.
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Sarah Connor
The Terminator franchise has seen all kinds of sequels, spinoffs, and reboots since its beginnings in 1984. Almost every new film or TV show sees the key role of Sarah Connor being recast, with actresses Linda Hamilton, Emilia Clarke, and Lena Headey (yes, two Game of Thrones alums).
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Sherlock Holmes
Easily the most recognizable detective in the history of literature, television, and film, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed by so many different actors from so many different parts of the world. Most recently, he’s been played by Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, John Cleese, Christopher Plummer, Robert Downey Jr, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Will Ferrell.
