Who Is That?! 12 Horror Roles that Were Recast for the Sequel
John Squires
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5) LINDA – THE EVIL DEAD/EVIL DEAD 2/ARMY OF DARKNESS – BETSY BAKER/DENISE BIXLER/BRIDGET FONDA
In a decision that confused many fans, and resulted in some considering Evil Dead 2 to be a remake of sorts, Sam Raimi recapped the events of the first Evil Dead in the beginning moments of the sequel to bring audiences up-to-speed with where the story was. What made this so confusing was that a rights issue prevented him from using clips from the film, forcing him to shoot brand new footage for this summation of events.
Rather than bringing a whole bunch of actors in for a quick opening sequence, Raimi instead chose to excise three characters from the first Evil Dead and show only Ash and his girlfriend, Linda, going out to the infamous cabin in the woods. As if that wasn’t confusing enough, Linda became a whole different person for this pseudo-remake, with original actress Betsy Baker being replaced by Denise Bixler. Baker was pregnant at the time, which forced Raimi to re-cast.
Linda again changed bodies in Army of Darkness, where she was portrayed in flashback scenes by none other than Bridget Fonda.
6) KRISTEN PARKER – DREAM WARRIORS/DREAM MASTER – PATRICIA ARQUETTE/TUESDAY KNIGHT
The only dream warriors left standing after the third part of the Elm Street saga were Kristen, Kincaid, and Joey; and all three characters returned in the follow-up, Dream Master. In a forced decision that made my childhood very confusing, Kristen was not played by Patricia Arquette, while the other two warriors were the very same Kincaid and Joey we fell in love with in Dream Warriors.
Since Patricia Arquette was pregnant at the time Dream Master was filming, Tuesday Knight was brought in to take her place. As a result, it would be many years before I even realized the Kristen from Dream Warriors was the same Kristen as the one from Dream Master. Not easy for a child to grasp!
7) MARYBETH DUNSTON – HATCHET/HATCHET II – TAMARA FELDMAN/DANIELLE HARRIS
Adam Green’s plan for Hatchet II was to make it bigger and better on every level than the first one, a plan that quite frankly worked out perfectly when original Marybeth, Tamara Feldman, wasn’t interested in reprising her role. From what little I’ve heard in regards to this, she and Green had some sort of falling out, which forced him to move on without her.
With Feldman’s departure from the sequel, a spot was opened up for Green to make good on his bigger and better promise, which is precisely what he did when he cast beloved genre veteran Danielle Harris in the role. With Harris on board, the character became a true “final girl” icon, and she later reprised the role in Hatchet III.
8) JAMIE LLOYD – HALLOWEEN 4 & 5/HALLOWEEN 6 – DANIELLE HARRIS/J.C. BRANDY
Before Danielle Harris was given the opportunity to take over an established role for a sequel, she herself was replaced in the role that made her a household name. Since Halloween 6 was written to take place six years after the events of Halloween 5, and since six years had actually passed between the filming of the two movies, it seemed to make perfect sense that Danielle Harris would return to play a teenage Jamie Lloyd.
Dimension indeed wanted Harris to reprise the role, but due to a series of issues, including salary disputes and Harris’ disapproval of the script, particularly in regards to the decision to kill the character off so early in the film, Harris declined involvement; and British actress J.C. Brandy took over the role. Interestingly enough, Harris and Brandy are friends in real life.
MORE RECAST ROLES ON NEXT PAGE!