Neve Campbell announced recently that she is departing the Scream franchise due to a contract dispute. The decision likely came as a shock to Scream fans because Campbell's character, Sidney Prescott, has been the franchise's lead across five previous movies, becoming one of the most iconic characters in modern horror.
Scream 5's success had already set expectations high for the next installment in the series, but with Campbell's departure, Scream 6 is going to have to work hard to avoid making the same mistakes that have impacted other franchises that opted to replace their stars.
Replacing Jim Carrey With Jamie Kennedy (Son Of The Mask)
His own disappointment with Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls helped sway Jim Carrey to pass on returning to one of his earliest breakout roles when Hollywood decided to make a sequel to The Mask. More than 10 years after the original, Son of the Mask trades Carrey's Stanley Ipcus for Jamie Kennedy's cartoonist Tim Avery, who ends up conceiving a child while wearing the titular mask. This leads to the baby being born with the powers of the Mask, drawing the attention of Loki (revealed to be the mask's creator) and Odin as they search for the mask and the baby. There are a lot of reasons the movie failed to win many fans but chief among them is the loss of Carrey, whose high-spirited, manic energy helped power The Mask to be one of the biggest box office successes of its time.
Replacing Will Smith With Jessie Usher and Liam Hemsworth (Independence Day: Resurgence)
When Will Smith appeared on screen in Independence Day, his transformation from rapper/tv actor to bona fide box office megastar was complete. After 20 years of waiting for a sequel, fans of the series were disappointed to learn that Smith would not be returning to the role of Steven Hiller. While Independence Day: Resurgence did bring back Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, and other characters, Jessie Usher as Hiller's grown son Dylan and Liam Hemsworth as his fellow pilot just couldn't match the energy brought by Smith.
Not only was their chemistry together lacking but they also weren't able to bring much vibrance to scenes shared with Pullman or Goldblum. This lack of chemistry between the cast is just one reason the sequel ended up being so disappointing to long-time fans.
Replacing Matt Damon With Jeremy Renner (The Bourne Legacy)
Part spin-off, part reboot, with director Paul Greengrass and Jason Bourne actor Matt Damon both opting not to return for a fourth movie, The Bourne Legacy tried to create its own standalone franchise without disrupting the events of the first three Bourne movies. Centered on Jeremy Renner as another genetically enhanced agent from the same program as Jason Bourne, the movie was a modest commercial success and earned favorable reviews from critics.
For most fans, there simply couldn't be a movie with "Bourne" in the title that didn't feature the man himself. Coupled with the change from Greengrass' frantic, fast-edit directing style to a more mainstream approach, it's a Bourne movie in name only, which left many fans of the franchise disappointed until Damon and Greengrass both returned for 2016's Jason Bourne.
Replacing Jodie Foster With Julianne Moore (Hannibal)
The Silence of the Lambs is considered one of the greatest movies of all time, so a sequel was always going to be a tall task for all who were involved. When Jodie Foster and director Jonathan Demme opted out of returning, Hannibal suddenly faced a more difficult road to even matching the success of the original.
Though Julianne Moore amicably took on the role of FBI agent Clarice Starling, the movie struggled to match what made the original movie so great. Darker, gorier, and less character-driven, Hannibal did earn favor compared to the novel by Thomas Harris by changing some of the book's more controversial revelations.
Replacing Vin Diesel With Ice Cube (xXx: State of the Union)
Following the success of The Fast and the Furious, star Vin Diesel introduced audiences to Xander Cage and created another budding franchise for himself with xXx. The movie was a surprise hit with audiences and helped cement Diesel's status as a top American action hero, making a sequel seem all but inevitable. When Diesel decided not to reprise the role for the sequel, the story pivoted to introduce another xXx agent, Ice Cube's Darius Stone. Since the franchise was essentially started as a vehicle for Diesel, not having his character return greatly hindered the sequel's performance and the movie even addressed his absence by killing him off-screen. In 2017, Diesel returned for xXx: The Return of Xander Cage to much larger box office success with plans for a fourth movie, starring Diesel, still in development.
Replacing Sean Connery With George Lazenby (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
There have been many actors to don James Bond's perfectly tailored suits over the years and there are always going to be debates about who was better every time a new Bond emerges. While most movies have retained their success from Bond to Bond, Sean Connery's departure turning into George Lazenby's lone appearance as 007 continues to be one of the most debated topics among James Bond fans and critics alike.
Lazenby was cast as Bond despite having no acting credits to his name at the time, further stacking the deck that fans would accept him in the role. Lazenby announced his departure from the franchise before On Her Majesty's Secret Service was even released. In recent years, Lazenby's version of the character has become much more appreciated by fans, with the movie now considered one of the most faithful representations of 007.
Replacing Rachel Weisz With Maria Bello (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor)
Oftentimes when a sequel replaces a main actor or actress, they introduce a new character to help replace the loss. In the instance of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor though, the decision was made to recast the character of Evelyn O'Connell, played up to that point by Rachel Weisz.
While Maria Bello is a great actress and was able to keep up in the movie's action sequences, she just didn't have the same chemistry and rapport that Weisz had developed with Brendan Fraser over the first two movies. Audiences took note as well, with Tomb of the Dragon Emperor the lowest-grossing film of the three.
Replacing Keanu Reeves With Jason Patric (Speed 2: Cruise Control)
In a career full of iconic performances and characters, Speed still remains one of the most popular movies in Keanu Reeves' filmography. The action movie was a massive success when it was released and has continued to stand the test of time as one of the best action movies of the 90s. Citing a dislike for the script, Keanu Reeves opted not to return for the movie's sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, a decision Sandra Bullock probably also wishes she had made.
With Reeves written out of the movie with an off-screen break-up, actor Jason Patric was cast as Bullock's new love interest, SWAT Officer Alex Shaw. A cliched script, a lack of suspense given the slower nature of the movie's cruise ship setting, and no Reeves all added up to prevent Speed 2 from coming close to matching the original's success.
Replacing Sarah Connor With An Older John Connor (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines)
Across two Terminator movies, Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor evolved from an unassuming young waitress to a highly-skilled, self-trained soldier fighting to stop Judgement Day and the incoming war with machines. As essential to the first two movies as the Terminators themselves, fans were stunned when Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines made the decision to kill Sarah Connor off-screen, and instead focus on a now-adult John Connor (a role that was also recast from Edward Furlong to Nick Stahl).
Though the movie was a success, the treatment of Sarah Connor didn't sit well with fans. As one of the most iconic (and only) female action leads, fans felt that the character deserved a much better send-off than being dead before the movie even started.
Replacing Laurie Strode With Jamie Lloyd (Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers)
In the world of horror movies, Laurie Strode remains one of the most well-known final girls the screen has ever seen. Played by Jamie Lee Curtis, the character stood toe-to-toe with Michael Myers through two highly successful movies. After Halloween III went a different route altogether, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers brought back the main villain but Jamie Lee Curtis opted not to return.
Papering over Curtis' absence, Strode was mentioned in the movie as having been killed in a car accident, and the story's focus shifts to Michael Myers targeting Laurie's daughter, Jamie Lloyd. From Halloween 4 on, the series began to focus more on supernatural matters such as a psychic connection between Jamie and Michael, completely losing sight of the simplicity that made the first two films so effective and successful.