In cinema and TV, actors and actresses lend their faces to characters, which are immortalized in a single appearance. However, in some not so rare cases substitutions occur, and a character ends up being played by more than one person throughout a TV series or movie saga.
That's what happened recently to the series "The Witcher", when Netflix announced that Henry Cavill would not return as the protagonist Geralt of Rivia, after the 3rd season. Despite being the most recent, Cavill is far from the only one, and there are several characters from iconic productions that have had more than one face.
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Geralt de Rivia: Henry Cavill e Liam Hemsworth
The departure of Henry Cavill from “The Witcher”, where the character Geralt of Rivia lived, was quite shocking. Although it is another series that replace secondary characters, the exchange of protagonists is rarer, and this will happen in the fantasy series based on a series of books, which is also successful in games.
Cavill's return to DC for the role of Superman, the actor's schedule may have become too full, and fans of "The Witcher" ended up seeing the protagonist leave the series. But, contrary to what often happens when a protagonist no longer wants to continue in a TV production, “The Witcher” was not cancelled.
Instead, Geralt will be played by Liam Hemsworth, who will have to prove his worth to legions of fans. But this will only happen in the 4th season, since the 3rd season, expected to premiere in 2023, has already finished filming, with Henry Cavill still in the lead role.
Bruce Banner/Hulk: Edward Norton e Mark Ruffalo
Although several actors interpret the same superhero in the history of cinema, and there are several actors living Batman, or Spider-Man, it is not possible to say that it is a question of an exchange of actors when it does not happen within the same story. .
Thus, when the example is the Hulk, we are not going to say that the departure of Eric Bana, who lived the Hulk in “Hulk” (2003), and the debut of Edward Norton in “The Incredible Hulk” (2008), is a change of heart. actors, despite being the same character.
However, "The Incredible Hulk" is one of the first films located within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Norton's face is not what we know the hero today. Mark Ruffalo joined the MCU from "The Avengers" (2012), which was, at the time, a big change for fans. Only, after 10 years, the actor has appropriated the role so much that it is even difficult to associate another face with the Hulk.
Agente Smith: Hugo Weaving e Jonathan Groff
Nearly 20 years after the previous film in the “Matrix” franchise, “Matrix Revolutions”, Lana Wachowski has taken us back to this “Matrix Resurrections” reality. Only, although Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss returned as an older Neo and Trinity, respectively, other characters had their actors replaced in the fourth film.
There are two main replacements, and although the absence of Laurence Fishburne the Morpheus has been felt the character being lived by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, the replacement of Hugo Weaving by Jonathan Groff in the role of the villainous Agent Smith was very remarkable.
Clarice Starling: Jodie Foster e Julianne Moore
Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter is, without a doubt, the most memorable character from the films "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991) and "Hannibal" (2001). However, Clarice Starling is arguably just as essential in this story as he is. She is the protagonist of both films, and the best scenes in the films are the interactions between Clarice and Hannibal.
But these interactions were different from one film to another. That's because Jodie Foster, who won an Oscar for her performance in the 1991 film, didn't return for the 2001 sequel. Julianne Moore starred in Clarice Starling instead. Despite Moore playing the part masterfully, Hopkins' return without Jodie Foster was nonetheless a disappointment.
Emperor Palpatine: Marjorie Eaton and Ian McDiarmid
Not every replacement of actors ends in nostalgia for the predecessor. In the case of “Star Wars“, one of the most iconic characters in the franchise changed faces, and the second actor to live it was the one who became more famous. Ian McDiarmid lived the character from 1983, and appeared in all trilogies released so far: original, prequel and sequel.
Despite having lived the character from “Return of the Jedi” (1983), it is possible to see McDiarmid making a brief appearance in “The Empire Strikes Back”, from 1980, in most versions of the feature. However, this is one of George Lucas' famous post-launch changes.
In the original 1980 film version, Palpatine is played by Marjorie Eaton, and voiced by Clive Revill. The change makes "The Empire Strikes Back" better fit the other films, even though Lucas altered the film to make this a reality.
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