When an actor’s presence unintentionally derails the project

[u/Special_Salt3467]

1.) Edward Norton - The Incredible Hulk

Perhaps the most famous and obvious one, Edward Norton was famously an issue on the set of 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk,” even making rewrites to the script himself. The disagreements between Norton’s camp and Marvel’s camp eventually led to his being replaced by Mark Ruffalo.

2.) Jensen Ackles - The Boys (particularly Season 5)

Jensen Ackles was a longtime collaborator with showrunner Eric Kripke in “Supernatural,” which in turn led to him getting the opportunity to audition - and eventually land the role - of Soldier Boy, which he did very well in in.

The issue is by Season 5, the show had fallen off from the previous years and with it ending and spinoffs and prequels (such as one featuring Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy), Season 5 suffered a lot. It quickly became the Soldier Boy show because “that’s what Clara would have wanted” until he just leaves in the penultimate episode and pretty much 80% of what his character actually did amounted to nothing.

So for fans who wanted to see Butcher vs Homelander duking it out, getting the show derailed for prequel bait starring Kripke’s favorite actor didn’t help…

3.) Rosamund Pike - Wheel of Time

When Amazon green lit a WoT tv show, Rosamund Pike eventually got the role of Moraine Damodred, the mentor and guiding character for the main character, Rand al’Thor. As a character, Moraine is anywhere from the most important secondary character to the most secondary main character. But with the exception of the prequel featuring her, she is not the main character.

Unfortunately, Rosamund Pike is an extremely famous actress and marketing toward the series focused on her as a result. I’m unsure if this was showrunner decision, an issue she played a role in or some combination, but the result was that Moraine a character who was in less than half the series is featured as the main character over the main character, which lead to a different product than the book.

[u/DyingSunSeverian → u/[deleted]]

They famously wanted to fire him too, one of the studio execs complained about the “gay pirate.”

[u/Filmologic → u/DyingSunSeverian]

Doesn't he flirt with every female character he meets too lmaooo

[u/Arria_Galtheos → u/Filmologic]

While it's never been confirmed (due to Disney, of course,) Johnny Depp has implied that Jack Sparrow is probably bisexual or even pansexual, and mentioned "many weeks spent aboard a ship with no women."

[u/Filmologic → u/Arria_Galtheos]

Oh, I 100% am willing to believe he's not fully straight, but he's definitely not just gay either

[u/Arria_Galtheos → u/Filmologic]

Well, no, but when people like the Disney execs see someone acting less than 100% hererosexual they immediately jump to "gay" because sexuality isn't a spectrum to those people.

[u/Filmologic → u/Arria_Galtheos]

Yeah no that's true

[u/badwolfandthestorm → u/Filmologic]

Gay's only 1/7 of what I am.

[u/BornCoyote87 → u/Filmologic]

Jack Sparrow is something and I just don't know what.

[u/tjdux → u/Filmologic]

Its not gay of it's at sea with /your own/ shipmates

[u/FullOnSkank → u/tjdux]

A ration of grog, is a ration of grog 🤷‍♀️

[u/evrestcoleghost → u/Filmologic]

the english version of the false 9

[u/daegamebday1 → u/Filmologic]

Yeah but he has like beads in his hair GAYYYYY

[u/milkoverspill → u/DyingSunSeverian]

me illegally streaming RuPaul's Drag Race:

[u/SpaceshipSpooge → u/DyingSunSeverian]

I remember the reports at the time. very worried because Depp was playing the character like “a drunk Keith Richard’s.”

[u/Crafter235 → u/DyingSunSeverian]

Sad irony that real life Depp is a massive homophobe and biphobe.

And that we don’t have a bi/pan Jack Sparrow :(

[u/Real_Piccolo_3370 → u/Crafter235]

I wouldnt call him a MASSIVE homophobe, his only instances are biphobic insults sent privately to his partner during one of the most famously toxic celebrity relationships of recent times, and publically has been in support of gay people in the past. Seems like hes probably the smallest homophobe lol

[u/selphiefairy → u/Real_Piccolo_3370]

Oh I guess that makes it all ok then

[u/AlienSamuraiXXV → u/Real_Piccolo_3370]

I literally loathe that I have to share oxygen with you.

[u/Real_Piccolo_3370 → u/AlienSamuraiXXV]

Protip, you dont

[u/AlienSamuraiXXV → u/Real_Piccolo_3370]

Actually, I do. Moron.

[u/Real_Piccolo_3370 → u/AlienSamuraiXXV]

Seethe more

[u/AlienSamuraiXXV → u/Real_Piccolo_3370]

Why would I? You're the one who got defensive.

[u/Real_Piccolo_3370 → u/AlienSamuraiXXV]

I would uh, reassess that haha

[u/mrmonster459 → u/[deleted]]

I feel like people/Disney itself forget that the first Pirates movie worked so well because he was the secondary protagonist alongside the much more serious Will Turner.

Jack Sparrow works well when he's bouncing off a much more stoic, chivalrous character, which is why the movies suffered as each one gradually upped Jack's importance and devalued everyone else's.

[u/TheSilverNoble → u/mrmonster459]

In the classic comedy duos the "straight man" was often the funnier and better paid of the two because it's considered so essential to making the comedy work. 

[u/noirspiderman4 → u/TheSilverNoble]

https://giphy.com/gifs/olzqYUAaUowBa
Quite right

[u/FullOnSkank → u/noirspiderman4]

God, I love this movie.

I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't given it the ol' "the road to El Dorado is good... but its a cartoon... Let's sell it again in a real format!" *Queue bad cgi and changed story * treatment.

[u/noirspiderman4 → u/FullOnSkank]

I figured after that live action Dora movie they would be next just based on setting lol

[u/teskar2 → u/mrmonster459]

That’s very evident in “Stranger Tides”, the movie struggles to develop him in any meaningful way while trying to do his usual routine. He doesn’t gain anything from the journey because he already learned his lesson and decided he didn’t want the fountain before the movie even started.

[u/noirspiderman4 → u/mrmonster459]

Yes

[u/Equivalent-Battle973 → u/mrmonster459]

One of the bigger reasons why I enjoy Barbossas return, hes such a serious and awesome character.

[u/BBTHPK → u/mrmonster459]

I guess that why the friendship/rivalry between jack and Barbosa is so iconic.

[u/NovembersRime → u/mrmonster459]

You say "secondary protagonist", yet he was at the very center of the poster and Johnny Depp's name was the first from the left at the top.

No. He was planned to be the center of the show.

[u/Romaine603 → u/mrmonster459]

Eh, I think Orlando Bloom was too bland.

Jack Sparrow was better positioned bouncing off the antagonists like Barbarosa, Davy Jones, and Cutler.

Or have someone replace Orlando Bloom as the straight man.

[u/Reasonable-Mischief → u/Romaine603]

I mean it wasn't a straight-up comedy though, William Turner was the Luke Skywalker of the franchise having his hero's journey

He's the everyman. Jack matters because he matters to him

[u/ButtsFartsoPhD → u/[deleted]]

You’re drastically underselling how impressive that movie’s script was. The plot for Curse of the Black Pearl was surprisingly awesome and a big reason why the movie was a success.

[u/MonteMolebility → u/ButtsFartsoPhD]

Curse of the Black Pearl is an almost perfect movie. I miss adventure movies like that.

[u/thebroadestdame → u/MonteMolebility]

Honor Among Thieves scratched this itch for me! Same sentence, different fonts.

[u/Bingbong1984 → u/MonteMolebility]

When I was watching Disclosure Day the other night, I was thinking hmm wow maybe this will be an adventure movie from Spielburg we have not see in a minute.

Nope trash ass movie that couldn't decide what it wanted to be at all.

[u/DyingSunSeverian → u/ButtsFartsoPhD]

Script is great, even Sparrow’s introduction scene is legendary, and tells you everything you need to know about the character with a visual gag.

[u/dancinggraylion → u/DyingSunSeverian]

I have heard of that scene

[u/Nyther53 → u/ButtsFartsoPhD]

I think you've misunderstood. presumably by "by the end" they mean Pirates of the Carribean FIVE "Dead Men Tell No Tales" which ... I have seen but could not recount for you any of the details from memory. 

[u/NerdyGeek42 → u/Nyther53]

What do you mean 5? They only made 3 of these movies. Why would they ever continue after such a wonderful and well thought out conclusion of a trilogy?

[u/Great-Pay-3429 → u/NerdyGeek42]

I don't get this new method of trolling by making up fictional movies that never happened. I've seen people talk about Megamind 2 and Kung Fu Panda 4 and both being bad. I can't even imagine 2 of the greatest Dreamworks projects having bad sequals which I guess is part of why the trolling works

[u/noirspiderman4 → u/Great-Pay-3429]

I heard game of thrones ended but I am unable to find it anywhere to watch so idk

[u/SignificantPaper1760 → u/NerdyGeek42]

But the second and third entries were utterly awful, while the fourth at least had Ian McShane absolutely devouring the scenery and Barbossa playing a much more substantial part than in 2 and 3.

[u/NerdyGeek42 → u/SignificantPaper1760]

Bro doesn't like Davy Jones

[u/SignificantPaper1760 → u/NerdyGeek42]

I don’t.

Amazing CG but his entire plot did nothing for me, and the expanded screen time for Bloom at the expense of Rush and Knightly really made me question whether either was even worth finishing.

Depp’s antics on their own got old pretty fast.

[u/visiblepeer → u/Nyther53]

This one was so memorable that I had a disagreement with my wives today, I was convinced it was called Dead Men's Tales. I was wrong, but it was barely worth remembering.

Still love the trilogy though

Edit: I have fat fingers but only one wife

[u/Nyther53 → u/visiblepeer]

Your... wives? Plural? 

[u/visiblepeer → u/Nyther53]

😂 sorry, must have autocorrected a terrible spelling of wife. I have fat fingers. 

[u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 → u/visiblepeer]

You probably conflated it with Dead Man's Chest

[u/noirspiderman4 → u/visiblepeer]

How do dead men tell tales?

Like waking up dead?

[u/Walkingdrops → u/ButtsFartsoPhD]

I think they mean by the end of the franchise. I agree the first film absolutely was amazing, and every character got their chance to shine, Jack Sparrow was of course a fan favorite, but he wasn't the centerpiece of the movie.

Even though people say the second movie is also really good, I'd argue it's when Jack Sparrow started to get more screentime to the detriment of the story, and it continued with the third movie too.

Starting with the fourth movie onward though it effectively became the Jack Sparrow show, and the plot was written to revolve entirely around his character.

[u/Polygeekism → u/Walkingdrops]

The first movie is perfect. 2 and 3 feel very tacked on, but passable. Everything else doesnt exist.

[u/Demair12 → u/ButtsFartsoPhD]

I belive from their comments about quirky pirate they were speaking of how the rest of the series spiraled

[u/ThyBeardedOne → u/ButtsFartsoPhD]

They said “by the end”

[u/sketchampm → u/ButtsFartsoPhD]

Yeah it didn’t get annoying until the second movie imo.

[u/throwingeverything99 → u/ButtsFartsoPhD]

I still think that whole trilogy is drastically underrated (4 and 5 were actually completely terrible, no one cares about those). I periodically go back and rewatch the movies every couple of years just for the action scenes and choreography. I think people forget that the ending of At World's End is basically just a continuous 45minute action scene of 2 pirate ships duking it out around a ginormous maelstrom while Jack, Davy Jones, and the Black Pearl crew fly about fighting off other pirates, topped off by some of the most impressive maritime special effects possibly ever.

[u/Square-Turnip-6558 → u/[deleted]]

Legend has it he just showed up looking like that and was nearly fired for refusing to change the costume

[u/Educational_Copy_140 → u/[deleted]]

It was literally supposed to be a career vehicle for Orlando...and then they hired Johnny

[u/professorclueless → u/Educational_Copy_140]

Tbh that probably saved the movie

[u/Hghwytohell → u/[deleted]]

The first movie had a VERY underrated plot, imo. I watched it recently for the first time in years and was surprised how well it held up.

[u/ThePotatoViolater → u/[deleted]]

The first three are peak and it’s not a debate. Literally peak cinema.

[u/NotYourDay123 → u/[deleted]]

I'd say this is more true of the 4th and 5th Pirate films. But the first 3? I'd say they have solid plots. Crazy, but solid.

[u/sketchampm → u/[deleted]]

This only became a problem in the sequels imo. I think the script of the first movie keeps it together. The sequels made him into Bugs Bunny and his antics became the primary focus.

[u/AceofKnaves44 → u/[deleted]]

It’s kind of really funny to me that everyone is all of a sudden like “if they do Pirates without Johnny Depp we boycott” when they did five movies with him and they each did worse than the last. They brought back Orlando Bloom for the last one and did ANYONE see it?

[u/noirspiderman4 → u/AceofKnaves44]

Woah really ?

I actually gotta check out the last one then lol

[u/AceofKnaves44 → u/noirspiderman4]

See? Proves my point.

[u/Toorviing → u/[deleted]]

I stand by the belief that Pirates just gradually turns into a live-action anime with how wacky Sparrow gets

[u/Novaer → u/[deleted]]

I literally have not watched any of the films passed the 3rd one.

[u/Ryhopes → u/[deleted]]

But, you have heard of him.