10 Franchises That Changed Lead Characters Mid-Series

The saying goes, ‘Dance with the one who brought you,’ meaning stay loyal to the people who helped you succeed. However, Hollywood operates differently, prioritizing business over personal relationships – it’s often said that it’s ‘show business, not show friendship.’

Want some examples? Here’s a list of ten big franchises that have moved on from their original heroes – and sometimes even their entire casts – to introduce new main characters. The reasons for these changes differ from series to series, as we’ll discuss, but they often boil down to two things: rising costs and storylines that have become predictable. These factors can lead to quick shifts for well-known franchises.

To focus on franchises rather than single films, I established a rule: a character had to appear in at least two movies before being replaced to qualify for this list. Many sequels feature new characters, but I wanted to highlight those with established predecessors. For example, Michael J. Fox only starred in one Teen Wolf movie before Jason Bateman took over in Teen Wolf Too. The Predator franchise has six films and, correspondingly, six main characters – likely because the Predator itself is the main attraction, not the humans.

I’ve been thinking about these big franchises lately, and it’s striking how often they were really shaped by a single director or writer for years – sometimes decades! Then, just like that, they’re moved on, and someone else takes over. It really hits home that, as the saying goes, nobody is irreplaceable, no matter how much they seem to define a series.

Franchises That Changed Lead Characters Mid-Series

Home Alone

What makes the movie Home Alone so popular? Is it because of the charming story of Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin? Or is it simply the fun of watching a child fend for themselves – and maybe even get a little revenge on adults? The studio, Fox, initially focused on Kevin’s adventures, making Home Alone 2: Lost in New York with Culkin. But eventually, as Culkin grew up and his salary increased, Fox decided to change direction. They started making Home Alone movies with different kids taking on the role of the resourceful home defender. So far, there have been four Home Alone films that don’t feature Kevin McCallister: a theatrical release, two TV movies, and the recent Home Sweet Home Alone on Disney+.

Captain America

Marvel is well-known for signing actors to long-term contracts, allowing them to maintain consistency across their many films. Chris Evans, for instance, played Captain America (Steve Rogers) in eight movies, starting with Captain America: The First Avenger and continuing through Avengers: Endgame. After Rogers retired, he gave the Captain America shield to his friend Sam Wilson, also known as the Falcon, who later starred in his own Captain America film, Brave New World, in 2025. However, Brave New World wasn’t very well-received, and with Chris Evans now set to return to Marvel in Avengers: Doomsday, it’s unclear if he might reprise his role as Captain America again.

Ghostbusters

It took decades to make a third Ghostbusters movie. By the time it finally happened, Harold Ramis, one of the original stars, had passed away, and the remaining cast members were nearing retirement age. Director Ivan Reitman handed the series over to his son, Jason, who directed and co-wrote Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This film featured a new group of young characters—the daughter and grandchildren of the late Egon Spengler. While the original Ghostbusters appeared in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, their roles were limited to brief cameos and smaller supporting parts.

The Fast and the Furious

When the first Fast and the Furious movie came out in 2001, no one imagined it would become a ten-film (and still counting) franchise. It started as an action movie about street racing and the friendship between an undercover cop (Paul Walker) and a criminal (Vin Diesel). The film unexpectedly became a big hit, leading to a sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, which again featured Walker as the cop. Diesel wasn’t involved at the time due to other projects. 2 Fast 2 Furious actually made more money than the first film, but it was also more expensive to produce, and Walker decided not to return for future installments.

Universal then tried to capitalize on the popularity of drifting in street racing by setting the next film in Japan with a new lead character, played by Lucas Black. They later brought Diesel back for a brief appearance, which was well-received. This led to Diesel and Walker both starring in the next sequel, Fast & Furious. Diesel has been a constant presence in the series ever since, and Walker remained a key part of the cast until his tragic death in 2013.

Jason Bourne

It’s tough to continue a movie series when the main character’s name is also the title. Matt Damon played Jason Bourne in three popular spy thrillers in the early 2000s, but then he felt the character needed a break. The studio, however, wanted to keep the series going. Their attempt, The Bourne Legacy, featured a new amnesiac spy who was very similar to Jason Bourne – equally skilled in combat and with a comparable look – but it wasn’t the same character. The movie didn’t do well, and the studio ultimately had to offer Matt Damon a lot of money to return and make another film titled Jason Bourne.

Jurassic Park

The dinosaurs are clearly the stars of the Jurassic Park franchise – at least, that’s what studio bosses seem to think. This is proven by the fact that the series has featured several different lead actors over its seven films. While the first sequel, The Lost World, centered on Jeff Goldblum’s character Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park III brought back Sam Neill as Alan Grant. Fifteen years later, Jurassic World introduced new leads Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. They starred in two films, which also saw the return of Goldblum, Neill, and Laura Dern. Now, the series has reset again with 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth, featuring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey. Rebirth was a huge box office success, earning nearly $870 million, so another sequel is almost guaranteed. It remains to be seen which of these actors – if any – will return alongside the dinosaurs in future installments.

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid franchise has continually reinvented itself, even venturing into action-packed territory similar to the Jason Bourne films. But how do you make a Karate Kid movie without its original star, Ralph Macchio? The answer has been to introduce new students to Mr. Miyagi’s teachings. This happened first with Hilary Swank in 1994’s The Next Karate Kid. When that film wasn’t successful, Sony tried a complete restart and then created the popular Cobra Kai TV series. Most recently, in 2025’s Karate Kid: Legends, a third hero, played by Ben Wang, joined the story, training with both Macchio’s Daniel and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han from the rebooted films.

Mad Max

This isn’t about franchises that simply replaced actors during a show’s run—there’s already a list of those available elsewhere. Instead, this highlights cases where a cast change led to something bigger. For example, when the Mad Max series rebooted with Fury Road in 2015, they not only cast Tom Hardy to replace an older Mel Gibson, but also introduced Charlize Theron as the popular character Imperator Furiosa. Furiosa became so beloved that she ultimately got her own movie, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), starring Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger version of the warrior.

Rocky

Often, when a new hero appears, the old one is initially pushed aside. While some older heroes do return (like in Jurassic Park), the Rocky series did something different. Instead of disappearing, Rocky Balboa became a mentor to Adonis Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan. This mirrored the original Rocky films, where Rocky received guidance from his coach, Mickey Goldmill. Sylvester Stallone continued to appear in the Creed films, including Creed II, though he wasn’t in Creed III. It remains to be seen if he’ll reprise his role as Rocky in a potential Creed IV.

Transformers

It might be a bit unfair to analyze the human characters in Transformers movies, since most people go to see the robots – Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and even Starscream. That’s likely why the films have gone through so many human leads. The first movies focused on a teenager named Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBeouf, who discovered his car was a Transformer. LaBeouf’s character appeared in a few films, but then the series moved on to a new lead with Mark Wahlberg. After two movies with Wahlberg, the series went back in time and introduced Hailee Steinfeld as Bumblebee’s friend. Then Transformers: Rise of the Beasts added even more new human characters, like Anthony Ramos’ Noah Diaz. Honestly, getting invested in any of the human characters is probably pointless – they likely won’t be around for the next movie.

Bad 2000s Movies That Got Great Reviews

Garden State (2004)

With an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes, Garden State was a hit with critics when it first appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. The film follows a depressed actor who connects with a woman while back in New Jersey for his mother’s funeral. It was a success in independent cinemas, helped launch Zach Braff’s career as a filmmaker, and became known for its sensitive, artistic style, dry humor, and memorable indie rock soundtrack.

However, the movie also popularized the “manic pixie dream girl” trope, most notably through Natalie Portman’s character. Looking back, Garden State feels somewhat like a product of its time, filled with familiar elements of 2000s culture, making it surprising that it resonated with so many people when it was released 20 years ago.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory unfortunately signals a downturn for director Tim Burton. It wasn’t the creatively dark style fans loved, but rather the start of a string of uninspired remakes like Planet of the Apes, Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, and Dumbo. While Burton seemed like a reasonable choice to reimagine Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, many of the changes – including a sad backstory for Willy Wonka – felt unnecessary and aimed at simply updating the story for a new generation. The movie’s special effects haven’t aged well compared to the more traditional effects used in the original Willy Wonka film starring Gene Wilder.

Crash (2004)

I remember when Crash won the Oscar back in 2004, and honestly, it felt… predictable. It seems like the Academy often favors films about race that are well-meaning, but also a bit heavy-handed. It beat out some truly deserving movies that year, like Good Night, and Good Luck, and especially Ang Lee’s beautiful Brokeback Mountain, which I still think should have won. The movie definitely had star power – Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, and so many others – which always helps with Oscar consideration. But when I actually watched Crash, it felt really disjointed and, frankly, a little frustrating. It tries to connect the stories of people in Los Angeles dealing with racism, showing how they can be both victims and perpetrators, but it just doesn’t quite come together in a satisfying way.

Get Him to the Greek (2010)

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 72%, Get Him to the Greek started as a spin-off featuring Russell Brand’s character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Jonah Hill, who also appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, co-stars, which can be a little confusing. However, that’s a minor issue compared to the film’s bigger problems. One of these is Sean Combs (P. Diddy) playing an incredibly unpleasant record executive who constantly berates his staff—something that feels particularly uncomfortable to watch even now. It was uncomfortable then, and it remains so today.

Cold Mountain (2003)

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 69%, Cold Mountain had all the ingredients for an awards-winning film: a respected director (Anthony Minghella), a popular novel as its source material, a beautiful historical setting, and a talented cast including Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger – all performing with exaggerated Southern accents. The film received seven Academy Award nominations that year, but surprisingly didn’t win any. Despite being visually appealing and featuring famous actors, Cold Mountain felt artificial, as if it was carefully constructed in a studio to win awards rather than being a genuinely moving story.

Babel (2006)

Okay, so Babel… it’s one of those movies that a lot of people really champion, and honestly, I’m usually a bit lukewarm on Alejandro González Iñárritu’s stuff – it often feels like style over substance to me. Babel is supposed to be this big statement about how connected we all are, and the difficulties of understanding each other across cultures. And yeah, that’s a valid idea! But I felt like the way Iñárritu told the story was just so meticulously planned and controlled that it actually ended up diminishing the emotional punch. It’s a beautifully made film, no doubt, and it clearly resonated with a lot of people – it racked up seven Oscar nominations and even won an Academy Award for its score, which was fantastic.

Shaft (2000)

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 67%, the recent Shaft movies starring Samuel L. Jackson haven’t lived up to their potential. While Jackson is perfectly suited to play the character – he’s known for playing tough guys – both the 2000 and 2019 films felt lackluster. He brought the confidence and attitude the role needed, but the movies struggled to decide if they wanted to be a throwback to classic blaxploitation films or a more contemporary action movie. For a truly great Shaft experience, it’s best to watch the original film with Richard Roundtree.

The Blind Side (2009)

The film The Blind Side, released in 2009, was a huge success and won Sandra Bullock an Oscar for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy, who befriends and adopts Michael Oher, a talented but disadvantaged teenager and football player. However, the film has faced criticism for how it portrays Oher’s story, with many arguing it falls into the “white savior” trope and inaccurately depicts Oher as someone who didn’t understand football until his adoptive parents explained it to him. Michael Oher himself expressed discomfort with these scenes in his autobiography, stating they made him appear unintelligent rather than a kid who simply needed consistent education. He was frustrated by the suggestion that he needed to be taught the basics of football, something he’d been studying since childhood. Recent legal disputes between Oher and the Tuohys – where Oher claimed they never legally adopted him but instead established a conservatorship to profit from his name – further emphasize how the film may have distorted the true story.

Changeling (2008)

Clint Eastwood’s film, Changeling, tells the disturbing true story of a mother (Angelina Jolie) whose son disappeared in the 1920s. After months of searching, authorities returned a boy they said was hers, but she believed it wasn’t her child. When she continued to insist they had the wrong boy, she was labeled unfit and sent to a mental hospital. Though the movie, featuring Jolie repeatedly crying out for her son, was sincere and well-intentioned, it lacked the lasting appeal that makes a film truly memorable. Despite this, Changeling earned Jolie her only Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

I Am Sam (2001)

The film I Am Sam, starring Sean Penn, received an Oscar nomination in 2002. Penn played a man with an intellectual disability fighting for custody of his daughter, Dakota Fanning. The nomination came at a time when portrayals of people with disabilities were starting to be viewed critically. A few years later, the film Tropic Thunder satirized actors seeking Oscar recognition by playing characters with disabilities. The film included a storyline where Ben Stiller’s character tries to win acclaim by playing a similar role in a movie-within-the-movie called Simple Jack, with far less successful results than Penn’s experience.

2026-01-12 19:30