12 Actors Who Turned Down Millionaire Salaries to Star in a Sequel Movie

In many cases, when we like a certain movie, we soon want a sequel to see more of that universe and characters. However, actors do not always share our wishes. Whether due to scheduling conflicts, not liking the continuation script very much or several other reasons, certain actors preferred not to reprise a role, not even for a great payment.

We, from awesome.clubwe reveal the reasons that led some actors to reject acting in sequel films, even when they received cash offers that exceed a million dollars!

After a few years away from the big screen, Batman returned in Batman Begins, with Christian Bale as the hero and Katie Holmes in the role of his romantic partner, Rachel Dawes. Turns out it wasn’t just one movie, but a trilogy, so soon the sequel was announced, Batman: The Dark Knight. But the actress had already been involved with Crazy for Love, Addicted to Money and preferred to give it up, being replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

As it turns out, Katie’s performance in Batman Begins was criticized, so when the producers found out that she was involved in another film, they didn’t push her too hard to come back. The estimated payout for the sequel was $2 millionbut she was only paid $250,000 for Crazy About Love, Addicted to Money — ironically.

Bruce Willis was present in the role of Mr. Church in the first two films of the Expendables franchise, alongside other brucutus such as Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. When the third film was announced, the invitation came for him to reprise his participation for a fee of US$ 3 million, for four days of recording. But Bruce turned down the offer and asked to increase it to 4 million, so the producers thought it best to put Harrison Ford in his place.

Teenagers of the 2000s (or their parents) might remember Hilary Duff on Lizzie McGuire, the Disney Channel series that mixed animation with real actors. There was also a movie in 2003, due to the immense success of the series. So much so that Disney wanted to film a second one and offered $4 million for that. Hilary’s mother wanted an extra million, but the studios were adamant. Faced with the deadlock in negotiation, Disney canceled both the film and the series.

1994 was a great year for Jim Carrey, as he starred in three successful comedies: Ace Ventura: A Different Detective, Dumb & Dumb: Two Idiots in Trouble and The Mask. He even shot sequels to the first two films, but for the sequel to The Mask, he turned it down. $10 million🇧🇷 And he explained why: “I don’t want people to start thinking of me as a money person.”

In the end, the film was made with the title O Filho do Máskara, with Jamie Kennedy in the lead role, who was no longer the same character as Jim Carrey. Asked why he agreed to make this film, Jamie replied: “I can give you 2.5 million reasons.” If that was the author’s fee, then the production saved a lot. However, O Filho do Máskara was poorly profitable, as it spent 84 million and raised only 60 million.

Chris Tucker was the co-star of Friday in Trouble, a 1995 comedy that was quite successful. However, he refused to play the same role in the sequel One More Friday in Troubles. According to his partner Ice Cube, Chris was offered a $10 to 12 million to be in the sequel, but refused because some of the character’s attitudes did not match his principles. In the second film, Mike Epps was cast as a new character, Day-Day.

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock made an excellent couple in Full Speed, didn’t they? Too bad the actor didn’t agree to return for the continuation, losing a cache of $11 million🇧🇷 It turns out that the actor had just finished filming Chain Reaction, and didn’t want to engage in another action movie right away. In his place, they cast Jason Patric, who received between US$ 4.5 and 8 million and played a new character.

Michael Keaton was well accepted among audiences for starring in 1989’s ‎‎Batman ‎‎- The Movie and its sequel, ‎‎Batman Returns‎‎ from 1992, both of which were box-office successes. Thus, it stood to reason that he would be offered a third film, Batman Forever, but he turned it down, even with an offer of $15 million🇧🇷 The reason, according to him, was the quality of the script. Val Kilmer, however, jumped on board and donned the bat suit for “only” 6 million.

The horror The Silence of the Lambs was a huge success, securing an Oscar for Anthony Hopkins and another for Jodie Foster. Hopkins agreed to return for the sequel, Hannibal, but Jodie said “no”. Even with an offer $20 million, she preferred to continue with the film in which she was already involved, and left the vacancy for another actress. The other actress was Julianne Moore, who played the role for just $2 million.

Remember the very first Fast & Furious? Vin Diesel remembers this movie so fondly that he sees it as a classic and didn’t want there to be a sequel. So much so that he denied participating in + Fast + Furious, failing to pocket $25 million🇧🇷 Interestingly, while skipping a sequel, he was filming another, The Battle of Riddick, for which he was paid $11 million. Afterwards, Diesel returned to the franchise and was paid $20 million for the ninth film.

An Elf in New York is one of the classics we love to see again at Christmas, in which Will Ferrell plays a human who grew up at the North Pole and thinks he is an elf. The film did so well that they even offered $29 million for Will to star in a sequel, but he turned it down. “I would have to be honest with you when I put the movie out there and say it’s not good, but I did it for the money,” he explained. Because he didn’t think this would be a good idea, the actor chose not to accept it.

In 1996, for no one, Independence Day was the film that earned the most at the box office. It was only natural that they wanted to make a sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, which didn’t come out until 20 years later. The continuation had most of the cast, except for Will Smith, who chose not to participate because he had just finished filming another science fiction with his son, After Earth. But the director reported that Will came to ask $50 million for two more films.

To “fill the hole” left by Smith, young actor Jessie Usher was hired. At the time he was known for the Survivor’s Remorse series, but later became a well-known face as the “hero” A-Train on The Boys series. In the sequel to Independence Day, Jessie was given a central role as the son of Will Smith’s character.

Dwayne Johnson was very interested in playing the DC anti-hero Black Adam, due to his origin story that caught the actor’s attention. That’s why, when he finally started working on the new film, he didn’t mind giving up returning for the sequel to five films: Rampage: Total Destruction, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Earthquake: The San Andreas Fault, in addition to the films 10 and 11 of the Fast & Furious franchise. After all, how much money did he give up by turning down these films?

It’s not clear if any offers were ever made, but we can get an idea based on their previous fees. Taking Fast & Furious as an example, Dwayne received $ 15 million for the seventh film in the franchise and another $ 20 million to participate in the derivative Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw. Therefore, he must have missed out on something between $75 and 100 million to play the role of your dreams. For Adão Negro, he received US$ 22.5 million, not counting the advertisements.

It’s even hard to imagine how much money these actors received or did not receive! And you, what movie would you pay to see a continuation with the same actors? Also worth series and soap operas.