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2 days ago
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Dancing With The Stars' Tom Bergeron Is Returning To TV, And Here's Why He Was The 'Perfect Choice' For Shark Week
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Discovery's most jaw-dropping week of the year has arrived in the 2025 TV schedule, with the 37th annual Shark Week kicking off on July 20. Viewers can look forward to an assortment of great whites, bulls, hammerheads, makos and more beyond the usual heavy-hitters, but the week-long celebration of sharks is kicking off with a special that's the first of its kind: Dancing with Sharks. None other than former Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron is on board, and returning Shark Week host Kinga Philipps spoke with CinemaBlend about why he was the perfect pick even when a DWTS mirrorball trophy isn't involved. Dancing with Sharks is the first installment of Shark Week 2025, airing on Sunday, July 20 at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery, followed by the latest entry in the fan-favorite Air Jaws series. Tom Bergeron is on board to host as five divers face off with underwater routines with sharks as their partners. Species include hammerheads, tigers, and nurse sharks with their own kinds of dance moves. (If you're a Shark Week regular, you likely have a good guess about which one of those three options is probably the least dangerous underwater dance partner!) Fans will have to tune in to see what it takes for a competitor to actually come out on top, but TV journalist and Shark Week returnee Kinga Philipps spoke with CinemaBlend during Discovery's press junket for the seven-day event. She shared why Dancing with Sharks is a strong choice for the very first show of this week's entire lineup: That's a great show to open up Shark Week because it is so novel, it is so unusual, and it is so darn cool. I think also why it's so fun is people don't know what to expect. You know, I keep getting the question of, 'Are the sharks actually dancing?' And the answer is, 'Yeah, they actually are.' I think people are really going to be wowed by the sharks, the shark behavior. There's a lot of really cool information about sharks, but also about the skills of the handlers themselves. I mean, they are extraordinary. Apparently, Discovery isn't being sensationalist by releasing a show called Dancing with Sharks, and there genuinely will be shark dancing! And just like it was fitting to bring in Olympic great Michael Phelps for a special about shark swimming speed, who better to appear in a show about dancing sharks than Tom Bergeron himself? While Tom Bergeron has had a long and prolific career, he's likely best known for his years hosting America's Funniest Home Videos and of course Dancing with the Stars. Now that the controversy surrounding his exit from DWTS has cooled down, he's bringing his dance hosting talents to a program with much more unruly performers than just the celebs strutting their stuff. Kinga Philipps, who made history as the first female Shark Week host in 33 years, shared what Bergeron brings to Dancing with Sharks: I mean, Tom is a legend through and through. He is the nicest, most awesome guy. And truly, you know, he is like the father of hosting, and because he is a master of ceremonies for other dance shows, he was just kind of the perfect choice for this. I think he was not only perfect because of his background with Dancing with the Stars, but also just the energy that he brings to this, and the enthusiasm and the excitement and just being such like a good quality human being. He's perfect. Bergeron wasn't only a good fit for Dancing with Sharks because he earned so many fans via Dancing with the Stars, and I found it sweet to hear that he brought such a great energy to a project that's so different from what he's worked on before. I haven't watched every episode of America's Funniest Home Videos when he was the host, but I'm pretty confident that none of them involved dancing sharks! When I noted to Kinga Philipps that there's clearly a reason why Tom Bergeron had decades' worth of fans before joining Shark Week, she responded "Exactly!" and confirmed that "it's all tried and true" because he's "a great guy." For an early look at Bergeron's return to hosting a dancing TV show (of sorts), check out the clip below: If nothing else, Tom Bergeron was able to dress down more for Dancing with Sharks than his usual suit, tie, and pocket square from DWTS. Tune in to Discovery on Sunday, July 20 at 8 p.m. ET to check out Dancing with Sharks as the very first special of Shark Week 2025. Of the species showcased in the clip, I know I'd pick a nurse shark if I had to deliver an underwater dance routine, but I'll be happier to watch from the comfort of my land-locked couch when it comes to this production. Shark Week will continue with new specials in the primetime hours through Saturday, July 26. It just remains to be seen if any records will be broken this year like what Shark Week 2024 with John Cena accomplished. You'll also have the option to watch post-primetime with an HBO Max subscription. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
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The Wacky Story Behind How Gareth Edwards' Girlfriend Helped Get Him The Jurassic World Rebirth Directing Gig
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Only a select few filmmakers have had the opportunity to direct one of the Jurassic Park movies, like Steven Spielberg or Colin Trevorrow. The latest to join their ranks is Gareth Edwards, who helmed the newly released Jurassic World Rebirth. Directors can come by gigs in a myriad of ways and, sometimes, that happens by way of sheer luck or happenstance. Edwards has a particularly wild story about what led him to join the Jurassic family and, believe it or not, it involves his girlfriend, as he revealed to CinemaBlend. Gareth Edwards has directed some massive movies, like the MonsterVerse's inaugural entry, 2014's Godzilla and the acclaimed Star Wars spinoff Rogue One. Those credits didn't make him a shoo-in for the job, though. However, Edwards has long held affection for the Jurassic universe and, as discussed with CinemaBlend's Hannah Saulic, he channeled that into a four-page analysis of the OG film. Edwards explained that in doing that he was 'trying to take the essence of the story and tell it like it was like a thousand years ago.' The Creator director went on to reveal that his 'campfire story' was actually written a day before he received word about the job. It turns out his girlfriend, who knew that he'd written the paper, found out that another Jurassic World movie was being made and swiftly took action: She saw this news article the next day about Universal looking for a director for Jurassic. And she just, I was on the phone to a friend and my phone went [buzz] you know, and I kind of looked and it was just this link to the article, and I copied and pasted it in a sense, to my agent and just wrote, 'Is this stupid?' Hit send. During that same day, Gareth Edwards heard from his agent, who told him that Universal Pictures and producer Frank Marshall reached out to inquire about him directing. Edwards' agent originally said he wasn't interested because, as the director previously revealed, he intended to take a break. However, as you can guess, Edwards dropped 'everything' to take on the job, leading his agent to reach back out. So I'd say the moral of the story here is to find a partner who's got your back! More on Jurassic World Rebirth Jurassic World Rebirth's Final Cut Was Supposed To Be Under Two Hours. The Studio Note That Changed Things To say that the director had a massive task before him after signing on the dotted line would be putting it mildly. His goal – and those of his collaborators was to infuse the film with the best elements of the franchise. Returning franchise writer David Koepp even compared the movie to Steven Spielberg's 1993 film in several respects. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, Rebirth revolves around a covert team who venture to an island to obtain blood samples from dinosaurs for medical purposes. Their expedition is shaken up, however, when they cross paths with a vacationing family and dangerous dinos. Peacock TV: from $7.99 a month/$79.99 a yearThe Jurassic saga is available on Peacock, and fans should consider grabbing a membership. A subscription costs as little as $7.99 a month, but you can also pay even more to receive Peacock Premium. With that, you can enjoy ad-free streams as well as the option to download titles to watch offline at a later Deal With a strong cast and seasoned crew (which included Ridley Scott collaborator John Mathieson as cinematographer), Gareth Edwards had plenty of help in pulling this all off. Due to their combined efforts, Rebirth was met with positive reactions from viewers who screened it early. This all amounts to the realization of a dream for Edwards, who later told CB that 'this is what [he's] always wanted to do.' I'd say his passion and hard work are what landed him the gig though, of course, his girlfriend deserves her share of credit as well. Fans can take their own significant others and/or friends and family members to see Jurassic World Rebirth, which is now playing in theaters and is one of the biggest titles on the 2025 movie schedule. The other six films in the series are also available to stream with a Peacock subscription.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
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28 Years Later Ends On A Cliffhanger, And The Filmmakers Explain Why They Did That Even Without The New Trilogy Greenlighted
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Warning: massive spoilers for 28 Years Later are quarantined within. If you haven't made your cinematic journey to the mainland yet, you've been warned. Well folks, we made it. Almost 23 years later, the 2025 movie schedule has reunited the world with the zombie-adjacent apocalypse of 28 Years Later. With a planned trilogy in the works, and a second film already in the can, that cliffhanger you've just witnessed is quite something - especially since the potential third entry is still being considered for a greenlight. That's not only left people questioning this first chapter's ending, but also has us wondering if we'll see a bigger cliffhanger in January's sequel The Bone Temple. So if you haven't seen this film yet, you can divert to our 28 Years Later review and stay spoiler-free. I say that because I need to talk about what happens in the finale, as well as how Danny Boyle and Alex Garland view the story's pacing in relation to that uncertainty. We see 28 Years Later ending with Spike's (Alfie Williams) seemingly random meeting with 'The Cult of Jimmy.' To some, this represents a jarring tonal shift, especially when Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) and his merry band of rogues gleefully spring into action while wearing colored tracksuits. This upbeat moment arrives after 28 Years Later's bittersweet tale, and that notion ties into my conversation with Danny Boyle and Alex Garland. That shift, as well as the cliffhanger nature of the movement, fits their approach to the stories ahead. And Mr. Boyle had something to say on the matter, which made it make the most sense. Here's what he told CinemaBlend: That's not just like a bit of plot, it's how all the ingredients will bring us to the end. And so what's incredible about doing these is that, because Alex has set it up as a trilogy, you have an ending. You want a completion of your story, plus you want this idea that you've identified of handover, that's gonna take your hand you across to another kind of ingredient, another episode,I dunno what you call it. I don't wanna make it sound like a streaming television or something, but it's another part of the journey. So, for those of you who thought that 28 Years Later ended on a random moment, relax. This is a planned trilogy, with a hook teasing where director Nia DaCosta's The Bone Temple will take things. And that ending didn't come out of nowhere, as Alex Garland's full vision expanded what was once one film into a three-picture epic. When talking with the writer/director behind movies such as Civil War and Ex Machina, he turned me onto something I think we all forget at times. Alex Garland reminded me that even a 'low budget' film of a couple of million dollars is a 'massive amount of money' for anyone who isn't a captain of industry. So trying to play your cards to make sure that money is paid back is still playing it safe, which, as you'll read in his remarks to CinemaBlend, is the total opposite of what he intended to do: Your ability to keep working within film is very often directly tied to the last thing you did, right? So you are sort of used to that. … The thing you are talking about is 'Is it gonna work? Is it gonna make enough money? Are we gonna be able to make the third one?' All of that just goes out the window, because on a day-by-day basis, you are simply focusing on making the thing you are in. It's almost enough to make you want a 'Write Like No One's Paying' needlepoint to hang on the wall. Though if it were themed after 28 Years Later, it'd have to have some cool font choices, and a lot of blood. Some are probably miffed that despite clear indications being laid out, Cillian Murphy's planned return to the franchise hasn't even happened yet. Admittedly, that would be the traditional hook to get folks in the door. But instead, Alex Garland and Danny Boyle have saved that card in the deck, as it probably won't be until later on in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple; with a major upgrade in the unproduced finale. Which is something that was probably decided when looking for the proper ending to a trilogy-starting entry. Alex Garland's full story plan for 28 Years Later is still pretty unknown to the world at large. And considering 28 Days Later's history of ending decisions, anything could change between now and the release of that third film. Though that might put pressure on the more business-minded folks, that's just not how you tell a story–and Danny Boyle understands that–as you'll read in his continued remarks below: You may have a great ending written, and you may well do that ending; but what you're doing is not looking for the budget. … You're just looking all the time in the shooting, and especially the editing, and in the process of sharing it with people, both test audiences and your peers. You're looking for the ending. 'Where is the ending? How are we gonna arrive at this ending?' Spike's meeting with Sir Jimmy Crystal and his cult is a more mysterious final note, especially because of that tonal shift. And we can't really tell where it's going to lead, at least until the first trailer for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple arrives. Which brings us back to the subject of the uncertain final chapter, and how Danny Boyle is confident it'll happen after all. As an impatient fan, I share those worries about 28 Years Later's potential finale not being greenlit. During my previous interview with the director, back when he introduced the film's 28-minute sizzle reel, I posed the question of whether or not there's a backup plan. It was then that the Yesterday director gave me the most Danny Boyle answer he could: You kind of always will make sure it comes home, because it's like we are committed to the idea of it. So we'll find a way. It's just like nature, it'll evolve so that we'll find a way of doing it. But hopefully we'll do well enough so that Sony will give us the money to complete it, and do the third one. And that will have Cillian in it. So that's the idea of it. So just to recap: Cillian Murphy is supposed to be a major part of 28 Years Later's unnamed third chapter, with the potential to appear in The Bone Temple's ending 'hand off.' But without the market reflecting the people's desire for such a story, we may not get to see it. Whether the numbers on this first movie deliver or not, that leaves me thinking about a specific final note about the next cliffhanger in the line. If you didn't like the ending of 28 Years Later, I apologize if what I'm about to say sounds like heresy. But we need to set the expectation that Nia DaCosta's entry in the saga is going to have an even bigger swing as its hand-off finale. It needs to, as middle entries in a trilogy tend to be more downbeat, while raising the stakes for a grand finale. With 28 Years Later's impressive presales going into this weekend, I'm confident that the third movie will happen after all. And after talking to Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, I also feel that we'll see Spike's story ending in the way that best suits the overarching message. So now it's just a case of getting in front of a screening of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple as soon as humanly possible. But for those of you who either haven't seen the movie or want to revisit it to form your opinion, head to your nearest theater and prepare to embrace the Rage in a good way.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
28 Years Later Has An Amazing Music Callback To The Original. Here's How The Song Ended Up in 28 Days Later
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. As you all have probably heard by now, 28 Years Later, which just premiered on the 2025 movie schedule, is an all-around great cinematic experience (even more so in the 4DX format). Like a lot of the critics who saw it before release (including CinemaBlend's Mike Reyes, who gave it a 5-star review), I loved just about everything about the movie, including a great callback to 28 Days Later. If you're wondering if I'm talking about Godspeed You! Black Emperor's 'East Hastings,' then you'd be correct. After hearing the song that first introduced me to one of my favorite bands more than 20 years ago, I started to recall all these stories from the early 2000s about how Danny Boyle was able to get the anti-capitalist Canadian post-rock collective to let him use the track in 28 Days Later's iconic London sequence. If you're not familiar, the story is really cool… If you have a conversation with someone about 28 Days Later, the conversation is going to turn to the scene where Cillian Murphy's Jim is walking through an abandoned London. The scene, which takes place weeks after the zombie apocalypse started in England, was actually the first thing Danny Boyle shot, as he revealed in a June 2025 interview with NME. During the chat, Boyle was asked about the music that inspired his film, and the filmmaker was quick to point out: I remember, because we shot the opening sequence a couple of months before we did the rest of the film, and we put it together and put that track on it, and you just thought it's very rare that you feel, oh God, that it works. I don't care what anybody says about if it works, but very rarely, you feel that. It's easy to see why Boyle would gravitate towards Godspeed You! Black Emperor's 'East Hastings' and became immediately attached to it. The intensity of the track complements the eerie and chaotic tone of the sequence and ramps up the intensity before throwing the audience into the rest of the movie. However, getting the band to sign off on it was no easy task. Considering the personal politics and ideologies of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, both as individuals and as a band, it should be no surprise that the group was reluctant to let Danny Boyle and Fox Searchlight Pictures (now Searchlight Pictures after the Disney acquisition) use the track in 28 Days Later, but the director persisted. During a June 2025 conversation with Soundtrack Extra with Edith Bowman, Boyle said the band was 'quite suspicious about Fox,' the company that owned Searchlight at the time, and rightfully so. However, upon traveling to Newcastle to see the band and have dinner with them, Boyle was able to show them the scene and explain what the movie was about. Though the band eventually signed off on it, they didn't allow the track to show up on the soundtrack, as pointed out in a 2022 Guardian piece on Godspeed's rise in popularity. Just like in 28 Days Later, the use of 'East Hastings' in the final part of 28 Years Later creates an incredible and instantly iconic movie moment that I'll be thinking about for a long time. However, getting permission to use the track this time around was a whole lot easier for Danny Boyle and company. In the NME chat mentioned above, the director revealed that this time around, it was just a simple conversation and request, with Godspeed You! Black Emperor signing off on its use without any trouble. Just don't go buy the 28 Years Later soundtrack expecting to hear the track, as it's once again left off the album release. Though 'East Hastings' isn't on the official 28 Years Later soundtrack, which is one of the best in recent memory, you can find the legendary song on Godspeed You! Black Emperor's classic album, F#A#∞.
Buzz Feed
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Actors Whose Roles In Movie Were Cut Down Or Scrapped
First, Simone Ashley — fresh off her starring role in Bridgerton Season 2 — was announced to star in F1: The Movie alongside Brad Pitt and Damson Idris. She was spotted filming alongside Damson and even attended the Miami Grand Prix and the F1 Grand Prix in Monaco, in support of the film. However, upon the film's release, Simone's role was reduced to a seconds-long cameo with no dialogue, with director Joseph Kosinski saying, "It happens on every film, where you have to shoot more than you can use. There were two or three storylines that ultimately didn't make it into the final cut." He added to People, "But Simone, she's an incredible talent, incredible actress, incredible singer, and I would love to work with her again." Simone's role being drastically reduced sparked a discussion online with people noticing a pattern of actors of color being cast in movies, only for their roles to be cut down or cut entirely. Ana de Armas was initially cast in Danny Boyle's Yesterday as a character named Roxanne, who was going to become another love interest for Jack, played by Himesh Patel. However, screenwriter Richard Curtis told CinemaBlend that after test audiences didn't like the additional love interest, they ultimately cut Ana from the movie. He said, "That was a very traumatic cut, because she was brilliant in it. I mean, really radiant. And [that] turned out to be the problem." Richard continued, saying, "You know, it's one of those things where it's some of our favorite scenes from the film, but we had to cut them for the sake of the whole."However, Ana was featured in an early trailer for the film, which ultimately led to fans suing Universal over her absence from the movie. In 2018, Harry Shum Jr. was set to appear as the beloved Charlie Wu in Crazy Rich Asians, which is based on the bestselling book series by Kevin Kwan. Charlie is a main character in the books; however, despite filming numerous scenes for the film adaptation — including Astrid and Charlie dancing at the wedding — Harry's role was cut, and he only appeared in a mid-credits scene. Director Jon M. Chu told Entertainment Weekly, "But the problem was, it made Astrid feel like she was leaving Michael for Charlie, and we didn't have enough room to expand on the idea. We just had to stay focused. Ultimately, it's about her independence, so that scene was in there all the way until the very end." Even though Crazy Rich Asians received worldwide praise and box office success, a sequel has been in limbo for years now. The sequel was expected to follow Kevin's second book in the series, China Rich Girlfriend, which shows Astrid and Charlie's romance having a more central role. In 2018, Manny Jacinto was cast as Fritz, a pilot, in Top Gun: Maverick, the highly anticipated sequel to Top Gun. At the time, Manny was in the middle of starring in The Good Place, with Season 3 of the show just airing. But, despite enduring months of training in actual fighter jets and more, when Top Gun: Maverick finally hit theaters in 2022, Manny suddenly had no dialogue, and he was reduced to an extra. In 2024, he told GQ, "It kind of fuels you, because at the end of the day, Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise. It's up to us — Asian Americans, people of color — to be that [for ourselves]." He added, "We can't wait for somebody else to do it. If we want bigger stories out there, we have to make them for ourselves." Manny also told GQ, "It's flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry, but it wasn't shocking to me. There was this sense of where the film was going [on set], like I can see them focusing the camera more on these [other] guys and not taking so much time on our scenes. Fortunately, it still was a great experience — you get to see this huge machine at work, see how Tom Cruise works, and you get to be a small part of this huge franchise." Fresh off her work in Moon Knight in 2022, May Calamawy was cast in Gladiator II alongside Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. She filmed the movie in Morocco alongside the rest of the cast and was even featured in behind-the-scenes photos from Pedro, but when the movie hit theaters in 2024, she was absent and was only spotted very briefly in the background of a scene. Producers later confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that May was cut from the movie entirely due to the long runtime, with the movie initially being 3 hours and 40 minutes. Despite producers insisting that runtime concern was the reason May was cut from the final version of Gladiator II, some outlets speculated whether her support of Palestine was a reason, with May being Egyptian and Palestinian. Sterling K. Brown was initially cast in M. Night Shyamalan's Split. This was before he earned critical acclaim for The People Vs. O.J. Simpson and This Is Us. Despite filming numerous scenes, when Split was released in 2016, Sterling's character of Professor Shaw, Dr. Fletcher's neighbor, was totally cut from the final film. Shyamalan said the original director's cut was around three hours, which led to some storylines being trimmed or cut entirely. Before introducing the deleted scene featuring Sterling for the DVD extras, Shyamalan explained that the character and scene took too much attention away from the main character. He said Shaw was initially scripted to give more background into Dissociative Identity Disorder. A year before Grey's Anatomy made her a household name in 2005, Ellen Pompeo was supposed to star in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind alongside Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, and many more. Writer Charlie Kaufman originally wrote scenes featuring Naomi, played by Ellen, who was Joel's girlfriend, whom he left to be with Clementine. The scenes showed Joel and Naomi together, but they were ultimately cut from the final movie. In 2025, Ellen spoke about being cut from the film while attending a Tribeca Festival Storytellers event. She said, per People, "And Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, yeah? Which I got completely cut, got completely cut out of because Kate Winslet is in the movie, of course, like you have Kate Winslet, you definitely don't need me." Kevin Costner was supposed to play Alex Marshall in The Big Chill, but all of his scenes were cut from the final version. The movie notably follows a group of friends coming together after the death of one of their close college friends, Alex. So, ultimately, Alex is not actually seen in the movie at all. In 2025, while appearing on Watch What Happens Live, Glenn Close talked about Kevin being cut from the movie, saying, "Larry Kasdan, who was the director, co-writer of The Big Chill, felt so badly — because Larry is such a good person — that he made him a star in Silverado. He put him in Silverado, and it made Kevin a star.' Glenn also confirmed that the body being prepared was actually played by Kevin. She said, "Yes, it was Kevin because he was supposed to be in the movie. He was in the epilogue, and they cut the epilogue." In 1991, Ed O'Neill was set to appear in John Milius' war film Flight of the Intruder alongside Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, and Brad Johnson. But, when the movie was screened for a test audience, Ed's appearance was met with laughter because they could not separate him from his role as Al Bundy in Children, which was in its sixth season at the time. Speaking to the LA Times in 1990 about being cut from the film, Ed said, "I don't feel good about what happened. As an actor, it's kind of frightening. It shows what TV can do to you. At the same time, I can't complain about what the series has given me. It's a double-edged sword." According to the LA Times, Ed had done "two days of work" on Flight of the Intruder, and the role was meant to be an unbilled cameo. Ed said, "My scene comes an hour or so into the picture. There's no introduction to my character — I come from out of nowhere. Suddenly, there I am, in a uniform, walking around this table at a court martial. I think that, to audiences who aren't expecting me, it's as if Al Bundy's suddenly appeared. It's like Al Bundy Joins the Army." In The Avengers, Ashley Johnson has a very brief appearance as Beth, a waitress whom Captain America saves during the Battle of New York. But, Ashley's role was initially supposed to be much bigger, with deleted scenes showing Beth actually meeting Steve at the beginning of the movie, and appearing more throughout the battle. There were also rumors she was meant to have a recurring role, even possibly serving as a love interest for Steve. Many fans have joked that Ashley is the most award-decorated MCU actor, having won BAFTAs for her work as Ellie Williams in The Last of Us video games. British comedian Rik Mayall was cast in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as Peeves, the mischievous poltergeist who roams Hogwarts. Despite Rik filming scenes as Peeves, the book character was eventually cut from the movie adaptation. Rick reportedly said he was also "sent off the set" because he kept making the cast and crew laugh during filming. Director Chris Columbus said that the first cut of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was nearly three hours, which resulted in some things from the book being cut out of the final version, including Peeves. When asked by The Wrap about whether he would ever release a director's cut of the movie, Chris said, "We have to put Peeves back in the movie, who was cut from the movie!" Naomi Scott was cast as Ryoko in Ridley Scott's sci-fi movie The Martian alongside Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, and more. Despite filming scenes for the movie, Naomi was cut out of the final version. In an interview with Collider in 2021, Naomi explained why her dialogue-heavy scene was likely chopped, effectively cutting her out of the film, saying, "There was one dialogue scene and then I was in scenes, but just there. So there was this one dialogue scene. It was this science jargon. Ridley Scott was behind this curtain, and I was just, mate, I just choked." She continued, saying, "And do you know what? I think it's so important to just talk about moments where you choke, because they really do inform your experiences, and they really do force you to kind of reconcile whatever those insecurities that you have are and face them. Anyone out there, in whatever field of work, and you think of that time that you wanted the ground to swallow you up, let me tell you, we've all been there. I've been there in front of Ridley Scott. I was choking. I couldn't get these words out. I couldn't get these jargon words out." Jack Whitehall was supposed to play Gothi, a troll priest, in Disney's blockbuster hit Frozen. On The Tonight Show in 2018, Jack said he had one line. He went in, recorded the line, and proceeded to "tell everyone I'd ever met I was going to be in Frozen." However, when the movie came out, Jack's character remained, but his one line was scrapped, thus effectively cutting him from the film. In a recent comedy set, Jack joked about all the misses he's had in his career, including Frozen. He said, "Film comes out. I am watching Frozen on the screen. It gets to the bit in the enchanted forest. I see my character there in front of me. Gothi the troll. The fat little fucker, right there. He clears his throat. He goes to speak. And the camera cuts away to Princess Elsa. And she starts singing some lame Disney song about being a princess." In 2016, Jena Malone was set to star in Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice as Jenet Klyburn, a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist. Despite having filmed numerous scenes, Jena's character was cut from the theatrical version of the movie. Her role remained a secret until her scenes were included in the ultimate edition cut that was released. When news of her casting initially broke and she was spotted on set, fans speculated that she might be playing Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. Anna Paquin played Rogue in three X-Men films, starting in 2000. She was slated to reprise her role for X-Men: Days of Future Past, with a pretty significant storyline, but she was cut from the final version, except for a brief cameo. Director Bryan Singer explained at the time, "Like many things in the editing process, it was an embarrassment of riches and it was just one of the things that had to go. Unfortunately, it was the one and only sequence Anna Paquin was in; the Rogue character was in. Even though she's in the materials and part of the process of making the film, she won't appear in it." Speaking about being cut from the movie years later, Anna told Entertainment Weekly, "Those films have really, really interesting, let's call it, processes as far as how the scripts come about and they change so many times over the course of shooting. And having done a bunch of 'em already, I wasn't massively surprised that the stuff shot first week of photography didn't really fit by the end, six months later."In 2019, five years after the release of the movie, fans fought to get Fox to release "The Rogue Cut" of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Katherine Langford was originally going to appear in Avengers: Endgame as an older version of Morgan Stark, Tony and Pepper's daughter. She was set to appear in the metaphysical way station, like Thanos did in Infinity War, after Tony uses the Infinity Stones. Ultimately, Katherine's scenes were cut from Endgame entirely, with director Anthony Russo explaining, "We realized that we didn't feel an emotional association with his adult daughter... It wasn't ringing to us [or] resonating with us on an emotional level." Eventually, when Avengers: Endgame hit Disney+, Katherine's deleted scenes were released. The moment feature Katherine's Morgan telling Tony that she'll be okay, even though he'll be gone. The scene ends with Tony telling Morgan, "I love you 3,000," a callback to an earlier moment in the movie. Shailene Woodley was cast as Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. But when the film was released in 2014, all of Shailene's scenes opposite Andrew's Peter Parker were cut. Speaking about the decision to exclude MJ from the movie, director Marc Webb told the LA Times, "It was very difficult to introduce someone as a competing love interest when so much is on the table with Peter and Gwen." He added, "Shailene is a brilliant actress, and she did a great couple days of work ... It was something we only discovered when we were shooting and then in the edit room." Right after her breakout role in Game of Thrones, Jessica Henwick's first big movie role was set to be in Godzilla vs. Kong in 2018. When the film was eventually released, Jessica Henwick, alongside Zhang Ziyi, was totally scrapped from the movie. Eiza González, who starred as Maia Simmons, said that because of Jessica's role getting cut, she also saw her scenes reduced, saying, "Jessica getting cut out of the movie really affected all of the other characters." Eiza added, "But it wasn't anything to do with Jessica's character. It was just that the storyline changed because the movie is called Godzilla vs. Kong, and it obviously has to serve them."Lance Reddick's role was also reduced to just about two scenes. And finally, Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future. He filmed several scenes from the movie, but was then fired by director Robert Zemeckis. Reportedly, Michael J. Fox was always the first choice for Marty, but he initially couldn't do the movie. However, once Eric was fired, Michael was brought in, and all of Eric's scenes were re-shot. In an interview with Bob Costas years later, Eric explained that they were "pretty far" into filming when he was replaced. Speaking about being fired, Eric said, "[Robert] was very nice, well as nice as you can be when you're firing someone, but he said that I wasn't giving the performance that he wanted for his film, which I can respect." We can't fit everyone into one post, so which other actors were either completely cut from movies or reduced to a much smaller role? Tell us your favorites in the comments below! Do you love all things TV and movies? Subscribe to the Screen Time newsletter to get your weekly dose of what to watch next and what everyone is flailing over from someone who watches everything!
