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These projects moved forward with or without their original stars!
There's nothing entertainment fans love more than seeing the cast of their favorite shows and movies reunite for a long-awaited spinoff or reboot. But when the time comes for the cameras to start rolling on the new project, sometimes only part of the original cast is present. It turns out that not all actors are interested in reviving an old role and some have no desire to take part in a cast reunion.
While it may be disappointing to fans, these stars have their reasons -- and hope that they can keep looking towards the future when it comes to their work.
Find out why these stars chose not to reprise their roles…
1. Rachel McAdams
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When the Mean Girls cast reunited for a series of Black Friday ads for Walmart, Rachel McAdams was notably missing. While Lindsay Lohan, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried and other co-stars all gave fans a glimpse into the lives of their beloved characters, Rachel turned down the opportunity to take part.
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"I don't know," she told Variety. "I guess I wasn't that excited about doing a commercial if I'm being totally honest. A movie sounded awesome, but I've never done commercials, and it just didn't feel like my bag. Also… I didn't know that everyone was doing it. I would, of course, always love to be part of a Mean Girls reunion and hang with my plastics, but yeah, I found that out later."
2. Jennette McCurdy
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In 2021, the iCarly reboot officially premiered on Paramount Plus but Jennette McCurdy was nowhere to be seen. Early on in the first season, the absence of Jennette's character Sam was explained by saying that she was traveling with "a biker gang called the Oliberators" -- but in real life, the actress and author had turned down the chance to appear in the new series.
Jennette later shared that she had completely quit acting and after her mom's death, many of the dreams that her mother had imposed on her had disappeared. On top of that, Jennette felt unfulfilled by her role on the original show.
"I'm so ashamed of the parts I've done in the past. I resent my career in a lot of ways," she said on her Empty Inside podcast. "I feel so unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt like it was the most cheesy, embarrassing. I did the shows that I was on from like 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed."
3. Kim Cattrall
Through the years, there have been rumors of a feud between Sex and the City co-stars Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker. After the series wrapped and the cast filmed two movies, Kim said, "Everything in me went, 'I'm done.'" Kim turned down the opportunity to make a third movie and when a series reboot was later announced, Kim opted out of reprising her role.
She later explained that she didn't like how her character was represented in the script for the third movie and it turned her off the idea of reprising her role in And Just Like That.
"Can you imagine going back to a job you did 25 years ago? And the job didn't get easier; it got more complicated in the sense of how are you going to progress with these characters?" she told Variety.
"Everything has to grow, or it dies. I felt that when the series ended, I thought that’s smart. We're not repeating ourselves. And then the movie to end all the loose ends. And then there's another movie. And then there's another movie?"
She did make a cameo at the end of the followup show's second season, though she's unlikely to return.
4. David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce starred on Frasier for years but when the show was recently rebooted, he decided he didn't want to return. When asked about his choice to opt out of the reunion, David explained that it had nothing to do with his co-stars.
"I never really wanted to go back. It's not like I said, 'Oh, I don't ever want to do that again.' I loved every moment. It was that I wanted to do other things," he told the Los Angeles Times, adding that by the time "real talks" about the reboot were in motion, he "had just started on the Julia TV show" and was working on two separate musicals.
He continued, "I just thought, 'I don't want to be committed to a show and not be able to do stuff like this… I also thought, 'They don't actually need me.' Frasier has moved on to a new world. They have new characters. And I think I'm right. It's doing great. And the new people they have are great."
5. Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen grew up while appearing on Full House in the early 90s but when the show was given a reboot two decades later, they had moved on from the world of acting. Despite the entire cast returning, Mary-Kate and Ashley refused to even make a cameo, which star John Stamos admits upset him at first.
"When I did Fuller House, they didn't want to come back and I was angry for a minute and that got out," he shared on the And That's What You REALLY Missed podcast. "But they said, 'We loved you guys, we loved our childhood. We loved being with you. We miss Bob.' They came over to my house and they brought a pork chop and sage."
6. Lauren Conrad
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Lauren Conrad ruled the world of reality TV as the star of The Hills, but after five seasons of the show, she walked away. The series concluded just one season after Lauren left but was rebooted in 2019 as The Hills: New Beginnings. While many original cast members appeared, Lauren had no interest in being on the show -- although she gave the reboot her stamp of approval.
"I think it's great. I'm glad that they were able to do it again," Lauren told Entertainment Tonight.
7. Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola
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Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola was an original cast member of The Jersey Shore but after the show wrapped, she stepped away from reality TV. Then when Jersey Shore: Family Vacation was announced in 2018, Sammi was notably missing from the cast. While Sammi has now fully returned a few seasons in, she admits she was in a totally different place when the spin-off first premiered.
"At the time, when everybody decided to go back to the show, I just was in a really, like, different place," Sami told Entertainment Tonight. "I was in a good spot in my life and felt like going back to the show may enter me into some toxic situations again."
She continued, "I really took the time to work on myself when I left the show back then. I really just didn't want to enter any negative or toxic situations again. When I did the show, you guys saw all my ups and downs... [I was] hearing all these things on social media, and it can take its toll on you. There was a lot of stress on me and I just felt like, 'I don't think I can enter myself in a world that's very stressful.' And I just didn't feel right going back into it again."
8. Zachary Quinto
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Zachary Quinto made a name for himself as one of the stars of Heroes in the early 2000s. When the show was rebooted as Heroes: Reborn in 2016, he was offered the chance to reprise his role but turned it down. Instead, he wanted to focus on other projects.
"I'm not going to go back. I talked to them about it… We had a great conversation," Zachary told Buzzfeed News. "It was such a meaningful experience for me… I just felt like I didn't want to go back to it… It's a great thing to be a part of. I just felt like I need to cultivate other outlets for myself."
9. Chad Michael Murray
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Chad Michael Murray had a supporting role on the first season of Gilmore Girls before becoming a major teen heartthrob. When the cast reunited for the four-part Netflix event, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Chad was asked to make an appearance but turned it down. Instead, he was replaced by a lookalike actor.
"I wish I could've been there but it's all good -- life is good. All my buddies got to go back," Chad told ET.
10. Michael Ontkean
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Michael Ontkean was an original member of the cast of Twin Peaks but turned down the opportunity to reprise his role as Sheriff Truman in the show's 2017 revival. According to author Brad Dukes, who penned Reflections, An Oral History of Twin Peaks, Michael had originally signed on for the revival but eventually backed out.
"I spoke with Michael a handful of times this year on the phone. He was really excited to return as Truman, and even spent hundreds of hours in search of his old jacket, and finally reached out to me to help find it," Brad reportedly tweeted.
He continued, "We found a suitable replica. I bought it and sent it to him. We last spoke in August and he informed me he wasn't going to Washington after all. I told him I was heartbroken to hear that."
11. Matthew Gray Gubler
Matthew Gray Gubler was an original star of Criminal Minds but when the show was rebooted as Criminal Minds: Evolution, he had to turn down the opportunity to reprise his role on the series. At the time, Matthew was busy working on his show Dollface, but since the sitcom has now been canceled, the actor says he's open to returning to Criminal Minds: Evolution for season 2.
"Of course! I would be honored. I would absolutely love that. They did a newer spin-off of the show, but it was filming during a time when I was shooting something else, so it didn't work out. But I can't wait -- hopefully it will soon work out," he said on The Six O'Clock Show.
