12 actors who swore they’d never play their iconic roles again — then did

Brianna ZiglerMon, July 27, 2026 at 7:26 PM UTC

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Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso; Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique; Chris Evans as Captain AmericaCredit: Apple TV+; Frank Masi/Fox; Zade Rosenthal/Marvel/Disney

Recently, Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis revealed that season 4 of the hit Apple TV series almost didn’t happen because he felt his character’s story was at an end.

Despite the fact that he was raking in $1 million per episode by the third season, money wasn’t a part of the equation for Sudeikis. It had to do with what made sense for the character. “That wasn’t a negotiation tactic,” the former SNL star explained. “The story was told. Ted went home to be with his son. I wasn’t going to have Ted uproot their life to justify the money truck. It made no sense to me.”

In addition to having Ted return to Kansas City, Mo., to be with his son, the show gave satisfying endings to its supporting cast as well.

However, Sudeikis did end up changing his mind, obviously, with season 4 just a few weeks away from premiering. “It is infectious to play a character who sees the best in people and isn’t mad at the world for all its foibles and bullies and shadows,” Sudeikis admitted. “It’s not like I’m Daniel Day-Lewis, but it was good to live in that — to have that coursing through your brain and your body all day. It still is.”

Sudeikis is far from the only actor to say they weren’t going to reprise a character only to go back on their word. From hit TV series to blockbuster franchises, Entertainment Weekly takes a look at 12 other celebs who returned to a role they’d sworn off.

01 of 12

Orlando Bloom, Pirates of the Caribbean

Orlando Bloom as Will Turner in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’

Following the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, 2007’s At World’s End, star Orlando Bloom went on record saying that he wouldn’t be returning to the franchise as lovestruck pirate Will Turner. At the time, the Lord of the Rings actor told MTV that, while the films had been “a really great, fun ride,” he was “looking forward to doing some theater in London at the end of this.”

“I’m looking forward to taking on some completely new challenges,” he continued. “I’ll be sad to see it go, but it’s time to do something new for me. The great thing about this film is that, as a trilogy, there’s closure.”

Then, per a source to Digital Spy in 2009, Bloom had “repeatedly” turned down a role in the then-impending fourth film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

“Orlando loved the films but thinks it’s time to bow out because they tied up nicely for his character. The producers are okay with that because they want to concentrate on the new adventures of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow,” the source claimed.

However, Bloom would end up going back on his word: He made a cameo in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

02 of 12

Steve Carell, The Office

Steve Carell as Michael Scott on ‘The Office’Credit: Justin Lubin/NBCU

After seven seasons starring as Michael Scott, Steve Carell bid farewell to the sitcom that made him a household name and left The Office at the end of his contract. When the show’s final season was announced, he publicly said that he would not make an appearance.

In an interview with Access Hollywood (via Deadline), Carell said that, “I just didn’t think it was right for the character, because that character had had an arc within the story and kind of grew and sort of evolved past the idea of the documentary.”

He’d also told The Los Angeles Times, “It’s like, once you graduate from college, you don’t want to be that guy two years out who’s sleeping on the dorm floor.”

Yet lo and behold, who decided to show up for the series finale? None other than Michael Scott. He surprises everyone at Dwight and Angela’s wedding, where he takes up the mantle as Dwight’s best man. According to his costars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey on their Office rewatch podcast, he agreed to return because it made sense to have Michael attend the ceremony.

03 of 12

Daniel Craig, the James Bond franchise

Daniel Craig as James Bond in ‘No Time To Die’Credit: Nicola Dove/MGM

While No Time to Die (2021) was positioned as the big finale for Daniel Craig’s James Bond, the actor had actually hoped for his final film to be Spectre in 2015.

When asked at the time in an interview with Time Out magazine if he could imagine doing another Bond movie, he said, emphatically, “Now? I’d rather break this glass and slash my wrists. No, not at the moment. Not at all. That’s fine. I’m over it at the moment. We’re done. All I want to do is move on.”

Shortly after this answer, he did add one little caveat: “If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money.”

Well, the money must have been pretty darn great, because Craig did return for his final outing six years later. However, in an interview with Empire, he admitted it wasn’t all for the paycheck: The actor alleged he wasn’t actually satisfied with the way that Spectre had ended things.

“If that had been it, the world would have carried on as normal, and I would have been absolutely fine,” Craig said. “But somehow it felt like we needed to finish something off. If I’d left it at Spectre, something at the back of my head would have been going, ‘I wish I’d done one more.’”

Since rumors have been swirling for months now over who’s going to take up the Bond mantle, it’s safe to say that Craig is finally, officially done with the character forever. He seems much happier doing a Foghorn Leghorn voice as Benoit Blanc, anyway.

04 of 12

Chris Evans, the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Chris Evans as Captain America in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’Credit: Marvel/Disney

In 2018, after he finished filming Avengers: Endgame, Chris Evans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to confirm that he had ended his run as Captain America.

“Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful,” he posted.

Evans had previously hinted at his MCU exit in a profile for The New York Times, in which he noted that “You want to get off the train before they push you off.”

He reiterated that he was done with Captain America on The Graham Norton Show in 2020, saying, “It was a great run and we went out on such a high note... It would be risky to revisit it in my opinion. It was such a good experience and I think it’s better left that way.”

It seems he’s changed is mind, as Evans will soon return to play Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, alongside his fellow former Avenger Robert Downey Jr. He recently told EW at San Diego Comic-Con that after turning down several pitches for his Cap return over the years, “all of a sudden it felt right. [Doomsday co-director Joe Russo] gave me the pitch, and Downey was [back]. It just all of a sudden… it was like, ‘This is it.’”

Wait, isn’t Anthony Mackie supposed to be the new Captain America? Oh, well, never mind.

05 of 12

Harrison Ford, Star Wars

Chewbacca and Harrison Ford as Han Solo in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’Credit: Disney

Iconic intergalactic rogue Han Solo was made legendary through Harrison Ford’s performance, but by the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, he was already done with playing the character.

In an interview with ABC News in 2010, Ford said that he thought Solo was “not so interesting to me” and had wanted him to die at the end of the original trilogy.

What’s more, he told The Today Showduring the promotional tour for Return of the Jedi that “Three is enough for me. I was glad to see that costume for the last time.”

Of course, we all know what happened there. Ford did end up returning to the Star Wars universe in The Force Awakens (2015) before finally being killed off by his own onscreen son, Kylo Ren. But he made one final cameo in the sequel trilogy’s concluding installment, The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

“When J.J. [Abrams] asked me to do it, I said, ‘Are you kidding? I’m dead!’” Ford told USA Today in 2020, though he noted that Abrams is “a very persuasive guy.” It also didn’t hurt that he enjoyed acting against Kylo Ren actor Adam Driver.

“The chance to do another scene with Adam was great,” Ford admitted.

06 of 12

Hugh Jackman, X-Men

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in ‘The Wolverine’Credit: Ben Rothstein/20th Century Fox

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, a.k.a. Logan Howlett, got a tear-jerking send-off in James Mangold’s Logan. The acclaimed film is a moody, brutal character drama centered on the aging mutant as he struggles to protect a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen), who was created from Logan’s DNA. The film was meant to be the conclusion to the character, as he sacrifices himself to save Laura in the end (Charles Xavier also dies, but, y’know, Avengers: Doomsday and all).

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Shortly after Logan, Jackman told Fandango that he was unequivocally finished with the role, saying, “I’m out.”

“Even when we started writing this, and even when I asked James Mangold to come on board, I said ‘Dude, I don’t know if I’m gonna make it.’ Unless it’s exactly what I want, I prefer to not do it. I couldn’t live with it. So this is it,” he said. He reiterated this stancemultiple times.

But nothing seems to stay finished these days, especially not after the Fox-Disney merger, which meant that the previously Fox-owned X-Men could officially be integrated into the MCU. In 2022, it was announced that the first Deadpool sequel released under the Marvel Studios banner would feature Jackman returning as Wolverine.

According to the actor, he was truthful in his assertion that he was done with the character — until he watched the first Deadpool movie. “Well, I was 20 minutes into watching ‘Deadpool’ and I had just announced, literally, a few weeks before that ‘Logan’ was going to be my last, which I fully intended. And then I was like, ‘Uh-oh,’” he claimed to Deadline. Now, Jackman is being a bit more cautious, acknowledging he might have more Wolverine left in him.

07 of 12

Michael Keaton, Batman

Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne in ‘Batman Returns’Credit: Zade Rosenthal/Warner Bros.

Michael Keaton’s iconic turn as the Dark Knight in Tim Burton’s Batman films made him a bonafide movie star in the ‘90s, but when it came time for a third installment, Keaton decided that he was done.

In an interview on In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast (via PEOPLE), Keaton explained that he chose not to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne for Batman Forever in part because of the decision to bring director Joel Schumacher on instead of Burton. Schumacher and Keaton instantly clashed over their different visions for the character.

“When the director who directed the third one [came on] I said, ‘I just can’t do it,’ “ Keaton reflected. “And one of the reasons I couldn’t do it was—and you know, he’s a nice enough man, he’s passed away, so I wouldn’t speak ill of him even if he were alive—he, at one point, after more than a couple of meetings where I kept trying to rationalize doing it and hopefully talking him into saying I think we don’t want to go in this direction, I think we should go in this direction. And he wasn’t going to budge.”

“I remember one of the things that I walked away going, ‘Oh boy, I can’t do this,’” Keaton added. “He asked me, ‘I don’t understand why everything has to be so dark and everything so sad,’ and I went, ‘Wait a minute, do you know how this guy got to be Batman? Have you read… I mean, it’s pretty simple.’”

However, Keaton did end up returning to the role for 2023’s The Flash. The Beetlejuice actor admits he found himself intrigued by the opportunity to play the character again. “I thought, ‘Boy, what would that be like?’” he reflected on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast With Julia Cunningham.

When he was approached by Warner Bros, he felt that “It [had] to be good. There’s no reason to do it if it’s not good. It’s not gonna really change anything.”

Of course, Keaton ended up saying yes, and he felt it was worth it.

“I just jumped in and had fun,” he said. “And why would you not? You know, I mean, director Andy Muschietti is fantastic, and it’s really creative. I don’t know. It’s fun.”

08 of 12

Keira Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean

Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’Credit: Peter Mountain/Disney

Keira Knightley, who plays Will Turner’s love interest and Pirate Queen Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates films, also publicly stated that she was done with the swashbuckling series. On BBC Radio 2 in 2014 (via Mirror), Knightley told interviewer Steve Knight that she had “no idea” what the series was doing next.

“My time has definitely passed,” she continued. “I loved it, it was an amazing experience but I won’t be going back.”

However, according to the films’ producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, “the audience demanded” that Elizabeth return. Apparently, after showing test screenings of Dead Men Tell No Tales, audiences were asking “Where’s Elizabeth Swann?” So, studio execs gave into the demands. Like Bloom, Knightley appeared in a cameo at the end.

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09 of 12

Jennifer Lawrence, X-Men

Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’Credit: 20th Century Fox

Prior to the release of X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016, Mystique actress Jennifer Lawrence said that the film would mark her final outing as the shape-shifting mutant.

Her contract was up, and the makeup required to play the blue-skinned Mystique was too much for her. She told EW, “I love these movies — it’s just the paint. I was 20 [when she she starred in First Class] and I didn’t care about fumes and toxins, and now I’m almost 25 and I’m like, ‘I can’t even pronounce this and that’s going in my nose? I’m breathing that?’”

Lawrence had begun playing the younger version of the character in X-Men: First Class (2011) and returned for X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Mystique had been previously portrayed by Rebecca Romijn in the original X-Men trilogy.

Just three years after Apocalypse, Lawrence returned for the Simon Kinberg-directed Dark Phoenix. “I kind of f—ed myself,” Lawrence told EW at the time. “Because when I was trying to talk Simon into directing, he said something like, ‘If I direct it, you have to do it,’ and I was like, ‘Of course! Duh!’ Then they offered me the movie, and I was like, ‘Goddammit!’”

She did add, though, “It was the fan base, though, too — the other reason was for the fans.”

10 of 12

Christopher Meloni, Law & Order: SVU

Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler and Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson on ‘Law & Order: SVU’Credit: Will Hart/NBC

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni spent 12 seasons together playing Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: SVU. Together, they were one of the most iconic cop partnerships in television history, investigating the grisliest crimes that New York City had to offer.

But while Hargitay decided to stick around (and is still very much there), Stabler decided to holster his weapon and sign off after season 12 due to contract negotiations going sideways.

In 2014, at the premiere of his film White Bird in a Blizzard,Access Hollywood asked Meloni if he’d return to the world of Law & Order, and he gave a firm reply. “I think the ship has sailed,” he said. “I think that part of my life is done.”

But seven years later, Meloni changed his mind, appearing as Stabler in an episode of SVU in which his family was threatened. But it wasn’t just a cameo: It was a two-part episode that led into the premiere of a new spinoff, Law & Order: Organized Crime. The series ended up running for five seasons before it was canceled.

11 of 12

Joseph Morgan, the Vampire Diaries universe

Joseph Morgan as Klaus on ‘The Vampire Diaries’Credit: Curtis Baker/The CW

On The Vampire Diaries, Joseph Morgan played the villainous Klaus Mikaelson, a half-vampire, half-werewolf hybrid. He left after season 4 to lead the spinoff The Originals from 2013 to 2018. However, when yet another spinoff, Legacies, reared its head, Morgan firmly denied that he’d ever join, even though it focused on Klaus’ daughter.

“No, never, never. You’re never going to see it,” he said, when asked by TV Guide in 2020.

He continued: “You can hold your breath as long as you want. You know why? I have The Originals box set on my shelf, and it’s a beautiful thing because it’s five DVD sets that are a complete story from beginning to end of this guy, Klaus Michaelson -- well, starting back in The Vampire Diaries Season 2. So I just feel like to come back as a ghost or a flashback or something, for me, that journey, that story has ended. That’s the complete story, and it just doesn’t feel right to me to do that.”

That sentiment didn’t hold true. Morgan did indeed return to the role in a guest capacity for one episode during Legacies’ final season.

12 of 12

Sylvester Stallone, the Rocky franchise

Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in ‘Creed’Credit: Barry Wetcher/WArner Bros.

In 1985, after becoming a Hollywood A-lister by writing and starring in Rocky (1976) and subsequently returning for three more films, Sylvester Stallone told Interview magazine that “this is it for Rocky.”

“I don’t know where you go after you battle Russia. You know what I mean?” he said. “You have that clash of ideologies and you take on supposedly the greatest fighting machine ever built—a biochemically produced Soviet fighter. Where do you go after that? Everything subsequent is anticlimactic. And I don’t think I can do any better. If I can go out with four good Rocky films, I’ve been extremely lucky.”

Of course, Stallone would ultimately go on to reprise the role of Rocky Balboa in not just one movie, but four: Rocky V, Rocky Balboa, and the first two Creed movies, the first of which earned him an Academy Award nomination.

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