Most Controversial Casting Decisions

Heath Ledger's performance as the Clown Prince of Crime completely defied expectations and proved his critics wrong. The performance earned him worldwide adoration from the comic book community and more. He received a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.Academy AwardBest Supporting Actor.

When they cast him, things changed. Batman fans almost cried foul.unanimously cried foul, loudly condemned Christopher Nolan, stating that "the guy from10 Things I Hate About You"" didn’t have the gravitas to make such a showy, edgy role his own."

WHen Gadot, famous forFast & Furiousfilms, became the new Wonder Woman inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Twitter exploded. Social media saw a storm of criticism against the monsters.criticized everything from her looksto her work to her amount of muscle.

Kenneth Branagh’schoice tocast Idris Elbaas the Norse God Heimdall inThorbrought the race issue into focus for Marvel. Fans reacted strongly. Whether some people are narrow-minded nerds or they fear change, the fans reacted.

Elba's performance proved the criticism wrong; he gave one of the best performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

When Craig was cast in the James Bond reboot, Craigfaced a huge amount of scrutiny.Fans and the mediadoubted he had the acting skill or the "look," because of his rugged appearance and blond hair, which gave him the nickname "James Blond."Craig overcame his critics, delivering what is arguably one of the best—if not the best—performances in the entire Bond line.

He is often compared to series favorite Sean Connery.

Decades before Ben Affleck became the Dark Knight, nerds directed their anger at Michael Keaton, who then was known as a comedic actor.

Reactions included "disappointed to disturbed," and looking back, everyone feels a bit silly.

J. Law accepted criticism for casting her as rugged, resourcefulHunger Gamesheroine Katniss Everdeen in stride. "I'm a fan too. I get it," Lawrence saidin response to fans who thought she was too old, too pretty, and not tough enough for the character. Some people even said Lawrence was "too big"."

Thanks to her acclaimed performances as the Mockingjay, Oscar-winner Lawrence is arguably the biggest action heroine around.

Casting British actors for iconic American roles happens now. But in the '30s, producers feared a backlashif they cast Vivien Leigh to play the heroine of Margaret Mitchell'sGone With the Windto life.

When Jennifer Lopez played beloved singer Selena Quintanilla in the biopic about the singer's short life, critics reacted with a lot of SMHing and few protestedbut were proven wrong in the endwhenSelenaLopez gave a standout performance.

When Anne Hathaway played Selina Kyle inThe Dark Knight Rises, some vocal fans threatened to boycott the film.filled message boardswith alternate options for a new Catwoman.

Hathaway's work earned wide acclaim after the film finished the Batman trilogy.

No one disliked Tom Cruise as the fancy vampire Lestat (that's his full name, right?) more than his creator, AuthorAnne Rice publicly stated: "Here's this actor with no voice. I don't know how it's gonna work. Maybe he will drop out," to Moviefone when his casting appeared.

She totallychanged her tuneonce she sawInterview with the Vampire, however, declaring: "Tom's Lestat will be remembered the way Olivier's Hamlet is remembered."

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the GalaxyA film bursting with bizarre casting choices, none angered fans more than Mos Def'sstrange selectionto play Ford Prefect. Many fans reacted strongly against Mos Def's casting as the alien who barely survives.

Most comments started with, "I'm not racist, but..."

The online community shifted from hostile to skeptical abouthis casting.

Maybe the mostnarrow-minded castingever: inThe Conqueror, John Wayne played Genghis Khan as an oddly mustachioed good ol' boy.Wayne, who treated this as a pet project for years, admitted he was wrong about the part later.

He later stated you should not "make [a donkey] of yourself trying to play parts you're not suited for."

In one of the most absurdly and inappropriately wrong roles ever,Breakfast at Tiffany'scasts Mickey Rooney, who openly plays anAsian stereotypecomplete with ridiculous buck teeth, gigantic glasses, and excessively squinted eyes.

He looks like walking, talking, uncultured propaganda.

Johnny Depp promised to "reinvent" Tonto's relationship with the main hero inThe Lone Ranger. Audiences were suspicious; casting a non-Native-American seemed sketchy, and his Tonto performance relied on offensivecultural stereotypes, making his promise impossible.

People were unhappywith Zoe Saldana's casting as Nina Simone inNina. Most anger stems from the actress using prosthetics and skin darkening to look like the singer.

Fans connected the big crossover betweenGhostbustersfans and Men's Rights Activists? When Paul Feig's all-female Ghostbusters reboot announced in early 2015,the fan response spanned fromreboot was announced in early 2015, the fan response ranged from..

Never mind thatPrince Of Persia:The Sands of TimeGyllenhaal's career hit a low point. His casting faced suspicion early on because of his light complexion. Still, no fan outrage beats an op-ed about you in The Atlantic.The Atlantic.

Regardless of your opinion on Johnny Depp's take on Willy Wonka, it was a controversial choice.controversial choice. But those surprised need a reality check. Burton cast Depp in nearly every movie since the 90s.

Fans split from the first moment.Charlie and Chocolate FactoryThe trailer dropped. Depp's inspiration for the character—channeling Michael Jackson—made him a quirky, unforgettable character, also a bit creepy.

To anger fans of a beloved series, you can recast a Batman character or change the race of an entire group. M. Night Shyamalan did exactly that with The Last Airbender.The Last Airbender.

Everyone in the Nickelodeon cartoon is Asian. Yet, the cast was almost entirely white. Fans of the series were furious.they were livid.

We earn money from the Internet. Sometimes, reading online comments is the worst. Specifically, comments about comic book character races. When Mehcad played Jimmy Olsen in Supergirl...Supergirl, the rats came out to comment.

Winona Ryder famously dropped out of playing Mary Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's finale to the epic saga.finale to the epic saga, he cast his own daughter in The Godfather: Part IIIThe Godfather: Part III- a decision that has haunted the director and fans of the series ever since.

Sofia Coppola's performance became an infamous stain on a questionable sequel. It signaled her life's work would be behind the camera, not in front of it.

After a big backlash when he became the traditionally whiter-than-Wonder Bread Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four reboot, Michael B. Jordan...Fantastic FourMichael B. Jordanwrote an epic responseto his detractors, saying: "You're not supposed to go on the Internet when you're cast as a superhero..."

DespiteFifty Shades of Greyfans reacted with mostly a "meh" to her casting and wished Alexis Bledel had been cast for Anastasia Steele.Alexis BledelDakota Johnson pushed through and bit her lip all the way to the bank for Anastasia Steele.

Interestingly enough,TwilightFans first hated the man they would love. When little-known English actor Robert Pattinson played Edward Cullen, fans of Stephenie Meyer's novels felt "unanimous unhappiness" over the thespian meant to sparkle his way into their hearts as the vampiric hunk.