Julia Roberts, “Secret in Their Eyes”
Before she was approached for the film, Roberts’ role was written for a man whose wife is murdered. In order to land her involvement, director/screenwriter Billy Ray recast the role as a woman who loses her daughter.
Emily Blunt, “Sicario”
Producers pushed to rewrite Blunt’s character as a man, but writer Taylor Sheridan believed it would alter the film’s central dynamic. Blunt plays an FBI agent dispatched to fight the drug war along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sandra Bullock, “Our Brand Is Crisis”
Bullock landed the role of “Calamity” Jane Bodine, a character originally written for George Clooney and based on real-life (male) American political consultants working on the 2002 presidential election in Bolivia.
Emily Hampshire, “12 Monkeys” on Syfy
In the TV reboot of the science fiction film, Hampshire took on Brad Pitt‘s iconic role of mental patient Jeffrey (now “Jennifer”) Goines. The reason for the switch? Writers for the show didn’t think they could find a male actor to live up to Pitt’s part.
Charlize Theron, “The Gray Man”
In another role originally meant for Brad Pitt, Theron will play an assassin fighting her way across Europe. The change was made after a three-year halt in the project.
Ronda Rousey, “Road House”
This remake of the 1989 cult classic was developed as a starring vehicle for Rousey. The UFC fighter will take on the role that made Patrick Swayze famous.
Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones, “Ghostbusters”
In a gender swap that was rumored for years, Sony’s gonna call this all-star, all-female team for its “Ghostbusters” reboot due in theaters in 2016. The film marks a rekindling of the comedic chemistry Wiig and McCarthy shared in “Bridesmaids” flanked by “SNL” stars McKinnon and Jones.
