Discussion Main / PredecessorCastingGag

The following examples appear to be just a Remake Cameo without satisfying the additional requirement that the actor's role in the new show be a forerunner in-universe of the character they used to play.

If the new role is a reference of that kind, please add more context demonstrating how it fits.

Anime and Manga

• Dragon Ball Super's English dub features Brian Drummond, one of the original voice actors for Vegeta in the Ocean Studios dub of Dragon Ball Z, as Copy-Vegeta.

Films - Animation

• The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Charles Martinet, who usually voices Mario, Luigi, and most of the named male Super Mario characters in the video games, appears as a background character playing Donkey Kong who voices his approval of the Mario Bros' fake Italian accents in their commercial before saying "Wahoo!"

Film - Live Action

• Batman (1989): In an interview, Tim Burton said there were plans to have Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman in the 1960s, as Martha Wayne.
• The Brady Bunch Movie: Ann B. Davis, the original Alice, plays the truck driver who picks up Jan after she runs away from home, though she doesn't interact with the movie's Alice.
• In The Incredible Hulk (2008), Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk in the 1970s TV show, appears as a security guard at a university.

Live Action TV

• Avataro Sentai Donbrothers: Kaito, the team's Mission Control, is explicitly an Alternate Self of The Hero of the previous season Kaito Goshikida, making it this rather than a straight Role Reprise. The show's Running Gag involves Kaito's past constantly getting more and more mysterious as the show goes on. In the non-canon Recap Episode, Kaito declares himself the winner of the MVP Award because of his previous self's contributions during Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger.
• The Last of Us (2023): Troy Baker, who voiced Joel in the original game, now plays James in the TV show.
• Nikita: Alberta Watson played Madeline in La Femme Nikita. In the 2010 reboot, she plays Senator Madeline Pierce, a member of the group that created Division and the mother of Alex's love interest.
• Smallville:
  • Margot Kidder, who co-starred as Lois Lane in the 1970s movies, plays Bridgette Crosby.
  • Marc McClure, who played Jimmy Olsen, played Dax-Ur.
  • Annette O'Toole played Lana Lang in Superman III. In the show, she plays Martha Kent.
  • Terence Stamp goes from playing General Zod in Superman II to playing the Jor-El A.I.
  • The villain Curtis Knox is played by Dean Cain, who portrayed Superman in Lois & Clark.

Theatre

• Andrea McArdle created the role of the lovable titular orphan in Annie, and played her abusive caretaker Miss Hannigan in a 2010 regional production.

Western Animation

• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: In the episode "Chill of the Night!" Batman is given the opportunity to travel back in time and meet his parents on the night of their murder. His mother Martha Wayne is voiced by Julie Newmar who played Batman's frequent love interest Catwoman in Batman (1966).
• The Batman features Frank Gorshin, formerly the Riddler, as Hugo Strange for a few episodes.
• Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Features Hoon Lee, who voiced Splinter in the 2012 series, as the voice of Shredder.
  • There is also an episode featuring a group of characters voiced by Seth Green, Rob Paulsen, and Greg Cipes, who all voiced Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo in that series as well.
• X-Men '97, a continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series brings back a majority of the original voice cast to reprise their roles, except for Alyson Court, who decided to step down as Jubilee so that an Asian actress can take the role. Instead, Court voices Abcissa, a Virtual Reality replica of Jubilee.

Shouldn't this trope have been launched as trivia? It focuses on the actors more than the narrative.