History AdaptedOut / LiveActionFilms

* Neither the ''[[Film/The ColorPurple1985 1985]]'' nor ''[[Film/TheColorPurple2023 2023]]'' films of ''Literature/TheColorPurple'' feature the Mayor's daughter, Eleanor Jane.

* Neither the ''[[Film/The Color Purple1985 1985]]'' nor ''[[Film/TheColorPurple2023 2023]]'' films of ''Literature/TheColorPurple'' feature the Mayor's daughter, Eleanor Jane.

* The character of Eleanor Jane was completely removed from the film adaptation of ''Film/{{The Color Purple|1985}}''.

* The character of Eleanor Jane was completely removed from the film adaptation of ''Literature/TheColorPurple''.

* In the original ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' comics, Al Simmons was killed by Chapel, a character from Creator/RobLiefeld's ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' series. Rights issues made it impossible for Chapel to appear in [[Film/Spawn1997 the movie]], so the character Jessica Priest [[{{Expy}} was created as a replacement]].

* ''Film/FridayNightLights'' focuses on the 1988 football season of Permian High School, depicted in the film as the only high school in the one-horse town of Odessa, Texas. Completely missing from the film is ''Odessa'' High School, the other big public school in what's actually a city of around 100,000. Though the original book focused on Permian, one chapter was devoted to the Odessa–Permian rivalry.

** While they added a lot of characters in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' (in the original story's future, only [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], [[Characters/XMen70sMembers Colossus]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]], and Characters/{{Wolverine|JamesLoganHowlett}} survived while [[Characters/MarvelComicsBeast Beast]] and Magneto's younger self were not involved in the story), at the same time a lot of characters were removed:

** Aside from rights issues relating to certain properties, there is one missing character who in the comics is deeply connected to the Avengers and even played a direct role in the origins of at least two of their roster- [[Characters/IncredibleHulkSupportingCharacters Rick Jones.]] Despite being ''the'' reason Bruce Banner became ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk, the original partner and first human ComicBook/CaptainMarvel, the first and fastest friend of the resurrected ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, the second Bucky, and literally placing the call to each founding member that brought Earth's Mightiest Heroes together on that ''day unlike any other'', Rick has never made so much as a name-only cameo in ''any'' MCU movie. Instead, the role of Hulk's MoralityPet is bounced around between [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk Betty Ross,]] [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron Black Widow,]] and [[Film/ThorRagnarok Valkyrie,]] the role of Captain Marvel's sidekick is eliminated along with most of that character's history pre-Carol Danvers, and his spot as Captain America's pal and sidekick Bucky was given to, erm, Captain America's pal and sidekick [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier Bucky.]] Granted, nowadays it probably makes more sense for the Avengers to assemble at the behest of S.H.I.E.L.D. rather than a teenager with a [[TechnologyMarchesOn HAM radio club,]] but for those in the know the omission of a man who is frequently and accurately described as TheHeart of the Marvel Universe is glaring.

** The Blood of Mannoroth, one of games' most important {{MacGuffin}}s, is dropped, with fel fulfilling its function.
** The Burning Legion isn't as much as mentioned, though [[spoiler:Medivh's demonic form]] implies that they at least exist in the movie universe.

* ''Film/Warcraft2016'':
** One of the most important plot devices in the ''Warcraft'' universe, the Blood of Mannoroth, is nowhere to be seen, and Gul'dan empowers the orcs with fel magic directly instead. While this is plausible for a few orcs (as Durotan and his Frostwolves, Thrall, and Orgrim didn't drink the Blood but still eventually developed green skin), it seems inefficient for the masses of them in the movie. Likewise, neither Kil'jaeden or Ner'zhul appear in the film.
** On a similar note, Drek'Thar, the Frostwolf Clan's shaman, has been replaced by Orgrim Doomhammer (and fellow Frostwolf in this film) as Durotan's right hand Orc and closest advisor.
** Aegwynn and the Council of Tirisfal do not show up in the film. Instead, Medivh was raised and trained by the Kirin Tor to become the Guardian, with Khadgar being trained to become his successor.
** While [[spoiler: Medivh did turn into a demon in the end]], the concept of the [[LegionsOfHell Burning Legion]] is left almost completely untouched. In the non-movie continuity, Gul'dan's master was [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils Kil'jaeden]] and [[SatanicArchetype Sargeras]] had [[spoiler: possessed Medivh]] as part of the Legion's effort to destroy Azeroth. In the movie, it's basically implied that there was just some single unexplained demon who was the ManBehindTheMan. Gul'dan is mentioned as having spoken to a demon to get the idea for invading Azeroth, but he's never named. [[spoiler:Fans will recognize Eredar[[note]]Sargeras is not an Eredar, though Kil'jaeden is[[/note]] facial features appearing on Medivh when he starts turning into a demon.]]
** Gul'Dan seems to be the only Warlock in the Horde, and his Shadow Council is never mentioned. In the main universe every clan had at least one Warlock (each formerly a Shaman), and the Shadow Council controlled the Horde jointly with Gul'Dan (although he was still their leader.)
* In ''Film/WarDogs'', David and Efraim's vocal opposition to TheWarOnTerror comes from the third player Alex Podrizki.
* ''Film/WarmBodies'': Colonel Rosso does not appear at all in the movie. Neither does R's zombie wife and "adopted kids".
* ''Film/Watchmen'': The subplots concerning many of the normal background characters, Doctor Manhattan's father, the vast majority of the supplemental materials, Captain Metropolis' presence in the "Crimebusters" scene (named the "Watchmen" in the movie) and the artificial alien are removed.
* ''Film/WeeSing'': King Cole's Party is based on the songbook and album Wee Sing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies, where the main little boy character who gives King Cole his own blanket as a gift is Georgie Porgie. But King Cole's Party omits both the character and his rhyme, and Jack of "Jack and Jill" fame becomes the blanket-giver.
* ''Film/WestSideStory2021'':
** The overture is not performed at the beginning of the film, while it had in the 1961 version.
** While they don't appear in person, both the original film and stage version establish that Bernardo and María's parents live with them, and their voices are even heard calling to María from inside the apartment during the "Tonight" scene. Here, it's explicitly stated that Bernardo, Anita, and María live together on their own, and their parents are implied to be dead.
** Tony's mother is also adapted out, as he's shown living in Valentina's shop's basement.
** Riff's uncle is not mentioned, and it's hinted he has no living relatives.
* ''Film/WhaleMusic'': Several characters from the book (including all the real-life celebrities) are completely absent from the film; most notably, Desmond's parents, his psychiatrist Dr. Tockette, the Indian guru Babboo Nass Fazoo, and recording engineer Fred Head.
* ''Film/WhatEverHappenedToBabyJane'': The novel states that the two girls went to live with their aunt after their parents died of influenza, and that was how Blanche got into films. The movie just cuts from 1917 to 1935 when Blanche is already a film star, with no mention of an aunt.
* ''Film/WhatsEatingGilbertGrape'': There are two other Grape children: eldest brother Larry (who is mentioned only once in the film as being the one who "got away") and second-oldest sister Janice, who isn't mentioned at all.
* ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt1993'': Raymond Hill, who was Craig Turner's biological father, is not portrayed in the film. In fact, Craig is depicted as Ike and Tina's first of two sons together. In real life they only had one child together, Ronnie, who was given an AgeLift in the film to make him several years younger than his brothers. Tina's relationship with Hill was likely cut out in the interest of time.
* ''Film/WhatMaisieKnew'': Mrs. Wix is entirely omitted in the film adaptation.
* ''Film/WhatsTheWorstThatCouldHappen'': Everything related to the Dortmunder series (although it was light on continuity to begin with) was removed.
* ''Film/WhenAStrangerCalls'': The original film's second and third acts' TimeSkip, which happened after the incident when Jill was terrorized while babysitting, is completely removed in the remake.
* In Film/WhereEaglesDare, Inverted — whereas the book has just one loyal commando who dies early on (Harrod), the film has two (Harrod and MacPherson).
* In ''Film/WhipIt'', Bliss's life in Bodeen is a much smaller percentage of the film's running time; an understandable reduction considering the visual appeal of roller derby vs. the prosaic nature of Bliss's hometown.
* ''Film/WhiteOleander'': Astrid and Ingrid's upstairs neighbor, an agoraphobic alcoholic named Michael. The Turlock and Ramos foster homes and associated characters like the prostitute Olivia Johnstone and the social worker Joan Peeler.
* ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'': Prince Pondicherry and his palace made entirely of chocolate aren't mentioned at all, likely because it would have been too hard to dramatize that {{Flashback}} convincingly with 1970s tech.
* Im ''Film/WintersBone'', the flashback scene where this is shown but the characters still act in a way that implies it. It is also never specifically stated in the film that Blond Milton is Sonny's father, though dialogue later in the movie alludes to it.
* In ''Film/WoodyWoodpecker'', none of the other Woody Woodpecker characters are present due to the film being a HumanFocusedAdaptation.

* ''Film/SevenDaysInMay'': The film doesn't include a former mistress of Scott (Eleanor is only her friend rather than Scott's ex-lover herself in the book), Casey's wife, several lower-ranking generals and admirals working with Scott, Lyman's loyal vice-president (who Scott tricks into leaving the country before the planned coup), and Scott's replacement as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (a admiral who disagrees with Lyman but respects him and was never approached by the conspiracy) from the novel.

* The character of Mort (one of Basin City's few honest cops) was written out of the cinema version of ''Film/SinCity''. In the comics, Mort is the own who picks Hartigan up outside the prison. In the movie, this was done by Bob. (The extended version still includes a scene where Mort visits Hartigan in hospital.) He does appear in the sequel, though.

** Likewise, ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' is based on the origins of the titular KillerRobot- but his creator Hank Pym a.k.a. ComicBook/AntMan is nowhere to be found, with Ultron instead originating as a project by [[Characters/MCUTonyStark Tony Stark.]] Though the official line is that Hank Pym as a character just comes with [[NeverLiveItDown/MarvelUniverse too much baggage]]- which was also the reason given for his absence in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' despite being a founding member in the books- the fact that he appeared as a major character (albeit after receiving a major AgeLift) in Film/AntMan the very same year may indicate that the producers just wanted to keep him in their pocket for a more meaningful debut.

* With Peter Parker's high-school years compressed into the first third of ''Film/SpiderMan1'', you could argue that most of the villains Spider-Man fought in his early years were adapted out of Creator/SamRaimi's [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy trilogy]], for instance Electro, Mysterio, the Vulture, Kraven, and the Kingpin. Also a number of supporting characters, e.g. Mary Jane takes over Liz Allan's role at Midtown High, while her Aunt Anna is replaced by her parents. Joe Robertson's son Randy (who went to college with Peter) and Bugle staffers Frederick Foswell and Ned Leeds also drop by the wayside, and Flash Thompson, who eventually became Peter's friend in the comics, drops from sight after Peter's high-school graduation in the films.

* ''Film/Venom2018'' set itself the impressive challenge of adapting ComicBook/{{Venom}} without any reference to Franchise/SpiderMan, the single character most central to Venom's comic backstory, ultimately having the symbiote brought to Earth by CorruptCorporateExecutive Carlton Drake and making Eddie's fall from grace at least mostly his own fault.

* As ''Film/TheNorthman'' is not a direct retelling of the Amleth legend, the key element of Amleth [[ObfuscatingStupidity faking insanity]] to deter suspicion about his plotting - which survived all the way to Shakespeare's ''Theatre/Hamlet'' - is not present since Amleth flees the scene as a boy. Elements in the legend that were later echoed by Shakespeare's Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are also absent.

* The live-action ''Film/{{Tekken}}'' movie is a ''very'' loose adaptation of Jin Kazama's origin story from ''Videogame/{{Tekken 3}}'', but leaves out some key characters:

** Hrun the Barbarian from ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' doesn't appear in Creator/SkyOne's ''Film/TheColourOfMagic''.

** ZigZagged with the [[spoiler:(Second) Shinigami. While Koro-sensei's rogue apprentice is omitted, his [[PsychoSerum tentacle-infused form]] is what [[CompositeCharacter Yanagisawa turns into]] during his OneWingedAngel moment in the climax instead of the form he assumed in the manga]].

* Creator/TimBurton's film adaptation of ''Film/DarkShadows'' opens with Barnabas's backstory, which is ''extremely'' condensed (the about-100-episode 1795 arc into 7 minutes) and eliminates nearly every character other than Barnabas, Josette, and Angelique.[[note]]This includes Barnabas's little sister Sarah Collins, his uncle (and Josette's husband), Jeremiah Collins, his aunt, Abigail Collins, cousins Millicent and Daniel Collins (with Daniel being the direct ancestor of the present-day family), Josette's father and aunt, and several important non-relatives like Ben Stokes and the Reverend Trask. [[/note]] This leads to an AdaptationInducedPlotHole: if Barnabas and his parents Joshua and Naomi were the only Collins family members, and Angelique killed the latter two, then how are the present-day Collinses still kicking around in the 1970s? As far as the present-day, even ''more'' characters are left out, and that's not even counting any other characters in different time periods...

** ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', despite featuring a veteran, middle-aged Batman, dispenses with most of the Bat-Family. A single, unidentified Comicbook/{{Robin}} (Creator/ZackSnyder claims it was Dick Grayson, while [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary material from the studio]] instead indicates it was Jason Todd) is established to have existed in the past before being murdered by Comicbook/TheJoker, but after his death, Bruce never took on any of the later Robins like Tim Drake or Damian Wayne, nor any of the Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}s. A Batgirl movie ''was'' planned to be included as part of the tweaked post-''Film/TheFlash2023'' slate, but was ultimately shelved.

*** ComicBook/{{Oracle}} is not present in the movie, with the team instead coming together because of events surrounding ComicBook/HarleyQuinn.

** ''Film/Shazam2019'' is based on [[ComicBook/Shazam2012 the comic book origin story as it was post-]]''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}''. However, [[Characters/ShazamBlackMarvelFamily Black Adam]] is only alluded to, since he is getting [[Film/BlackAdam2022 his own movie]]. As a tradeoff, the movie gets more focus on Dr. Sivana, who was a secondary villain in the original story. Also removed from the movie are Mr. Bryer (whom the Seven Deadly Sins posses during the comic origin's finale, while they [[spoiler:serve as the source of Sivana's powers]] in the movie), Francesca (the woman who appears in reflective surfaces to [[MrExposition give out exposition]]), and Tawny the tiger from the Philadelphia Zoo (possibly because the Magiclands story arc, an adaptation of which was [[SequelHook heavily being hinted at]] in the movie, introduces a more classic style Tawny who lives in the Wildlands).

** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' was based on the comic book ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet''. However, [[ComicBook/Warlock1967 Adam Warlock]], a protagonist of the comic, did not take part in that film.
** Likewise, ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' is based on the origins of the titular KillerRobot- but his creator Hank Pym a.k.a. ComicBook/AntMan is nowhere to be found, with Ultron instead originating as a project by [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark.]] Though the official line is that Hank Pym as a character just comes with [[NeverLiveItDown/ComicBooks too much baggage]]- which was also the reason given for his absence in Film/TheAvengers2012 despite being a founding member in the books- the fact that he appeared as a major character (albeit after receiving a major AgeLift) in Film/AntMan the very same year may indicate that the producers just wanted to keep him in their pocket for a more meaningful debut.
** Many characters from Marvel Comics that have been licensed to other studios don't appear. As a result, adaptions of storylines that include a character that is off-limits are rewritten to avoid it. For example, Jean Grey does not appear in the conflict between Characters/JessicaJones and [[Characters/DaredevilCentralRoguesGallery Kilgrave]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsUltron Ultron]] is made of Vibranium instead of Adamantium (granted some of his bodies in the comics were made of an alloy of the two metals), Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch had a father who is not Magneto (which was the case in the early comics), and so on. This limitation largely applied to the Infinity Saga, prior to Marvel's partnership with Sony and Disney's acquisition of the Fox licenses with the company as a whole.

* The ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' film dumped Orko for a stand-in character who filled the same role in [[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse the franchise]]. This is {{handwave}}d when one of the eponymous Masters claims that Skeletor has captured a number of their allies.

* Kung Lao was one of the few significant ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' characters at the time to never appear in [[Film/MortalKombatTheMovie either]] [[Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation of the]] live-action movies. On the villain side, Kintaro and Sektor were also absent. [[Film/MortalKombat2021 The 2021 reboot]] leaves out Johnny Cage, a major character who's been around since the very first game. [[https://www.gamespot.com/articles/johnny-cage-isnt-in-the-mortal-kombat-movie-heres-why/1100-6488897 Producer Todd Garner elaborated]] that Johnny Cage was cut because the team thought that Cage and Kano are too similar in personality, and would overshadow each other if they're both included.

** While they added a lot of characters in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' (in the original story's future, only [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], [[Characters/XMen70sMembers Colossus]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]], and ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} survived while [[Characters/XMenTheOriginalTeam Beast]] and Magneto's younger self were not involved in the story), at the same time a lot of characters were removed:

* ''Film/ADogsPurpose'' edited down the first 54 pages of the [[Literature/ADogsPurpose book]] to less than 4 minutes. It very briefly showed Toby with his siblings but didn't name any of them, resulting in Toby and his family being DemotedToExtra. It also outright removed Senora, Senora's peers, Coco, Top Dog, Spike, and Rottie. The film removes several other, mostly minor, characters.

* ''Film/RedWhiteAndRoyalBlue'' cut out several characters and plots from [[Literature/RedWhiteAndRoyalBlue the books]]:

* ''Film/HauntedMansion2023'': Though many ghost from the original ride appear, the Singing Busts are not among them.

*** In the comic storyline, the present-day X-Men fight against the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: Characters/{{Mystique}}, Destiny, The Blob, Pyro, and Avalanche. In the movie, Mystique works alone. The only justified absence is Pyro, who in the movies is a classmate of Kitty's and thus wouldn't have been born yet in the 1970s. Destiny's absence from the entire series is probably the most glaring, [[HideYourLesbians as she was Mystique's lover in the comics]]. Instead, Mystique's major love interest in the movies is Beast.

* The [[Film/ThePrincessDiaries Disney adaptation]] of ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'' kills off Mia's father, who plays a not-insignificant role in the books. This was reportedly done to give Mia's grandmother, played by Creator/JulieAndrews, more screentime by combining those roles. [[https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/a37091522/princess-diaries-oral-history/ In an interview given about the adaptation]], when author Creator/MegCabot was approached by execs with this idea, the conversation went like this:
-->'''Studio:''' We have to kill off the father from your book.\\
'''Meg:''' Why?\\
'''Studio:''' We want to have a bigger role for the grandmother because we’ve got this great actress that wants to play her.\\
'''Meg''': Who’s the actress?\\
'''Studio''': It's Creator/JulieAndrews.\\
'''Meg''': Oh my god. Kill him. Kill the dad!

* The [[Film/ThePrincessDiaries Disney adaptation]] of ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'' kills off Mia's father, who plays a not-insignificant role in the books. This was reportedly done to give Mia's grandmother, played by Creator/JulieAndrews, more screentime by combining those roles. [[https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/a37091522/princess-diaries-oral-history/ Reportedly]], when author Creator/MegCabot was approached by execs with this idea, the conversation went like this:

* The [[Film/ThePrincessDiaries Disney adaptation]] of ''Literature/ThePrincessDiaries'' kills off Mia's father, who plays a not-insignificant role in the books. This was reportedly done to give Mia's grandmother, played by Creator/JulieAndrews, more screentime by combining those roles. Reportedly, when author Creator/MegCabot was approached by execs with this idea, the conversation went like this:
--> '''Meg''': Who did you get?\\
'''Studio''': Creator/JulieAndrews.\\
'''Meg''': Oh my god, KILL THE DAD!