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The Original Darrin

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No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to be Re-recast!

The Other Darrin is an inevitable part of showbiz: actors are only human, and sometimes their health, schedule, and contracts don't let them hang around and reprise their roles. But that doesn't always mean the actor has been blacklisted and the studio finds their heinous abandonment unforgivable: sometimes they're asked back. Usually this is met with much rejoicing... though probably not from the replacement.

In general, ever since Celebrity Voice Actor became the standard for animated films, it's common to see Poor Man's Substitute used for a film's spin-offs, such as video games and TV series, only for the original actors to return when an actual theatrical sequel is made.

NOTE: Just because this trope is called "The Original Darrin", it doesn't necessarily apply to only the originator of the role. Just as long as they've been around long enough that they are considered the version of the character by the fandom.

Despite being the Trope Namer, Dick York, the original Darrin Stephens, never reprised his role after Dick Sargent replaced him.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 
    Anime 
  • Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning:
  • Dragon Ball:
    • In the original Japanese track of Dragon Ball Z Kai, Yuko Minaguchi did not voice Videl due to her studying abroad, so she was played by Shiho Kakinuma instead. Minaguchi returned as Videl for Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' and Dragon Ball Super.
    • Masaharu Satou was the original voice actor for Master Roshi following Kohei Miyauchi's death, but was replaced shortly afterward by Hiroshi Masuoka. Satou returned as Roshi for Kai and has continued to provide his voice since.
    • Ichirō Nagai was the original voice actor for Master Karin, but did not return for the Buu Saga in Dragon Ball Z, with Naoki Tatsuta filling in. When Kai aired Nagai played Karin again and continue to do so until his death; he was later replaced by Ken Uo for Super.
    • Yūji Mitsuya, the original voice actor for Kaioshin, did not return for Dragon Ball GT, with Shin'ichiro Ota taking over. Mitsuya would return for all the Dragon Ball video games released in the 2000s as well as the Kai cut of the Buu Saga... but then left again when Super began airing, with Ota taking over as Kaioshin once more.
    • When the English dub of Dragon Ball Z Kai was originally recorded, Brad Jackson had temporarily left Funimation during that time period, so Bryan Massey played Oolong for its original run as well as the dub of the first film, Curse of the Blood Rubies. By the time the "Final Chapters" season was dubbed Jackson had returned to Funimation and resumed his role as Oolong, also playing him in the English dubs of both Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and Dragon Ball Super, at least until Super's 89th episode, where Massey took over the role again and has played it since.
    • For several years, Dameon Clarke stepped down from playing the role of Cell in the video games, and turned the reigns over to Travis Willingham. But in the English dub of Dragon Ball Kai, Clarke returned in the role, even though Willingham continued to play Cell in the games. Starting with Dragon Ball Xenoverse Clarke has returned to voicing Cell in the games as well.
    • Beginning with the video game Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z, Christopher Sabat has begun voicing Burter and Jeice of the Ginyu Force again after the two were respectively recast with Vic Mignogna and Jason Liebrecht for Dragon Ball Kai as well as the video games coming out at the time.
    • Meredith McCoy also did not return for the Kai dub, with Colleen Clinkenbeard filling in as Android 18. She returned for the dubs of both films and Super.
    • Chris Cason was the original voice of Mr. Popo for Funimation's in-house dub, but left after the Freeza Saga was over, and Christopher Sabat took over when the Android Saga began. Cason resumed his role as Mr. Popo when Dragon Ball Kai was dubbed, 11 years later.
    • The Mexican Spanish dub of the first 98 episodes of Kai infamously replaced most of the original voice actors, though Eduardo Garza, Rocío Garcel, Irwin Daayán, Mario Sauret and Humberto Solórzano returned to reprise their roles as Krillin, Bulma, Dende, Ox King and Raditz, respectively. For The Final Chapters, most of the original cast, including Mario Castañeda and René García, returned to reprise their roles; except for Sauret, who was replaced by Enrique Cervantes as Ox King and Marcos Patiño as Majin Buu due to the former living outside of Mexico City at the time.
    • In the Italian dub of Super, Dende's original voice actor Giuseppe Calvetti was replaced by Chiara Francese during the Black Goku arc's first airing. Calvetti later came back and also redubbed all of Dende's lines for the reruns.
    • In Super's Hungarian dub, Péter Beregi returned as King Kai after the character got recast for the last few episodes of DBZ (and throughout GT). This didn't last though, he quickly quit again.
    • In the Italian dub, Pilaf was voiced by Massimiliano Lotti for the first half of the original series, and was then replaced by Sergio Romanò for the remainder of the series and later appearances (like in GT and in the later dubs of the Z movies). Lotti came back on the character in Super.
  • The Spanish dubs for the Inuyasha movies were done in Venezuela rather than Mexico. When the Final Act dub was recorded, most of the Mexican cast returned.
  • The entire English cast of Ikki Tousen changed for Season 2 after dubbing moved from New Generation in Los Angeles to Headline in New York. When FUNimation licensed Seasons 3-4, they chose to get the better-received Season 1 cast back, although some members of the Season 2 cast did return if their characters debuted in that season.
  • For the first season of the Little Busters! anime, Yuiko Tatsumi took over the role of Mio from Shiho Kawaragi, her voice actress for the original visual novel. For the second season, Little Busters! Refrain, Kawaragi voiced Mio again.
  • Lupin III:
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion:
    • In both Latin-American Spanish dubs of the original series, Humberto Solórzano voiced Gendo. In the dub of the first two movies of the Rebuildof Evangelion series, Alan Miró would voice him. For the dub of the third movie, Solórzano returned to the role.
    • Speaking of Rebuild, the Prime Video redub of the films would not only see them repeat Funimation's move of getting Spike Spencer back as Shinji, Allison Keith back as Misato, John Swasey from the director's cut version of the episodes as Gendo and Tiffany Grant back as Asuka, but also getting Amanda Winn-Lee back as Rei, Brett Weaver back as Toji, and Jason C. Lee back as Shigeru, as well as Kimberly Yates, Tom Booker, Michael Ross and Amy Seeley reprising their respective roles as Hikari Horaki, Keel Lorenz, Kozo Fuyutsuki and Maya Ibuki from Death and Rebirth and End.
    • In the Italian dub:
      • The first dub of Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion had different voices for Misato and Shigeru, voiced by Francesca Guadagno and Davide Marzi instead of Stella Musy and Vittorio Guerrieri. The movies were redubbed in 2009 with the original voice actors.
      • Misato was then recast again in 3.0 with Rachele Paolelli. 3.0 + 1.0 was initially dubbed with Paolelli as Misato once again, but later had a partial redub with Musy coming back once again.
  • In the Italian dub of One Piece, Luffy was originally voiced by Luigi Rosa, but halfway through the Enies Lobby Arc he was dropped of the cast and replaced with Renato Novara. Surprisingly, One Piece Stampede was released on home video featuring as an extra an alternate audio track where Luigi Rosa reprises his role.
  • Pokémon: The Series:
    • After the change in dubbing studios from Season 9 onward, Ted Lewis (as Ed Paul) and Mike Pollock were both replaced with Craig Blair as Giovanni and Mr. Contesta. However, when Blair quit working for the studio, the two were brought back to reprise their respective roles. Lewis also returned to voice Tracey in the final episode of To Be a Pokémon Master, after Blair voiced the character in Battle Frontier.
    • Since the change, Nurse Joy has been voiced by multiple actresses. But as a Mythology Gag in one episode, former actress Erica Schroeder was bought back as an older Nurse. Then in Journeys, Megan Hollingshead, the original voice actress, returned to the role, thanks to the dub now primarily being produced in Los Angeles.
    • Rodger Parsons (as Ken Gates) was the voice of the narrator from the 1st season up until halfway through Season 6, where he was replaced by Mike Pollock. After the aforementioned change in dubbing studios, Parsons came back as the narrator.
    • In the Italian dub, Misty was originally voiced by Alessandra Karpoff, who was replaced by Benedetta Ponticelli in a redub of Seasons 1-3 and a pair of flashbacks in late Best Wishes episodes. When Misty came back in the Sun and Moon anime, Alessandra Karpoff took the role back.
      • Also in the Italian dub, Brock was initially voiced by Nicola Bartolini Carrassi, but was replaced with Luca Bottale at the end of the Orange Islands arc. Carrassi briefly came back as Brock for the Pokémon 4Ever and Pokémon Heroes movies.
    • Brock in the Latin American dub was voiced by Gabriel Gama from the beginning up to the first episodes of the Diamond & Pearl saga, with Alan Prieto having to take over the role until the final third. Gama later returned to voice Brock during the final season, and reprised his role for his guest appearances in Sun & Moon.
      • Also in the Latin American dub, Gary Oak went through several different voice actors in his subsequent appearances post-Johto. For the Journeys season, Gerardo Del Valle, who voiced him throughout the original series, came back to reprise the role.
    • The Norwegian dub had Eirik Espolin Johnson voicing Brock until he was replaced by Erik Skøld, who has voiced the character since Advanced Generation. Johnson reprised the role in Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution.
    • In the German dub, Ash was voiced by Caroline Combrinck in the first three seasons before she moved to America. She was replaced by Veronika Neugebauer until her death after Season 11, after which Combrinck reprised her role.
  • In the Ranma ½ dub, Angela Costain quit her role of Nabiki during the fifth season, supposedly because she was too busy attending flight school. Her sister Elaina Wotten-Costain took over the role through the sixth season, until Angela returned for the final season, once her schedule worked out.
  • Saber Marionette J:
    • Panther was voiced by Kikuko Inoue. She could not reprise her role in J Again on account of maternity leave, so Emi Shinohara replaced her. Inoue was able to return for J to X.
    • Lorelei's Mexican voice actress Isabel Martiñón was replaced in the Spanish dub by Elsa Covián for the duration of J Again, and returned during J to X.
  • Sailor Moon:
    • In the original dub from DiC, Emilie-Claire Barlow replaced Katie Griffin as Raye/Sailor Mars midway through the R season, after the show was Un-Canceled following a 2-year hiatus. When the dub was once again revived with the S and SuperS seasons 3 years later, Griffin returned to voice Raye, while Emilie replaced Stephanie Morgenstern as Mina/Sailor Venus.
    • Serena/Sailor Moon herself was recast with Terri Hawkes after Tracey Moore had originated the role for the first 11 episodes, however Tracey returned for Episodes 15 and 21 because the dub was recorded out of order.
    • The German dub of Crystal brought back Sabine Bohlmann, the original voice of Usagi in the 90s anime.
  • In the American Spanish dub of Saint Seiya, Jesús Barrero voiced Shion in what doblaje wiki dubs "Hades OVA 00". From the Hades saga dub onwards, he was dubbed by various other actors. In the Soldiers Soul video game, Barrero was reinstated.
  • Shima Shima Tora no Shimajirō had a zig-zagging case with Saori Sugimoto. Sugimoto had always voiced Nyakkii Momoyama (as well as Nyakkii's predecessor, Ramurin Makiba) in the show, but in 2017 she took a year off and was replaced by Masami Suzuki. Sugimoto returned in 2019; however upon her passing from heart failure in 2021, Suzuki was once again called back to replace her, this time permanently.
  • Supernatural: The Animation couldn't get Jensen Ackles to voice Dean Winchester for the first 20 episodes so they cast Andrew Farrar before Ackles returned for the last two episodes.
  • Teasing Master Takagi-san, which was originally dubbed in English by Funimation and Crunchyroll, switched cast lists when its second season jumped to Netflix. Then Season 3 came, and the original Season 1 cast was used despite being licensed by Sentai Filmworks.
  • The English dub of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon brought back David Kaye as the voice of Sesshomaru, over 13 years after he last played the role, having been replaced by Michael Daingerfield for the dub of Inuyasha: The Final Act.
  • After the "Waking the Dragons" season of Yu-Gi-Oh! was dubbed, Tara Sands left New York to move to L.A., which required Mokuba to be recast with Carrie Keranen for the final season and the short-lived uncut DVDs. Sands returned as Mokuba 12 years later for the English dub of the movie Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions.

    Film — Animated 

    Film — Live-Action 

    Live-Action TV 
  • During Series 1 of The Army Game, Norman Rossington's character (Private "Cupcake" Cook) vanished for two episodes, and when he returned, he was now played by Kieth Banks. Banks only appeared in four episodes before Rossington returned to the role for the rest of Series 1 and Series 2.
  • In the first season of Babylon 5, Na'Toth was played by Caitlin Brown; she left the show at the end of the season, and was replaced by Mary Kay Adams. The showrunner thought Adams' performance didn't suit the character as well, and Na'Toth was written out. She returned for a single guest appearance in the final season, once again played by Caitlin Brown.
  • In the second season of Batman (1966), John Astin replaced Frank Gorshin as the Riddler. For the third and final season, Gorshin returned to the role.
  • Although Bob West retired from the role of Barney the Dinosaur in Barney & Friends in 1999, he reprised the role for the 2005 PBS Kids Sprout launch event due to Dean Wendt (the current voice of Barney) being unavailable.
  • The Brady Bunch: Eve Plumb (Jan) and Susan Olsen (Cindy) were both replaced in subsequent spin-offs (Eve Plumb by Geri Reischl in The Brady Bunch Hour and Susan Olsen by Jennifer Runyon in A Very Brady Christmas) before returning to their roles in The Bradys. Maureen McCormick (Marcia) was also replaced by Leah Ayres in The Bradys, but has not played Marcia since.
  • Birds of a Feather: Chris Theodopolopdous was played by David Cardy in Series 1, Peter Polycarpou from Series 2-6, and Cardy again from Series 7 onwards.
  • Dallas, naturally, featured a suitably melodramatic version. Barbara Bel Geddes played Miss Ellie from 1978 until 1984, when she left after being refused a raise following an absence due to heart bypass surgery. She was replaced by Donna Reed. When Bel Geddes agreed to return to the show for a higher salary, however, Reed was summarily fired. (Reed was suing the producers for breach of contract when she died in early 1986; the case was settled.) Bel Geddes returned to the role of Miss Ellie the following season and remained until the end of the show.
  • Doctor Who:
  • In Drake & Josh, Helen DuBois was played by Yvette Nicole Brown in her first appearance "Movie Job". By the time Helen was to appear again in "Little Diva", Brown was cast as a regular on a new TV series called The Big House (starring a then-obscure Kevin Hart) and couldn't reprise her role, so Helen was now played by Frances Callier. The Big House was cancelled after just six episodes and Brown returned as Helen in all subsequent appearances.
  • Strange example in Girl Meets World. In the show's predecessor Boy Meets World, Cory's younger sister Morgan was initially played by Lily Nicksay and then was replaced by Lindsay Ridgeway from Season 3 onward. In the GMW series finale, both actresses appear in Cory and Topanga's apartment with everyone just accepting it. Additionally, the actor who played Josh Matthews as a baby in BMW has a cameo in GMW, despite his original role having been taken over by Uriah Shelton.
  • In the BBC's 1970s adaptations of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, Mervyn Bunter was played by Glyn Houston for "Clouds of Witness", then he was replaced with Derek Newark for "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club". Glyn Houston came back for "The Nine Tailors" and "Five Red Herrings".
  • Monk: In the first season, Sharona Fleming's son Benjy was played by Kane Ritchotte in the pliot, while in the rest of the season he was played by Max Morrow. This was because the pilot was filmed in Vancouver (and Ritchotte lived on the West Coast), whereas the rest of the season was filmed in Toronto. From season 2 onwards, Monk relocated production to Los Angeles, and thus Ritchotte was brought back as Benjy up until Sharona left the show midway through season 3.
  • Neighbours:
    • Louise "Lolly" Carpenter was played by Jiordan Anna Tolli from 1994 (shortly after the character was born) to 2001. She returned in 2007 for a few months, now played by Adelaide Kane before leaving again. Jiordan later reprised the role for an episode in 2013. (because Adelade Kane had gone onto bigger and better things in America)
    • Pierce Greyson was played by Tim Robards from 2018 until 2020, when he abruptly left to be with his pregnant wife (there was a chance of them being separated due to COVID-19 interstate travel restrictions). Don Hany played him for the last few weeks of his exit storyline, as well as a guest stint the following year. Tim returned to the role in 2022. The show seemed to lampshade this when his ex-wife Chloe confronted Pierce over his manipulative actions the previous year: "I didn't think you were capable of something like that. It's like you were a completely different person".
  • Passions: Liza Huber was the original Gwendolyn "Gwen" Hotchkiss (later Winthrop) before her departure in 2000 when she was replaced by Natalie Zea. Huber eventually returned to the role in 2002 after Zea's own departure and remained with the show until its cancellation. Something of note: of all of the many cast changes in the series' nine-year run, she is the only actress that returned.
  • In the second season of Pee-wee's Playhouse, George McGrath took over the role of puppeteering Pterri, though Pterri's usual performer John Paragon remained in the onscreen role of Jambi. Paragon was back to performing Pterri for the third season onward, with McGrath likewise remaining in his other puppet roles.
  • Power Rangers Turbo: While Hilary Shepard Turner played Divatox in the original movie, in the TV series she was played by Carol Hoyt due to Turner's pregnancy. After her maternity leave was over, Turner returned to playing Divatox in the second half of the series, and continued on through its direct follow-up Power Rangers in Space.
  • The Really Loud House: In the Italian dub of the film A Loud House Christmas, Lily was voiced by Sofia Fronzi instead of Giada Bonanomi, her voice actress from the original cartoon series. Bonanomi reprised the role for the live-action series.
  • Red Dwarf: Holly was played by Norman Lovett in Seasons 1 and 2, changed to Hattie Hayridge in Seasons 3 to 5, was absent in Season 6, then was back to being Lovett in 7 and 8 (and disappeared again in Back to Earth and Season 10).
  • Roseanne:
    • Lecy Goranson played the role of Becky for the first five seasons. Sarah Chalke took over the role for the 6th and 7th seasons. Lecy Goranson returned to the role in the 8th season, and Sarah Chalke took over again in the 9th season. Lampshaded at the end of the episode in which Goranson returned with the song "Identical Beckys".
      Meet Lecy, the one you used to see / From '88 to '93...
    • Goranson returned to the role of Becky again in the Revival. Chalke is also back, though playing a new character, named Andrea, which they naturally lampshaded:
      Becky: (to Andrea) Look at us, we could be the same person!
  • Star Trek: When the Borg Queen was introduced in Star Trek: First Contact she was played by Alice Krige. Suzanne Thompson took over the role when she became a recurring character on Star Trek: Voyager. For Voyager's Series Finale, "Endgame", however, Krige returned. Then, during season 2 of Star Trek: Picard, the Borg Queen returned, this time played by Annie Wersching. The Picard series finale, "The Last Generation", plays with this trope: Krige returned as the voice of the Queen, who was physically played by Jane Edwina Seymour due to the Queen suffering Body Horror after the events of "Endgame".
  • On Two and a Half Men, Delores Pasternak was originally played by Missi Pyle. When she returned four years later, she was played by Alicia Witt. In brief appearances in later seasons, Missi Pyle came back.
  • The Worst Witch (the 1998 series):
    • Felicity Jones famously was replaced by Katy Allen for Season 2, with the in-universe explanation that Ethel Hallow had used a "witch-over" to hide her resemblance to her younger sister Sybil. In the spin-off Weirdsister College, Felicity Jones returned to play Ethel presumably because she was now at college and didn't have to worry about her sister embarrassing her.
    • The grand wizard Hellibore is played by Terence Hardiman in Season 1. For one Season 2 episode, he's replaced with Richard Durden. Terence Hardiman returns to the role in Season 3.
  • On Wheel of Fortune, Charlie O'Donnell was the original announcer when the show debuted in 1975. He left in 1980 when execs announced plans to cancel the show; although said plans were quickly overturned, he ended up finding another job anyway. As a result, Jack Clark took over the role of announcer until dying of bone cancer in 1988. He was replaced briefly by M. G. Kelly until 1989, when O'Donnell's turn on The Newlywed Game ended. This allowed him to return to Wheel, where he continued to serve as announcer until his own death in 2010.

    Music 
  • The band From First To Last reformed in 2013-2014 after a months-long Kickstarter campaign, introducing Spencer Sotelo of another band (Periphery) as the lead singer and Ernie Slenkovich as drummer, recording the Dead Trees albium. However, the two new members were replaced after 2016 by Skrillex (their most famous member and lead singer back in 2004-2006) and Derek Bloom (their old drummer from 2002 up to his replacement by Slenkovich).
  • Killswitch Engage replaced frontman Jesse Leech in 2002 with Howard Jones, who they enjoyed their most successful period with. Leech replaced the departing Jones in 2012.

    Professional Wrestling 
  • Pro wrestling rarely recasts its characters unless the wrestlers wear masks or facepaint to hide their identities during said gimmicks.
    • Doink the Clown was originally played by Matt Osborne. However, Osborne left the WWF in December of 1993 so the role was played by a few other wrestlers in his absence, such as Steve Keirn, Steve Lombardi, Dusty Wolf, Ray Apollo, Mike Maraldo and Nick Dinsmore across multiple promotions. Osborne would reprise the role in some later guest appearances on WWE TV.
    • TNA wrestler Suicide was a defictionalized character from their 2008 video game, first portrayed on TV by Frankie Kazarian. Kazarian would go down with an injury and Christopher Daniels would fill in for him. After Daniels returned as himself, other wrestlers began accusing him of being Suicide, which is when Kazarian resumed the role.
    • After Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left the WWF for WCW, WWF made the unwise decision to reintroduce the characters of Razor Ramon and Diesel with different wrestlers playing them (as a Take That! to Hall and Nash since the names were trademarked by WWF): Rick Bognar and a pre-Kane Glenn Jacobs, respectively (unlike the previous two examples, the replacements were obvious since their faces and bodies were uncovered). Kevin Nash would wrestle under the "Diesel" name again during the 2011 Royal Rumble and Scott Hall would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as Razor Ramon.
  • Sin Cara was originally portrayed by Luis Urive better known as Mistico, but was replaced by Jorge Arias due to a suspension. Urive took back the role when he returned and played the role until his 2013 release, when Arias took it back.

    Puppet Shows 
  • Sesame Street:
    • Frank Oz, original performer of multiple Sesame Street and Muppet Show characters (primarily Grover, Bert and Cookie Monster on the former and Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal and Sam the Eagle on the latter) gradually stepped away from puppeteering in the late 90s and early 00s to focus on directing, being replaced by David Rudman for Cookie Monster and Eric Jacobson for all his other characters. Oz would occasionally reprise his Sesame Street characters throughout the 00s, and performed Grover as late as 2012.
    • On Play With Me Sesame, Steve Whitmire returned to playing Ernie in Season 3 after being replaced by John Tartaglia in Season 2.

    Radio 

    Video Games 

    Web Original 

    Western Animation 
  • King Goobot and Ooblar from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius were originally voiced respectively by S. Scott Bullock and Paul Greenberg in the pilot short "Runaway Rocketboy", but were replaced by Celebrity Voice Actors Patrick Stewart and Martin Short in the Pilot Movie Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Their appearances in the actual series had Bullock and Greenberg reprise their roles.
  • Arthur: The title character was originally voiced by Michael Yarmush, who was replaced in season six after his voice changed due to puberty. Yarmush returned to voice Arthur as an adult in the Distant Finale "All Grown Up".
  • The New Batman Adventures, sequel series to Batman: The Animated Series, had Jeffrey Combs replace Henry Polic II as the Scarecrow for the episode "Never Fear". However, in "Over the Edge", Scarecrow's second and final appearance in said series, Jeff Bennett replaced Combs. Combs, however, came back for the tie-in video game Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.
  • Batman: The Brave and the Bold had Two-Face voiced by James Remar in two of his three appearances, "The Fate of Equinox!" and "The Mask of Matches Malone!". However, his second of the three, "Chill of the Night!", the character is voiced by Richard Moll (a case of Role Reprise as Moll voiced Dent in Batman: The Animated Series) briefly in "Chill of the Night!" because Two-Face's appearance was minor and it'd been easier and cheaper to get Moll, who was voicing Lew Moxon, to do the voice.
  • Ben 10: Omniverse:
  • Cars: Owen Wilson usually abides by the rule of only playing Lightning McQueen in the movies, with Keith Ferguson replacing him in games and shorts, but he returned to voice the character for the last few shorts.
  • ChalkZone:
    • In the original shorts for Oh Yeah! Cartoons, Blocky was voiced by Robert Cait. When the shorts became a series, he was replaced with Candi Milo. During the second season, Cait became Blocky's voice again and played him for the remainder of the series.
    • Spy Fly was voiced by Tress MacNeille in her debut episode, "Disappearing Act". Then Candi Milo played her in "Chip O' Fools" and "Lost In Chalk". From "Beanie Boys to Men" onward, MacNeille returned to play her.
  • Dee Dee in Dexter's Laboratory zig-zags this. She was voiced by Allison Moore in the first season, but Allison quit the role to focus on her theater work and was replaced by Kat Cressida for the second season. After the show was revived for a third season, Allison Moore was brought back (as new show runner Chris Savino wanted to focus on changing a few voices around), but Kat Cressida returned for the fourth and final season at the behest of Cartoon Network.
  • DuckTales (2017) had Donald Duck once again voiced by Tony Anselmo after Daniel Ross replaced him on Mickey and the Roadster Racers (which was only because he was too busy with DuckTales, Kingdom Hearts III, and other works to do Roadster Racers as well).
    • On the subject of Roadster Racers, Bret Iwan, who has been the official voice of Mickey Mouse since the death of Wayne Allwine, returned to the role in animation, after having been replaced by Chris Diamantopoulos for the Paul Rudish shorts.
    • Walt Disney provided Mickey's voice from his creation through the early 1940s, with the role being inherited by sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald. However, Walt would voice Mickey again for the original Mickey Mouse Club in 1955, and for a Disneyland, USA stage show in 1962.
    • Quinton Flynn filled in for Wayne Allwine as Mickey in a few of the Mickey MouseWorks shorts.
  • The Emperor's New School, the spin-off to The Emperor's New Groove, saw Fred Tatasciore replacing John Goodman as the voice of Pacha. Goodman then came back to the reprise the role in the second season.
  • An uncredited Lacey Chabert voiced Meg for the first 10-12 episodes of Family Guy before being replaced by Mila Kunis, due to Chabert wanting to focus more on her schoolwork. The episodes "Back To The Pilot" and "Yug Ylimaf", both of which involve time travel, brings back Chabert to voice past Meg (though only via archived audio in the former), and unlike the first 10-12 episodes, she actually received credit. This is lampshaded in both episodes.
  • A few episodes of The Flintstones had Daws Butler stand in for Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble after the latter was inactive due to a serious car accident. Daws originally voiced Barney in "The Flagstones" pilot.
  • The animated adaptations of Garfield zig-zagged this. Originally, Garfield and Jon were voiced by Scott Beach and Thom Huge respectively. For the first of the Garfield Specials Here Comes Garfield, they were recast as Lorenzo Music and Sandy Kenyon. Huge reclaimed the role of Jon for all subequent Garfield specials, as well as Garfield and Friends (1988-94). Music similarly stayed on to be the defining voice of Garfield for all appearances including Garfield and Friends until his 2001 death (except an early 1990s Alpo ad that used Tom Smothers instead).
  • Gargoyles:
    • Maria Chavez was usually played by Rachel Ticotin, but replaced by Elisa Gabrielli for just one episode.
    • In the first (and only canon) episode of the third season, John Castaway was voiced by Alan Cumming. In subsequent appearances, he was voiced by Scott Cleverdon. This didn't seem particularly significant, until the comic book series (canon unlike the rest of the season) revealed that Castaway is actually Jon Canmore, who was voiced by Cleverdon.
  • Hey Arnold!:
    • Arnold's first voice actor (not counting the theatrical pilot) Toran Caudell, was recast after Season 1 due to puberty changing his voice (though he was kept on and given a new role of Jerk Jock bully Wolfgang). He provided Arnold's singing voice in the Season 2 episode "What's Opera Arnold?" because his replacement, Phillip Van Dyke, wasn't a good singer and Toran still sounded like his Arnold voice when he sang.
    • Curly's main voice actor was Adam Wylie, who was replaced and reinstated on two occasions: He was replaced by Haley Joel Osment in Season 4 episode "Deconstructing Arnold", then by Michael Welch in Season 5 episodes "Curly's Girl" and "Ghost Bride". Wylie returned for the Season 4 episode "New Bully on the Block", then the second-to-last episode "April Fool's Day". note 
    • Monkeyman was voiced by series creator Craig Bartlett in his early cameo appearances, but in his A Day in the Limelight episode "Monkeyman!" Andy Dick provided Monkeyman's voice. Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie had Craig Bartlett voice the character yet again.
  • Mary on Johnny Test is a zig-zagged example of this trope. She was voiced by Brittney Wilson in Season 1, only to be replaced by Ashleigh Ball from Seasons 2-4. Season 5 saw Wilson return to the role only to once again be replaced by Ball for the show's sixth and final season.
  • Justice League:
  • Kim Possible villain Señor Senior, Senior was originally voiced by Ricardo Montalbán, who was replaced by Earl Boen when he was unable to record an episode and brought back when he was in better health.
  • Looney Tunes: Jeff Bergman initially voiced many of the Looney Tunes characters after Mel Blanc's death, only to be replaced by other voice actors such as Joe Alaskey, Greg Burson or Billy West. Starting with The Looney Tunes Show, Jeff returned to many of his roles.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
  • Nick Jr.: Chris Phillips, Face's original voice actor from 1994, was replaced by Babi Floyd in 2003. Phillips would return in 2011 and 2016 for a few NickRewind bumpers, before being replaced by Cedric L. Williams in 2022 for Face's Music Party.
  • The Proud Family: Bobby Proud was voiced by Cedric the Entertainer throughout the series, but Arsenio Hall voiced him in The Proud Family Movie. Bobby's voiced by Cedric again in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
  • Reboot: Guardian Bob, the main character of the first two seasons, was voiced by Michael Benyaer until the second season finale. After an extended absence for much of the third season, he returns in an altered form now voiced by Ian James Corlett. In the feature-length film that comprises half of the fourth season, however, both versions appear voiced by their respective actors. The "original" Bob turns out to be a fake, but the real Bob has his body and voice changed back to said form.
  • When John Kricfalusi was fired from Nickelodeon, Ren from The Ren & Stimpy Show was replaced by Billy West, who also voiced Stimpy. John returned to voice Ren in the short-lived Spike TV revival Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon".
  • Rugrats: Susie was voiced by Elizabeth Daily in the episodes "The Last Babysitter" and "Angelica's Birthday" due to Susie's normal actress Cree Summer being unavailable, but Summer would return after those episodes.
  • A very unique case happened with the series finale of Samurai Jack. Mako, the original voice of Aku, had been dead for roughly 11 years by the time the episode aired and was already replaced by Greg Baldwin for the long-overdue fifth season. However, the opening moments of the final episode feature archival footage of the show's first opening, complete with Mako's original narration, a role he receives credit for as "Past Aku".
  • Scooby-Doo:
    • In 1997, Casey Kasem quit the role of Shaggy after his character was used in a Burger King commercial, clashing with his vegetarian lifestyle. Starting with What's New, Scooby-Doo?, he voiced Shaggy again until his retirement from the character in 2009, under the condition that Shaggy be a vegetarian as well. note 
    • Likewise, the 2003 movies Legend of the Vampire and Monster of Mexico, saw Heather North and Nicole Jaffe return to voicing Daphne and Velma.
    • Afterwards in 2004, Grey DeLisle would return to voice Daphne in The Loch Ness Monster after being replaced by Heather North in the previous two films. However, in SCOOB!, DeLisle would be replaced by Amanda Seyfried, although DeLisle would once again return to the role in the DTV films that followed.
    • After being voiced by Carl Steven in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Frank Welker returned to voicing Fred in the Scooby-Doo/Johnny Bravo crossover "Bravo Dooby Doo", and continues to do so to this day. In fact, Welker is the only VA still on the cast list from the original series' run over 50 years ago, replaced in the role only once, by Carl Steven (if only because Fred was a kid in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo)! However, SCOOB! inexplicably replaced Welker with Zac Efron despite him still voicing Scooby, although Welker would once again return to the role in the DTV movies that followed.
    • The "canon" Hungarian dubs zig-zag this.note  Fred received a new voice for the live-action movies, who then continued to dub him in subsequent animated movies as well. However his original voice actor still dubs him in the shows. Scooby's original VA died in 2000, but he had a consistent voice up until the late 2000s, when it was decided that he'll have a third voice for the cartoon shows, and his second actor would only dub him in movies.
  • The Simpsons:
    • When Roger Meyers Jr. first appeared in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge", he was voiced by guest-star Alex Rocco. In "The Front" and several brief appearances, he was instead voiced by series regular Hank Azaria. Several seasons later, Rocco would voice Meyers again for his last two appearances in "The Day the Violence Died" and "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show".
    • Maggie Roswell left the show in season 11 over her contract not covering her commute to voice acting sessions, leading Maude Flanders to be killed when the crew wanted to open up more storylines for Ned Flanders, while the rest of her characters (Ms. Hoover, Luanne Van Houten, and Helen Lovejoy) were recast with Marcia Mitzman Gaven, who also voiced Maude in her final few appearances. Roswell returned to voicing all her previous characters in season 14 (only in flashbacks and non-canon episodes such as the "Treehouse Of Horror" stories in Maude's case).
    • Normally Joe Mantegna voices Fat Tony but in "A Fish Called Selma", Phil Hartman (who already spent most of the episode as Troy McClure) voiced Fat Tony. The producers chose not to bring Mantegna in due to the part being so small they believed he wouldn't want to do it. After the episode aired, Mantegna informed them that he would always make time to voice Fat Tony, and has been voicing him ever since, even when only grunts are required.
    • When the Latin Spanish cast went on strike after Season 15, Marina Huerta (who had voiced Bart in the first nine seasons) reclaimed her role from Claudia Motta. When most of the original Latin Spanish cast members returned for Season 32, Humberto Vélez (the original Homer) reclaimed his role from Víctor Manuel Espinoza, while Patricia Acevedo (the original Lisa) reclaimed her role from Nallely Solís (among other role reclaimings).
    • Similarly, in Brazilian Portuguese, Homer and Marge's voice actors were replaced in season 8. Selma Lopes (Marge) returned at the end of Season 13, while Waldyr Sant'anna (Homer) returned in Season 15.
    • Normally, whenever the show skewers Fox and/or its CEO Rupert Murdoch, Dan Castellaneta voices Murdoch. However, "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" had the actual Murdoch appearing As Himself, who introduces himself as "Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire tyrant!".
  • Spider-Man: The Animated Series:
    • War Machine's appearance falls into this, with James Avery, War Machine's original voice actor on Iron Man: The Animated Series reprising the role (likely due to Dorian Harewood, his successor, voicing Tombstone).
    • While The Other Darrin within the show, Storm's original voice actress in X-Men: The Animated Series Iona Morris, reprised the role during the Secret Wars (1984) adaptation instead of Alison Sealy-Smith as Morris lived in LA and the original guest appearances of the X-Men proved expensive, as X-Men was recorded in Toronto and the voice cast was flown to LA.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants had an example in the Latin-American Spanish dub, where Luis Perez Pons, voice of Mr. Krabs (or Don Cangrejo as he's called there), was replaced after the fifth season by Carlos Vitale, only to come back in the middle of the ninth season after Vitale's retirement.
  • Star Wars:
  • In the Latin American dub of Steven Universe, Karrina Para quit the role of Sadie during the show's third season due to personal reasons, according to Doblaje Wiki. Mariangny Álvarez voiced her in all future appearances, except for Episode 89, where Para voiced her once again.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987):
    • The '87 incarnations have appeared in crossovers with the 2003 and 2012 incarnations. For the 2003 crossover the original actors (Cam Clarke, Rob Paulsen, Townsend Coleman, and Barry Gordon) could not reprise their roles because of legal issues (the 2003 show was non-union, and recorded in New York) and had to be replaced by soundalikes. When the 1987 Turtles crossed over with the 2012 series, it did not have the same legal troubles due to being recorded in LA (and union), thus allowing the original '87 Turtles actors to return.
    • Speaking of Rob Paulsen, he left the original series after the ninth season, so Raphael was voiced by Michael Gough instead for the tenth and final season. Paulsen's return for the crossover with the 2012 cartoon allowed him to play Raphael again in almost 20 years (it helps that he also voices the 2012 incarnation of Donatello).
    • In the French dub, Leonardo's second voice actor was Mark Lesser, while April O'Neil was voiced by Laurence Crouzet. When the dub moved from the SOFI studio to H2 Productions (Seasons 5-6), both of them were replaced by Michel Tugot-Doris and Laurence Dourlens, respectively. Lesser and Crouzet reprised their roles beginning in Season 7, when the dub moved to the Prodac studio.
  • On the subject of the Ninja Turtles, in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), Hun was recast with David Zen Mansley (who also voiced Agent Bishop) after the fourth season. For the final season Back to the Sewers and the film Turtles Forever, his original actor Greg Carey returned to the role.
  • Teen Titans:
    • Gizmo and Jinx in the 2003 Teen Titans series were voiced by Lauren Tom for the majority of the series, but Tara Strong voiced them in their last appearance in "Titans Together", apparently just because they only had a few lines and there's a limit to how many voice actors can be in a single episode. Lauren Tom came back to both roles in the successor series Teen Titans Go!.
    • Dr. Light was voiced by Rodger Bumpass in Teen Titans. Scott Menville replaced him in the Teen Titans Go! episode "The Colors of Raven", but Bumpass would reprise the role in later episodes.
  • On Tiny Toon Adventures, Buster Bunny was voiced by Charlie Adler, until the end of the third season, when Adler quit after being denied a part on Warner Bros.' next big project, Animaniacs. John Kassir voiced Buster for the remainder of the third season, the Spring Break and Night Ghoulery specials, and a few video games and promos on Kids' WB. Adler eventually returned to voice Buster for an unreleased PS2 video game, Defenders of the Universe.
  • In 1996, a short series called Toy Story Treats was produced, with Woody and Buzz being voiced by Jim Hanks and Pat Fraley respectively instead of Tom Hanks (whom Jim is the brother of) and Tim Allen respectively. Later TV specials and the Toy Story Toons shorts would have Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return to their respective roles.
  • Winnie the Pooh:
    • The 1983-1986 Live Action Puppet Show Welcome to Pooh Corner had Piglet being voiced by Phil Baron instead of John Fiedler. Fiedler returned to the role in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and continued to voice Piglet in all Pooh productions until his death in 2005. The same series also had Tigger being voiced by Will Ryan instead of Paul Winchell, with Winchell also returning for New Adventures. However...
    • Starting with New Adventures, the role of Tigger would alternate between Paul Winchell and Jim Cummings due to Winchell's humanitarian trips to Africa and, later, his declining health. This would last until The Tigger Movie, where Cummings would take over the role permanently from then on as Winchell's voice had become too raspy from old age.
    • The 2011 Winnie the Pooh film saw Bud Luckey replace Peter Cullen as Eeyore. Six years later, the Doc McStuffins/Winnie the Pooh crossover brought Cullen back to the role.
  • While the tie-in game, Young Justice: Legacy, would see a number of cast changes, the third season of Young Justice, Outsiders would see the earlier voice actors return, including Alan Tudyk as Psimon, Danny Trejo as Bane, Denise Boutte as Rocketnote , and Alyson Stoner as Oracle.
  • Lisa Vischer was the voice of Junior Asparagus in the VeggieTales video series, but was re-cast with Tress MacNeille in the Netflix follow-up VeggieTales in the House. Vischer would reprise the role in the Un Reboot The VeggieTales Show.

 
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The 13th Doctor Regenerates

Soon after being mortally wounded by the Master, the Thirteenth Doctor proceeds to regenerate into her fourteenth incarnation, played by David Tennant, who was previously the Tenth Doctor. The Fourteenth Doctor can only react with utter confusion as he slowly recognizes his old incarnation.

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