Article in USA Today (5/6)

[FaT_tONle]

Erm... actually he hated Brian Singer thats why he didn't want to come back, if I remember. After watching the behind the scenes, I don't blame him. By the time Brian wasn't working on X3, it was to late to get Alan back if I remember.

How many examples are there of these actors having some beef with the studio/director or whoever? Or sometimes it just comes down to money... bottom line is the three picture contract doesn't mean squat... you HAVE to negotiate picture by picture... look at each X-Men film... even SM 2-3 they pretty much gave the actors money for two films... at least the ones they knew they had to have back. Regardless the contract was negotiated well after the first movie. You have to see how the first move works out... THEN you work out the deal for the option films. But if the actor demands too much or the studio wants to go in another direction for whatever reason then goodbye. No one is going to accept another recast unless it's another reboot, and obviously rebooting the Hulk a third time is out of the question.

 

[TheVileOne]

Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, and Sam Elliott all signed for three movies too .

I have a feeling if Singer stayed on for X-men 3, Nightcrawler would've been brought back.

 

[YJ1]

If that was the case... why are there threads about how Jon and RDJ still remained unsigned for IM2?

I forgot, if someone starts a thread about something then it must automatically be true. After all, it's in print and everything.

RDJr, without question, was signed for three movies. (not options) That's an undisputed fact. Favs was the only main cog that was signed for only one picture.

Releasing Eric Bana or Thomas Jane from their commitments was a studio decision. Signing an actor to a three picture deal is DIFFERENT then signing an actor to a film with options for more. That's two completely separate contractual commitments. Also, there's usually a time limit on lock down contracts.