7. Kevin McAllister & Marv Murchins – Home Alone 4 (2002)
This one might take some picking apart, not least because it’s a twofer. The Home Alone franchise launched Macaulay Culkin to superstardom in the role of Kevin McCallister, with the first two films in the series cementing him as a bona fide star. For Home Alone 3, the focus shifted to a new child (but a familiar premise). However, when Home Alone 3 was unable to recapture the original’s magic, Home Alone 4 decided to revisit Kevin and one of the original villains, Marv.
Over a decade after the original film, Culkin was far too old to play a child. Therefore, the role of Kevin McAllister was recast… to a kid who looks, sounds, and acts nothing like Culkin. What’s more, Marv actor Daniel Stern opted not to return for the TV movie, so French Stewart stepped in. Not only was the character radically different, but he was dressed like the other Wet Bandit.
Let’s be honest, Home Alone 4 was never going to be a masterpiece. However, the recasting of two main characters of the original movie was a chance to keep the franchise respectable, and the casting department opted for actors who couldn’t even capture the spirit of the original film. It certainly deserves to be remembered as the worst recast of multiple movie characters ever made, and Home Alone 4 should be avoided at all costs.