Why Jean Smart was recast for Another Simple Favour role

In the movie “Another Simple Favour“, Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, and Henry Golding returned to play their original characters. However, there’s a notable absence in the cast list for the sequel.

In the movie “A Simple Favor,” Jean Smart portrayed Emily’s mom, Margaret McLanden, in a key role that significantly impacted the storyline.

It was Margaret who uncovered the disturbing truth about Emily, previously known as Hope. This truth encompassed Hope and her twin sister Faith, who together ignited their childhood home and inadvertently killed their abusive father. After this incident, they drifted apart from one another.

In the movie “Another Simple Favor,” Margaret reappears unanticipatedly as a special visitor, sharing the scene with Emily’s aunt Linda (played by Allison Janney), at Emily’s wedding to Italian mobster Dante Versano (Michele Morrone) on the beautiful island of Capri.

Instead of Jean Smart portraying Margaret, it’s actually Elizabeth Perkins in the role. You may recall her from shows such as “Weeds”, “This Is Us”, “Big”, and “The Flintstones”.

So why didn’t Jean Smart return for Another Simple Favour? The answer is obvious when you hear it.

According to Perkins, who spoke with Woman’s World, Jean Smart portrayed Blake’s mother in the original production. No one can surpass her performance as she is like a queen of the universe. The only reason she wasn’t part of it was that she was busy filming Hacks at the time.

In the sequel, I didn’t feel like I was going it alone since Allison Janney and I have a significant role here. We’ve been acquainted for quite some time and are good friends. Interestingly enough, she had a minor role in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street that I was part of, but we didn’t share any screen time together.

When I received the call about “Another Simple Favour”, it felt something like: “Would you like to go to Rome and film a movie with this fantastic group?” Given my 30-year friendship with Paul Feig, such an invitation is hardly one to turn down. Needless to say, it was an effortless decision.

As a game enthusiast, I can rephrase that line like this: “At the wedding, someone pointed out that I looked different. I admitted, ‘Yeah, I got a little upgrade – or should I say, ‘work’ done.’

In January 2024, production on the third season of Hacks wrapped up (as reported by The Hollywood Reporter). On the other hand, Another Simple Favour’s filming was initially scheduled for the end of 2023, but it got postponed due to the Hollywood strikes.

There might have been a conflict that prevented Smart from returning to play Margaret in Another Simple Favor.

Given that she secured another Emmy for the third season of Hacks, along with a Golden Globe award, it appears to be a reasonable concession.

Another Simple Favour is now available to watch on Prime Video, as well as A Simple Favour.

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2025-05-01 11:19