When the Wayans Brothers’ comedy Scary Movie hit cinemas 25 years ago, no one could have expected the shockingly crude slasher spoof would spawn as many sequels as it did. Opening the door for any celebrity to make a self-deprecating cameo, the franchise has seen random stars such as Queen Latifah, Charlie Sheen, Dr. Phil, and Shaquille O’Neal, among others, make an appearance. But one legendary star set for 2001’s Scary Movie 2 could have been the biggest cameo of them all: Marlon Brando. In his twilight years, Brando’s film appearances became less frequent, making his initial casting in Scary Movie 2 so bizarre. The Oscar-winning star of The Godfather was to appear in the sequel’s opening teaser before health issues took him out of the project. When the Wayans scrambled for a replacement, they took serious consideration into approaching a particular leader of the free world.

Why Did Marlon Brando Leave ‘Scary Movie 2’?

It was controversial enough when the second installment was announced in 2000, despite the Wayans initially stating their surprise comedy hit would not be getting a sequel. Given the shock value of the gratuitous potty humor in the original, the Wayans had to raise the bar in delivering bigger laughs in a sequel with less time to go from production to the screen. That meant looking to spoof beyond the horror hits of the ‘90s and going for the classics; more specifically, 1973’s The Exorcist.

There had been multiple Exorcist send-ups in the past, ranging from the blaxploitation film Abby to the 1990 comedy Repossessed. The images of a head spinning and green vomit that terrified audiences in 1973 have been subverted into comedy bits to the point where the subsequent inferior Exorcist sequels could not be taken seriously. But unlike any parody of William Friedkin’s horror masterpiece, the Scary Movie 2 sendup had the potential to be memorable when Brando signed on to be paid $2 million to play the priest role made famous by Max Von Sydow. Spoofing the now iconic sequence of Sydow’s Father Merrin exorcising actor Linda Blair’s Regan MacNeil, the comedic twist in Scary Movie 2 called for Brando’s Father McFeely to be sexually stimulated by the possessed girl’s devilish advances.

Upon his first day of shooting, however, Brando was not exactly in the best condition to work. Co-star Natasha Lyonne, who spoofed Blair’s Exorcist character in Scary Movie 2, recalled in a 2022 interview that she was the last person to ever work with the iconic actor despite his limitations to an oxygen tank and wearing an earpiece to have a crew member feed his dialogue. After just one day of struggling through the production, Brando dropped out of the Father McFeely role. As Marlon Wayans told the New York Post at the time of Scary Movie 2’s release, “We didn’t want to be the guys responsible for killing The Godfather”.

President Bill Clinton Was Considered as Marlon Brando’s Replacement in ‘Scary Movie 2′

Image Via Disney

With Brando’s footage deemed unusable, the Wayans sought a replacement immediately. If they were going to top the legendary star of On the Waterfront and The Wild One, they needed to cast the most unexpected personality. Recounted in the same Post article, the Wayans got bold by considering US President Bill Clinton. The 42nd President was exiting office just in time for Scary Movie 2 to start production, after the infamous sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky in his second term. Though President Clinton was on the Wayans’ radar, it never got far enough to the point of making an offer to him. Shawn Wayans recalled to the Post that “we just tossed the name around. But we had to really come to our senses and say, he was the president. He had to take an oath, so there are certain things he just can’t do, like appearing in a movie like ours – the s*** we had him doing.”

The Wayans ultimately settled on James Woods for Father McFeely. Woods does an admirable job of handling the self-deprecating humor, but his involvement ultimately lacked the memorable impact that Brando or President Clinton could have had on what ended up being a subpar comedy sequel. After the Scary Movie 2 fallout, Brando made his last on-screen appearances in 2001’s The Score and the Michael Jackson music video for “Rock My World” before his passing three years later. President Clinton has yet to make his acting debut, but one never knows — maybe a Scary Movie 6 cameo could come calling.

Release Date

July 4, 2001

Runtime

83 minutes

Director

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Writers

Alyson Fouse, Craig Wayans, Dave Polsky, Greg Grabianski

Producers

Bob Weinstein, Brad Weston, Eric L. Gold, Harvey Weinstein, Lee R. Mayes, Lisa Blum, Peter Schwerin, Rick Alvarez