Potential Muppet movie cameos

Over the years the Muppets have announced or developed cameo appearances for their feature films that never came to fruition. Many of these cameos never went beyond the early development stages.

The Muppet Movie

• An early script called for a cameo by George Burns as a local bait shop owner outside Kermit's swamp which never came to fruition.
• An early script called for a cameo by Henry Kissinger as an aspiring actor which never came to fruition.

The Great Muppet Caper

• While Jack Warden was Jim Henson's first choice for the role of Mike Tarkanian, other actors Henson considered for the part included Jim Backus, Tom Bosley, Jackie Cooper, Hume Cronyn, David Doyle, Charles Durning, Broderick Crawford, Ed Asner, Martin Balsam, Harvey Korman, Walter Matthau, Jack Klugman, Jack Lemmon, and Lionel Stander.

• An early draft of the screenplay called for an onscreen cameo by Jim Henson as the man Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo encounter upon landing in Great Britain.

The Muppets Take Manhattan

• A cameo for Dustin Hoffman as a producer was written, but Hoffman decided not to do it at the last minute.

Follow That Bird

• Bill McCutcheon, who had previously appeared on Sesame Street in the initial one-shot role of Uncle Wally, is mentioned in an early draft of the script to play a recurring gas station attendant.

• Dan Rather was originally scripted as the newscaster breaking Big Bird's story instead of Chevy Chase.

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

• Snoop Dogg filmed a celebrity cameo scene for the telefilm; however, the scene was removed from the final cut of the 2002 telefilm by The Jim Henson Company and NBC. It was also absent from the DVD release which included other deleted scenes.

• Steve Irwin was originally slated to appear as himself hunting Fozzie Bear. Last minute changes in Irwin's schedule prevented his appearance, so a lookalike parody of Irwin was used instead.

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

• Edward Hibbert's cameo as an overly dramatic theater hall caretaker and Kelly Osbourne's cameo as a made-over Dorothy were both cut from the original release of the film, but were later restored in the "Extended Film Version" included on the DVD release.

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

• Stanley Tucci was initially meant to play Frank Meany, but had to drop out due to a sudden family emergency. Nathan Lane was able to fill in at the last minute.

The Muppets

• Early drafts of the screenplay include celebrity cameos by Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Christian Bale, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Mel Brooks, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Rachel Ray, Bob Saget, Lisa Lampenelli, Jeff Ross, and Charles Grodin.
• Rob Corddry, Billy Crystal, Ricky Gervais, Kathy Griffin, Sarah Hyland, Sterling Knight, Wanda Sykes and Danny Trejo filmed cameos; however, their scenes were cut from the final film. These deleted scenes were all included in the bonus features of the film's Blu-ray release.
• Additional celebrities were reported to have filmed cameos for the movie, including Liza Minnelli and French Stewart (playing a watch salesman named Gabe Lou)
• One version of the screenplay included a cameo by Lady Gaga; however, she did not appear in the film.
• A cameo appearance of the character Nicky Holiday from The Great Muppet Caper was written in an early draft of The Muppets, but Charles Grodin declined to appear in the movie.
• Elmo was originally proposed as a celebrity host for the Muppets' telethon; however, legalities prevented such a cameo as it would've been too expensive.

Muppets Most Wanted

• Bridgit Mendler, Debby Ryan, Peter Serafinowicz, Jake Short, and Tyrel Jackson Williams filmed cameos; however, their scenes were cut from the final film. These deleted cameos were included in the "Unnecessarily Extended Cut" included on the film's Blu-ray release.

See also

• Potential Guest Stars