Brendan Fraser hints that he wasn't in 'George of the Jungle 2' because the studio was 'too cheap to hire me'

• Brendan Fraser suggests the studio behind "George of the Jungle 2" was too cheap to bring him back.
• Disney released the sequel in 2003 with Christopher Showerman replacing Fraser in the role.

Brendan Fraser has had plenty of beloved roles over the years, like Rick O'Connell in "The Mummy" movies, Ben Sullivan in "Scrubs," and recently Robotman in "Doom Patrol." But perhaps one of his most famous characters is the titular hero in Disney's 1997's "George of the Jungle."

The film sees Fraser as a man who's been raised in the jungle by apes and is brought back to society. It's basically a spoof of "Tarzan," and it was pretty successful since it earned $174 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Disney decided to double down with "George of the Jungle 2" in 2003, but Fraser chose not to reprise the titular role, and it was recast with Christopher Showerman replacing the actor.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fraser hinted that he didn't return because the studio didn't offer him enough money o come back.

He said: "I think 'George' got a remake, and they built a joke into it that the studio was too cheap to hire me, which wasn't inaccurate."

The sequel makes a few jokes about Fraser, with Showerman's George telling the narrator that the studio was "too cheap to pay Brendan Fraser." The narrator also jokes that "the new George can take a tree as well as Brendan Fraser." Never mind the tree, "George of the Jungle 2" has no problem smashing the fourth wall.

Fraser also explained that he was asked to come back, but he was more focused on other projects, like "The Quiet American."

He said: "I was approached. I can't remember what I was doing at the time, but I felt like I wanted to go do 'The Quiet American' instead with Michael Caine, and shoot the first Western film in Vietnam ever, directed by Phillip Noyce, to tell an infinitely American story."

It's not the first time Fraser has discussed his time as George, as he recently explained that he was "starved" of carbohydrates during production and that his brain was "misfiring."

The star also said that his "diverse" career path has kept him going over the years.

He added: "I'm always making diverse choices, and, hopefully, that keeps me and an audience interested. With a bit of distance, I think they've all cumulatively led up to the place I'm in now."