Paul Feig, the director of the 2025 black comedy mystery feature Another Simple Favor, explained why the character of Margaret McLanden was recast for the movie. In 2018’s A Simple Favor, Jean Smart played that character. However, in its sequel, she is replaced by Elizabeth Perkins.

Paul Feig on why Elizabeth Perkins replaced Jean Smart as Margaret

Feig confirmed during an interview with Dexerto that Jean Smart didn’t reprise her role as Margaret in Another Simple Favor because she was filming Hacks Season 4 while the movie was in production. “Jean wanted to, but she’s so busy on that show Hacks,” the filmmaker explained. “And she was doing a Broadway thing. Jean was the only person who we couldn’t work out the schedule with,” he added.

The filmmaker went on to state that this was why they recast the role with Perkins, with whom he has worked on projects like Weeds and 2016’s Ghostbusters. Feig added, “She [Perkins] just had so much fun, and she brings so much of that character. But we covered it with that one line! Very proud of what I wrote.”

In the Simple Favor movies, Margaret is the mother of Blake Lively’s character, Emily. Margaret and her older sister Linda (Allison Janney) have a reunion with Emily at the latter’s wedding in Another Simple Favor. Emily isn’t necessarily happy seeing her family members. In fact, her new mother-in-law, Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci), organizes the reunion knowing how Emily will respond to it.

In the sequel, when Emily comments on how different Margaret looks from the last time they were together, the latter remarks, “I had some work done.” This is the line Feig was referring to in the statement above.

A Simple Favor was based on a 2017 novel by Darcey Bell. The book doesn’t have a sequel. Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis penned the screenplay for Another Simple Favor. The movie came out on Thursday, May 1.