Malcolm in the Middle fans have been left devastated after noticing one beloved original character was not featured in the trailer for the new series.
Hulu and Disney Plus unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming sequel on Monday, giving viewers a glimpse at Frankie Muniz returning to his lead role as the title character.
The 40-second clip also saw Justin Berfield and Christopher Masterson back on screen as brothers Reese and Francis, and Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek as parents Hal and Lois.
Notably absent from the trailer, however, was Erik Per Sullivan, who played the beloved character Dewey.
Earlier this year, Cranston revealed during an appearance on the Fly on the Wall podcast that Sullivan did not want to be involved with the project.
It was later confirmed that Caleb Ellsworth-Clark would be taking on the role of Dewey instead.
Fans were gutted by Sullivan’s absence and took their heartache to social media, where one seemingly referred to the original star and asked: ‘Where’s Dewey?’
Others took issue with the first glimpse of Ellsworth-Clark in the role, with some even stating it shouldn’t have been recast.
The first trailer for the Malcolm in the Middle sequel has been released
The first look clip sees the return of the iconic family, including Jane Kaczmarek as Lois
Another wrote: ‘Sad Dewey got recast but I can’t wait to see this family back together again! Gimme a nice Hal freakout moment and I’ll be happy boy.’
‘Should’ve just written Dewey out of it rather than recasting him, throws the whole show off,’ a third observed.
A fourth agreed, adding: ‘Don’t wanna see this new Malcolm in the Middle with the recast of Dewey like… they could’ve just written him to be somewhere else.
‘Like I’m so sorry you have the entire original cast and you recast one person and expect me to be okay with it… no.’
In June, Cranston shared that he had a conversation with Sullivan about the reboot.
He said: ‘I talked to Erik and I said, “Hey, we got the show! It’s gonna come back.” He goes, “Oh, that’s fantastic!”
‘And I go, “Yeah, so we’re looking forward to having you back.” He goes, “Oh, no, no, I don’t want to do it. But it’s fantastic that you are.”
‘He’s actually going to Harvard,’ the actor added. ‘He’s really, really smart, and I think he’s getting his master’s at Harvard right now.
Dewey star Erik Per Sullivan (seen in the original show) was missing from the action, with the character being recast for the revival
Caleb Ellsworth-Clark has taken over the role from Sullivan (pictured)
The original Fox sitcom ran seven seasons from 2000 to 2006
‘He said, “Oh God, no, I haven’t acted since I was nine or something. So, I’m not into it.”‘
Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair was announced in December 2024.
At the same time, it was confirmed that both Cranston and Kaczmarek would reprise their roles.
Berfield and Masterson later signed on for the four-episode revival, which also stars Kiana Madeira as Malcolm’s girlfriend.
Newcomers Vaughan Murrae, Keeley Karsten and Caleb Ellsworth-Clark round out the cast.
Reflecting on the experience, Muniz admitted the project exceeded his expectations.
‘I’m not exaggerating when I say filming this reboot, like I loved it so much, way more than I ever thought I could have,’ he said on a recent podcast.
‘I think people will be surprised, in a sense, where everybody is and the story. But it’s only four episodes… It’s hard to fit in 20 years of stuff into four 30-minute episodes, right?
‘But I think people are going to be very happy with what they came up with.’
