The reason why Adam Sandler is not in Hotel Transylvania 4

Kids (and families) can’t wait to see Hotel Transylvania 4 in theaters (and streaming) on Oct. 1, 2021, but will they notice one iconic voice missing? Why is Adam Sandler not in the movie? The “reason” doesn’t really make sense.

The Hotel Transylvania movie series features many fun characters that really add to the story and comedy, but there are two people that make the franchise so successful: Selena Gomez as Mavis and Adam Sandler as Count “Drac” Dracula.

Both have been part of the franchise since the beginning. Sandler even worked as a screenwriter and helped create the story for Hotel Transylvania 2. This is in addition to also creating some of the songs featured in the first movie.

So with Hotel Transylvania 4 intended to be the final installment of movie series, why isn’t Sandler returning to voice Dracula?

Adam Sandler is not Dracula in Hotel Transylvania 4

Hotel Transylvania 4, also known as Hotel Transylvania: Transformania will see Sandler replaced with Brian Hull. Hull is a voice actor and impressionist, so if you watched the trailer for the movie and didn’t notice a difference, it goes to show Hull is very talented.

But if you are one of the few who did notice the slight change, you’re not alone, I did, too! Now, the kiddos may not know the difference and will still enjoy the movie, I’m sure, but we’re all still curious. Why is Sandler not voicing the iconic character?

According to Radio Times, Hull replacing Sandler was announced in April 2021. The source shares that Jennifer Kluska, one of the directors, noted that in this movie, Dracula will turn into a human, which:

"“…felt like embracing Brian [Hull] and, more specifically, embracing what the difference in that would be as a human. It felt like it was a great opportunity.”"

If you ask me, that doesn’t really make any sense. The explanation of wanting to make this Dracula different from others because he’ll be a human seems silly. The other characters will be changing too, are they all getting different voice actors? No.

Truth is, no one has really commented on Sandler’s absence. It could be anything from Sandler simply not wanting to after three films or scheduling conflicts. What’s your guess?