When the cast for "Selma" was first announced in March 2010, multiple sources confirmed that actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer would play civil rights activist and Baptist minister Ralph Abernathy. However, Colman Domingo ended up appearing in "Selma" instead. The decision was made after Ava DuVernay took the reins from Lee Daniels in 2013, as she had a different vision for the film. As DuVernay told The Wrap in December 2014, "When I started, it was a different story, different script, and a different idea on how to approach it," which is why she ended up recasting the comedian.