People were astonished when it was revealed that Aaron Pedersen would not be portraying the Jay Swan character in Mystery Road.
Furthermore, makers announced the television series’ pre-sequel immediately after the actor decided not to return to the show.
This left a big question mark for the netizens – why did Aaron Pedersen leave Mystery Road?
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Why Did Aaron Pedersen Leave Mystery Road?
The ABC Head of Drama, Entertainment, and Indigenous, Sally Riley, eventually revealed that the actor needed a break from acting, as per Tvtonight.
He desired a little period of recuperation following the protracted course of his performing career.
Speaking on a Screen Forever panel, outgoing ABC Head of Drama, Entertainment, and Indigenous Sally Riley stated the series was totally financed and had production dates set and ready to go.
At the last minute, he got a call from Greer Simpkin (Producer), saying, “Aaron wants to take a break from acting.”
They were crewed and prepared to leave. So, they spent some time persuading him, but nothing happened. However, it had already gone through her mind at that point of creating an origin story for the series.
So, producers and ABC switched to the prequel series Mystery Road: Origin when actor Aaron Pedersen had a change of heart and decided not to return to the show.
Big Question – Who’s Gonna Play Jay Swan?
They ultimately thought of creating an origin story for the television series Mystery Road.
Then the question raised, ‘Who’s gonna play the role of Jay Swan?’ Instantly, Sally went and said, “It has to be Mark Coles Smith.”
He was chosen because he looked similar and got the same charisma. “I was the last blackfella that hadn’t been in the franchise!” Coles Smith laughed.
Mark had got that gorgeous smile, and he just slipped seamlessly into it. Riley said that it was so cute when people saw him meet Mary (Tuuli Narkle) to see them start their relationship in the beautiful love story.
It follows the young Jay Swan, an officer who arrives at his new station in the town. There, his estranged father lives, as does the woman who will change his life, Mary.
Before starting pre-production, producers and writers spent nine weeks re-versioning the script. Mark was also a little triggered at that time when one person told him he was like the next, Aaron Pedersen.
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Producers Wanted to Put a Young Director for the Franchise
Greer Simpkin told Riley that Dylan River wanted a direct all six episodes of the franchise. So, Riley was like, “Okay. Interesting. Has he done a TV series before?”
But they knew that River was an exceptional talent. She stated, “It’s a huge risk, but we were changing the scripts, we had a new Jay… why not put this young director in?
Two days later, they came back and said, “We want Tyler Perkins to shoot it.” They chose him because Tyler and Dylan were so close.
After a week, Greer returned and said, “There’s a composer that Dylan wants to work with. Never done television before!.”
Riley, however, said that the addition of a cast and youthful creatives expanded the franchise’s potential. It just revitalized the series, and they were so excited about that.
