Rebel Wilson said Universal Pictures wanted to get rid of the original 'Pitch Perfect' cast for third film because they were 'too old'

• Rebel Wilson said the studio wanted to get rid of the original cast for "Pitch Perfect 3."
• In her memoir, the actor said Universal Pictures thought they were "too old."
• Wilson said that Hailee Steinfeld would have led a younger cast for the musical sequel.

Rebel Wilson said Universal Pictures wanted to replace the original "Pitch Perfect" cast with younger actors because they were "too old."

The Australian star plays "Fat Amy," one of the Barden Bellas in the "Pitch Perfect" trilogy. Wilson's comedic performance helped boost her career, and she later starred in bigger movies including "The Hustle," "Cats," and the Oscar-nominated "Jojo Rabbit."

In her new memoir, "Rebel Rising," Wilson recalled that during production of "Pitch Perfect 2" the studio asked the cast to film a scene passing the torch over to franchise newcomer Hailee Steinfeld.

"They were going to replace us all with younger actresses, led by Hailee Steinfeld, whose character was introduced in 'Pitch 2,'" Wilson explained. "This seemed like a pretty nasty and unnecessary thing to say to us hardworking gals right at the end of filming 'Pitch 2.'"

She added: "It was like a kick in the face to us original girls."

The star praised Steinfeld, calling her a "stellar performer" but pointed out that the younger star wasn't part of the franchise from the start. So, the actor used her law degree to negotiate a better deal, relying on the fact that the whole cast was upset about the studio's plan.

"As the lawyer in the group, I knew that this could help us. Since the studio didn't think they needed us and deemed us too 'old,' they never signed up any of us for a third-picture deal like they did with some of the newer cast members," Wilson explained. "When 'Pitch 2' became the highest-grossing musical comedy film of ALL TIME, we totally had the leverage."

"Pitch Perfect 2" made $287 million according to Box Office Mojo, and it earned more than the original film in the first five days of release, per The Wrap.

Wilson also noted that her housekeeper's niece happened to be in a research group to ask the public what they'd want to see in "Pitch Perfect 3."

"One of the questions was: 'What actor would you MOST want to see in 'Pitch Perfect 3'?' Then 'Which actor could you NOT LOSE out of the cast for 'Pitch Perfect 3'?' I ranked as number one," she wrote.

Because of this, Wilson said she managed to bag herself a $10 million salary for "Pitch Perfect 3" — a huge pay rise from the $65,000 she received for the first film. The actor said: "I believe I was subsequently the highest-paid person on 'Pitch 3.'"

Wilson also noted that she attempted to get the rest of the cast to negotiate together with the studio, but there were too many agents involved so it didn't happen. She added: "I assume that everybody received significant pay raises, and rightfully so."

Universal Pictures did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.