@northern haste
I’m not sure, some say the execs wanted Tommy Lee Jones for some reason, maybe because he was a big deal back then, and Billy Dee Williams’ only famous role was Lando in SW.
While others claim similar to why Baxter Stockman was changed to caucasian in the TMNT cartoon, they probably feared having the only main black character be a villain would be seen as racist, and upset audiences.
Sense Williams was under a “Pay or Play” contract for the first movie, they at least payed him compensation anyway, and he said he has nothing against Tommy Lee Jones, and enjoyed his preformance.
Still, I am curious how Billy Dee Williams’ Two-Face would’ve been like back then.