Dawn Wiener is back!

Solodz most likely chose a different actress on purpose. He cast an entire different group of actors for Life During Wartime, the effective sequel to Happiness.


RIP:
David Bowie (1947-2016)
Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
Prince (Rogers Nelson) (1958-2016)

She doesn't want to play Dawn again because she didn't want to ruin the legacy of the character. In her reddit AMA, she said that she like how the original film ended with Dawn on the bus because there's a sense of hope and optimism that things might get better for her. It's a clever ambiguity that's pretty smart considering how complex the character was/is and the hell that she went through throughout the entire movie. I really don't blame her for not wanting to reprise the role because Dawn Wiener and "Welcome to the Dollhouse" itself had a story that should not be expanded for future sequels/prequels because Dawn's story in "Dollhouse" ended on a satisfying note with her story being told the way that it should only be told and that is that her junior high life and home life was a living hell, but things will hopefully get better. I just don't see the point of revisiting the character as an adult because Dawn should only be remembered as the young girl who went through hell, but is still optimistic to the very end despite all of the bad things that were said and done to her.

**spoilers**



She did, but if you see the movie you will understand why she's here. This movie, albeit brief, explores the possibilities of parallel universes, it's not a sequel to palindromes, more like a what if situation.