Here are a few of my substitutions (subject to change!) that I think may embody each character in a different, and maybe more adult and accurate way on-screen. Enjoy!
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
Steve Buscemi - Bruce Banner/Hulk
Why? - Bruce Banner has been portrayed, on occasion, in the comics as a bit of a sleeze-ball, skinny, greasy, scientist who is actually a better/more likable person when he's the Hulk. Eric Bana was crap, Edward Norton was good, and Mark Ruffalo was OK. Buscemi is my top choice for Banner!
Matthew McConaughey - Tony Stark/Iron Man
Why? - Who better than Robert Downey Jr. to play Tony Stark? Well truly I don't think any actor on the planet would have nailed the part so precisely. But if Robert wasn't around then Matthew is my next choice. OK so people are going to hate him, they already do, but there aren't many people who can pull off suave dickhead with as much ease as him. Just darken the hair, add a moustache, change the natural accent and you're away!
Aaron Eckhart - Steve Rogers/Captain America
Why? - No one personifies an older, battle hardened Captain America more to me than Aaron Eckhart. Chris Evans did a great job and has the look and the physique, but if you're going for accuracy then for me this man is Cap.
Alexander Skarsgård - Thor
Why? - I don't think there are many people in Hollywood that could have pulled off a Thor like Chris Hemsworth did, considering his mammoth body muscle increase and natural height etc, and to be honest I can't really think of anyone else (apart from the odd non-talented WWE star) who could be passed off as the God of Thunder. Alexander Skarsgård seems to be the only other logical choice (if he bulked up) as he's already known by geekdom from Tru-Blood and has Viking blood in his veins too! To the weights Alex!
Morgan Freeman - Nick Fury
Why? - The difficulty with replacing Samuel L. Jackson is that the Ultimates comics based their black Nick Fury on Sam himself (much like the Alex Ross Marvel's run made Patrick Stewart their Professor X before he starred in X-Men films) so if you're going for a new black actor to replace him then you've got to go with ageing gracefully and presence. Both exuded by the bucketload by Morgan "The voiceover wizard" Freeman. He' may be a bit old for doing any action sequences, but hell... It's Morgan Freeman. He could talk the frickin Hulk down with his velvet tones!
Milla Jovovich - Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Why? - To be honest I never thought Scarlett Johansson ever embodied the Black Widow that I know from the comics. Too short, too busty, too American... The queen of action Milla Jovovich is almost perfect for the role. She's the world's biggest feminine action hero, she looks amazing in tight leather/PVC, and she's half Russian by birth. Perfect.
Jensen Ackles - Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Why? - I'm going to be blunt here and say that I'm not a big fan of Jeremy Renner. He played the part of Hawkeye just fine in The Avengers movie but if I had the choice I'd re-cast him in an instant. My choice here is Supernatural's Jensen Ackles. Body, action, humour, Mr. Ackles has everything Hawkeye needs. He could do with being a bit older to mix with the rest of this already-older group, but Ackles is Hawkeye for me.
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE 2: CASTING THOUGHTS
Nathan Fillion - Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym/Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Yellow Jacket
Why? - OK so maybe this one is cheating as it was a rumour for ages online and a lot of people's top choice even before that, but Fillion is a great choice for an Ant-Man cameo/full character appearance. Although to be honest Nathan Fillion is like Ryan Reynolds in many ways: You can see him playing a plethora of different comic characters very well, if only movie producers saw that too!
Yvonne Strahovski - Ms. Marvel
Why? - Having watched most of season 2 of Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes at this point, and loving the Ms. Marvel addition to the cast, it would be great if the second Avengers movie added Ms. Marvel to the mix. She's be great against Thanos and his hordes but would they have time to go over her backstory? Hmmm. Strahovski in a Ms. Marvel outfit though? Almost better than her Princess Leia in a gold bikini episode from Chuck! :)
X-MEN
Christopher Lee - Prof. Charles Xavier
Why? - As I mentioned with Nick Fury above - this is a tough one to re-cast in any way or form as Patrick Stewart was born to play Xavier. I thought long and hard about this one going from Mark Strong through to Kelsey Grammer, but in the end I wanted someone old enough (see the rest of the cast choices) but with a lot of on screen presence. Shave Lee's head and put him in a yellow floating wheelchair and I think I'd love his version of Prof X!
Tom Cruise - Scott Summers/Cyclops
Why? - Back when the original movie was going through its casting phase I remember thinking to myself how perfect Tom Cruise was for the role of Cyclops. Many people dislike Cruise now, but I'm not one of those people. 12 years later and I still think he's perfect. An older, still kick-ass-athletic, Tom Cruise with a Cyclops visor on is epic.
Julianne Moore - Jean Grey/Phoenix
Why? - I wanted a natural (or at least natural looking) red head for my choice of Jean Grey, and one that matches the age range of Tom Cruise's Cyclops so Julianne Moore is my first choice here. No offence directly to Famke Janssen but she was a terrible choice for the original role and one of my most disappointing aspects from the X-Men movies (but then there are many of those!). Ms. Moore is tough, sexy, and would be great with the rest of my chosen cast.
Viggo Mortenson - Logan/Wolverine
Why? - How can you beat Hugh Jackman now he's ingrained into the collective conciousness of the movie world as Logan/Wolverine? Well to be honest you can't and unless you had some kind of steroid that made Clint Eastwood action-hero quality then you're always going to be grabbing at straws. Having thought about this choice for quite a while I think Viggo is a great choice. I've watched 3 movies in the last two weeks with him in and every time he's on screen I think he would be a great Logan. Scary, battle-scarred, and physically capable of pulling off some visceral fighting scenes! Snikt!
Angela Bassett - Ororo Munroe/Storm
Why? - Don't get me wrong, I love Halle Berry. Every square inch of her. But I'm sorry to say that some of her worst on screen scenes and line (except for Catwoman!) were in the X-men movie. For me the perfect strong black woman who would have rocked the cinema would have been Angela Bassett. There are no two ways about it , Angela Bassett was the perfect Ororo and would have gone great beside Tom and Julianne!
Ashley Greene - Rogue
Why? - Anna Paquin as Rogue? C-mon guys, who were you kidding? In what universe was Anna ever a good fit for Rogue? The best, and frankly hottest and well-known, version of Rogue was the 90's cartoon version (with her permanent flight/strength superpowers!). Without having to explain and kind of teen-angst "I can't love because I can't touch" rubbish you could have had a powerful, girl power, character from the deep South who kicked ass and looked great on screen. Instead we got a wet blanket emo. Ashley Greene is known for the Twilight movies but known by me for being stunning and a great fit for 90's looking Rogue!
Charles Dance - Erik Lensherr/Magneto
Why? - Sir Ian McKellen is awesome. Known fact. But his Magneto wasn't scary at all and for me Magneto is one of the biggest and baddest bad-asses in Marvel history.
Someone who has always been an amazing actor, and an amazing bad guy (I loved his role as Benedict in the much hated "Last Action Hero") is Charles Dance and if anyone can pull off a truly awesome Magneto then he's the one to do it.
Brooklyn Decker - Raven Darkholme/Mystique
Why? - Technically you don't need anyone famous or particularly stunning for Mystique as she can become anyone (due to being a shapeshifter), and she's blue and half naked the rest of the time. No one's going to complain. But if you're going for a hot blonde like Rebecca Romijn then I'm choosing the stunning and ultra-busty Brooklyn Decker. Having recently seen her in 'Just go with it' and 'Battleship' I can safely say she'd be my perfect Mystique!
ADDED X-MEN BONUS CHARACTERS
Sylvester Stallone - Nathan Summers/Cable
Why? - So many people could be chosen to play Cable if a movie wanted a cameo or full Cable character arc, but for me the pensioner Stallone would be a great choice. Place him with the stunning Kate Mara as Hope and I'd watch that film...
Josh Holloway - Remy LeBeau/Gambit
Why? - Taylor Kitsch sucked as Gambit in Wolverine Origins. OK so the entire movie sucked balls, but the perfect man for that job, should they cast it again, is Lost's Josh Holloway. Swagger, looks, and a voice that would embody Gambit down to a t. Add an outfit not unlike the comic/cartoon version and some red glowing eyes and you've got yourself a kick-ass Remy! Oh and add a love connection to Ashley Greene's Rogue and it all gets a lot better with all the much loved banter etc!
So do you agree or disagree with the choices above? Have better ones yourselves or want another movie recast to see my options? Leave a comment!!!
1 comment:
Glen Danzig as Wolverine imho. Couldn't agree more with Cruise and Holloway!
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