The Gold Standard #38

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Casting call! Let’s have some fun!

Rules of engagement are as follows: Every book will have five or six characters chosen from it, who best represent the core of the series. Those characters will be cast. Plots and stories be damned.

This time on Casting Call we’ll be dream streeting four comics of choice….my choice.

So first up is Captain America, which is going to be an upcoming (and still as of yet uncast) film by Marvel Studios. Now I sincerely doubt that when they do make the movie that it will have much of anything to do with Steve’s modern continuity, or feature too many of his supporting cast as I predict a World War Two flick. That’s cool, give Buck a little screen love too. But for my case I’m going to be setting up a Captain America movie set in present day, as opposed to an origin story. It grants a wider supporting cast as well as villains that aren’t, well, nazis in WW2.

Steve, to me, is actually a very simple role to cast. I’ve had one actor in mind to play him for years, and when they did the Captain America Reborn announcement, part of me hoped that it would have been Marvel announcing this actor to be playing the role of Captain America. His name? Brad Pitt. Yes, that Brad Pitt. An incredibly versatile actor who is a very proven leading man. That’s something you need with this flick, a lead actor who has a presence about him that will have viewers glued. Not to mention that, well, Pitt can act. And he has the right face for it. At least to me he does.

Nine out of ten peole I asked said Brad Pitt should be Cap. The other said Randy Couture.
Nine out of ten people I asked said Brad Pitt should be Cap. The other said Randy Couture.

Sharon Carter I almost gave to Ali Larter of Heroes fame, but then my better judgment gave me an angel. Well, sort of, it mainly just gave me a Cylon. Tricia “Caprica Six” Helfer is a blond bombshell that proved on Battlestar Galactica that she could be ruthlessly efficient while still having a softer side…a well hidden one, which sounds like Sharon. She has to be able to convey that despite her own wants and needs, the job comes first. Her country comes first. An agent of SHIELD as well as the love of Steve Rogers’ life, you need someone capable of getting across how difficult the romance is from her side of things. Tricia can play a strong woman who is still a woman at the end of the day, and that’s what make her a lock for this spot.

Agent 13?
Agent 13?

Now for Steve’s best friend, Sam “The Falcon” Wilson I had to dig through the actors pool to see what I came up with, and I wound up pulling out Mekhi Phifer. On more than one occasion he’s had a chance to show that he can be a rough guy, that he can give as well as he takes in a fight, but he’s also shown discipline. I keep seeing him as Greg Pratt on ER, and figuring that if you bulk him up a bit, give him a bird and some wings, and bam, Sam Wilson. He’s a damn good actor, and the face is perfect.

Now we just need a Redwing
Now we just need a Redwing

For the arch rival, the Red Skull, I spent a while searching through German born actors looking for someone with that perfect “Evil German” accent. I wound up giving up on that hunt though, and settled on an actor I’ve been following since I was a kid. He may not be German, but it is someone that I definitely trust to get into character enough to have a badass accent that sends chills up and down your spine. My pick for the Red Skull is….Jack Nicholson. Good old crazy Jack, Jack who loves to be the bad guy because he’s so damn good at it. I could definitely see him as Cap’s worst enemy, and I can already hear his voice as he turns the Skull almost into a horror movie esque villain.

Can you see him all red, skully, and made of Nazi?
Can you see him all red, skully, and made of Nazi?

Now that we have the Red Skull, we need some big muscle bound idiot to play his right hand man, the deadly Crossbones. Now for Crossbones you don’t need much, just a big bulky white guy that looks like he can kill you. He doesn’t even need to talk! So this is a quick and easy choice as I go with a legitimate badass in UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. He won’t need to talk, just snarl and hit things. It’s the perfect role for him.

Want proof that hes tough? Look at Frank Mirs face.
Want proof that he's tough? Look at Frank Mir's face.

How many of you guys read Manhunter? According to writer Mark Andreyko, there’s about three times as many of you that have now since she’s become a backup in Streets of Gotham, outselling any single appearance she’s had to date by a decent sized margin. But hey, that’s cool, Kate is awesome. And doing a movie about her would let us tackle a different, more ‘unpopular’, branch of heroics. The reality of them. Kate’s a lawyer who took to being the Manhunter to take care of super villains who managed to escape the law and move on to kill again. But at the same time, she’s also a single mom managing that career, and her ex husband.

So without further ado, I give you our Manhuter. Jennifer Garner. Yes, Garner has already made a failed attempt at being a super hero with Elektra, but that’s in the past. As it stands, she’s the perfect age to play Kate (thirty-seven), has had kids (which helps with the image), and hey, we know she can kick ass. About the only thing that she’d have to do that I don’t think Jennifer is into is smoking, since Kate is a chain smoker, but like she’d really be the first person to do it? Either way, she’d give Kate Spencer the right combo of bad ass and compassionate that you get when you cross a lawyer, a mom, and a superhero into one sexy sexy woman.

Superhero Redemption
Superhero Redemption

Then we’ve got Dylan Battles, Kate’s……side kick? Go to guy? Arsenal? Whatever you want to call him, he’s as important to the story as anyone else as he’s the person that Kate goes to every step of the way when she needs something. But also, don’t forget, Dylan is a prick. He’s henched for every villain known to man, and the only reason he’s a free man is because he gave Kate evidence in exchange for immunity. Of course, Kate walking into his life for two seconds has his wife immediately assuming he’s cheating. He’s a sketchy guy, what can I say? He’s not conventional by any sense, and for as important to the story as he is, he tends to make you want to hit him. So I’m going with Matthew McConahughey. Who works best when playing a prick. Also, I’m biased against him…..I’ve only ever liked him in Dazed and Confused.

Dylan? Maybe. Annoying? Yes.
Dylan? Maybe. Annoying? Yes.

Now for DEO agent, and all around hottie, Cameron Chase, I have a personal preference in mind. Kristen Bell. Sure, she may not be perfect for the role in anything but looks, but I think she could manage it. Cameron is an agency woman with a distaste for superheroes stemming from finding the corpse of her father as a child, her father a superhero. Chase has powers of her own that are able to disrupt the abilities of others, which is kinda cool, and actually useful when it comes around in Manhunter. But the important bit is that Chase is the best friend of Kate, and Kristen Bell can definitely be the best friend. And the agency woman. Veronica Mars and Heroes anyone?

Im sorry, but shes just hot.
I'm sorry, but she's just hot.

But how about Kate’s boss, the formerly rhyming Director Bones, I figured we need someone who’s got a nice wit about him and can maintain it while being a complete prick. This worked in two ways for me, because there was an actor I wanted to use, and this role is tailor made for him. I’m talking, of course, about the devil from TV’s Reaper, Ray Wise. And I mean just from Reaper, his rendition of the devil reminds me more of Bones then of other devil like figures, and it’s really just the wit. Put a skull mask on him, give him a cigar, I can definitely see Wise being everyone’s favorite asshole skeleton!

Wise would just be awesome for it
Wise would just be awesome for it

Now Copperhead isn’t a very important role, and it’s just really just a character who is set up to die, as he was the first victim of Kate’s career as Manhunter. He was the entire reason she put on the mask, actually, as he managed to escape conviction with an insanity defense before killing the officers that were transporting him. He’s not an easy role to cast, let’s be honest, he’s just a giant snake dude who is going to hiss a few times and then get killed. So it’s not a really hard role to play, and about anyone can do it, so let’s go with…..Christopher Meloni, an actor that I do really enjoy the work of. And the fact is, his work on Oz as Chris Keller is why I eventually came to this choice. He played the best sociopath EVER!

It was this or a picture of him from Oz....and I wanted this to be SFW.
It was this or a picture of him from Oz....and I wanted this to be SFW.

Shadow Thief will have a slightly larger role as the villain who seeks revenge for the fallen Copperhead. Now let’s be honest here, Shadow Thief is at best a Hawkman villain and at worse a complete and total joke. I figure we need someone neurotic and somewhat crazed for the role, as Shadow Thief is a complete nut. Now for an oddball choice I’m going to go with Allen Covert, the main guy from Grandma’s Boy (one of my favorite movies, though the rest of you might know him better as any of the following:

  • Adam Sandler’s homeless caddy in Happy Gilmore
  • Adam Sandler’s best friend/limo driver in Wedding Singer
  • Adam Sandler’s gay friend in Big Daddy
  • Adam Sandler’s roommate in Little Nicky

Notice a pattern? Watch Grandma’s Boy)

Grandmas Boy
Grandma's Boy

Starman as a movie would be a labor of love. It lacks the mainstream appeal of most comics that you’d expect a movie out of, but then again, I just covered Manhunter. What do I care about mainstream appeal? Starman is an amazing character story, one of the best of its kind. Its non-traditional super heroics, and my casting choices are going to try and represent that to the best of my ability.

First off, Ted Knight, the original Starman. Just like in the book, he’s going to play a sizable role here. Jack needs his father and mentor, and that means we need a strong older actor to fill the role. After a little bit of thinking, the perfect one was stumbled across. Anthony Hopkins. One of the finest actors of the modern era, he would bring a level of humanity to the character of the former super hero who could have changed the world if he hadn’t been trying to save it. There’s a certain degree of class and dignity that he brings with him to the role that I feel would work wonders in keeping Ted Knight in our eyes as the loving father who was never quite the man he could have been.

Ted Knight?
Ted Knight?

Now for Nash we need someone that can pull off cute, creepy, loving, and insane. Preferably all in the exact same scene. Nash is that quiet as a mouth girl with a stutter who doesn’t want to hurt Jack and just wants to get past her father’s hate, only to completely change her mind the second Jack kills her brother. Nash declares her love to Jack in the same sentence where she says that she personally will bring about his death. She rapes him just so she can bear his son and raise him to kill Jack. And yet whenever she speaks to Jack there’s sweetness and love mixed in with all that vile hate and pure craziness. So I went with Summer Glau with the understanding that it will be a tragedy to have her cut her hair for the role, but at the same time, if there’s any one character she’s played in her career it’s a combination of cute, creepy, and insane. She can work on the loving part, but when I think of Nash, Summer is one of the few actresses I can think of who I know for a fact have the range to handle the character.

Maybe we can cameo the JLE....
Maybe we can cameo the JLE....

Now for Jack’s actual love interest I needed to find someone who is a combination of cute and quirky while remaining non-traditional, because if there is one word that shouldn’t be used to talk about Sadie (or Jack, for that matter), it’s traditional. Sadie complemented Jack perfectly in that they were both very unique individuals, and it made them mesh perfectly. It takes a certain kind of woman to handle a man like Jack Knight, and for some reason I think Zooey Deschanel would do it perfectly. I think Hitchhiker’s Guide showed that she could play someone able to stand up and act humanly in over the top situations, while movies like Yes Man have shown us that she’s more than able to portray a quirky character in a quirky relationship and still keep it sweet and interesting. Albeit that was with Jim Carey, and this….will not be with Jim Carey, but that’s not the point. Zooey is that nigh perfect mesh of non-traditional cuteness that Sadie more or less requires. I think she’d do perfect.

It would just be a shame to cut her hair though
It would just be a shame to cut her hair though

Now for the Shade I had originally batted around Ian McKellan and figured the character would be handled primarily through CGI, and that would be cool, McKellan has a great voice. But the more thought I gave it, the more I had to go against it. Shade would be CGI for his powers, but the man himself can be played by a man, and should be played by one. He’s an incredibly human character, and it would take so much away to not have a real face on him. This eliminated McKellan on the grounds that he is far too old for the role, because while Shade is a very old man, he doesn’t look like it. So after careful consideration I came back to the man I originally was going to cast in the role of Jack Knight, and give the job to Johnny Depp. Depp is a phenomenal actor, and I definitely had wanted to include him somewhere in this column, and with The Shade I was granted that ability. With The Shade you need someone who can tell a story so vivid that it makes you feel as if you were there, you need someone who will kill without batting an eye, and you need someone who can be the villain just long enough to enjoy the thrill of dueling with someone he thinks would joust well. He’s a very complicated character, and there’s not many actors out there that could truly cover the many facets of his personality. Depp, I feel, could not just handle it, but steal the entire show.

Even looks like Shade!
Even looks like Shade!

Now for the next two characters, the casting was handled by my editor Mike. Great guy, I don’t think I would be doing any of this without him. But Starman is his thing, I mean, he’s the biggest fan of it I know. He was the one who suggested that McKellan be Shade, which I wound up going against, but he did help me cast two difficult roles in David Knight and Ragdoll.

David Knight is the elder son, Jack’s older brother, and for a brief period of a few weeks, he was Starman. He died in the opening pages of Robinson’s Starman series, so you’d probably be wondering what good he would be for this? Well, if you’re doing Robinson’s Starman, then you have to have a Times Past moment, which means that the movie must go black and white with only David having color. It just has to be. And to play the role of David, Mike has suggested Jason O’Mara from Life on Mars. Now personally, after going through his filmography, I don’t have the slightest clue who he is. So with any luck, my loving editor will weigh in a mighty editors note to explain the casting. Mike?

Editor’s Note: David should really look like a superhero, and Jason O’ Mara has that rugged handsome look to him. It’s only a small role (unless you do a TV series, it’s not likely the later more quirky David appearances would be included in the movie), and Jason O’ Mara would do it justice!

And now for Ragdoll he’s given the suggestion of John Simm. Again, an actor I’ve never heard of, to play a character that I had sadly forgotten to even put on the original treatment. So right now I’m hoping that Mike want to do me a solid and do the Ragdoll write up.

Pretty please? See your name in lights?

Editor’s note: Ragdoll’s role is actually pretty small, but his insanity really amps up Grand Guignol to its full intensity. He’s Culp’s number 2 man and his role could almost be as powerful as Joker’s was in Dark Knight. The only actor that could pull this off is John Simm from Doctor Who and Life on Mars (the original). Just watch the last few episodes of Doctor Who season 3 to see the manic intensity that John Simm could bring to this role. Back to you, Grey!

Oh, and I guess maybe I should talk about Jack. I mean, it’s his movie. He’s my Starman, and this is his story, so we need him. Someone slightly unconventional who you would not look at and think super hero. That’s what had me thinking Johnny Depp earlier, but he was too old! So eventually Adrien Brody was settled on to play the junk collector turned hero. Looking at his filmography it’s kinda clear that he’s not an action guy, which only makes him more perfect for the role. Jack knew some karate, that was it. Jack was just a regular guy with some eccentric tastes; who would sooner buy some old shirts then see who was winning the game.

Meet Jack!
Meet Jack!

And now to wrap things up, I want to dream cast my ideal Superman movie. I know, I know, nobody liked Returns. That’s why I’m doing it. You need Clark, Lois, and Lex. Those are your givens. Then we need a few villains that can be played up to show sort of a buffet of Superman abilities. So I picked three of the best in Brainiac, Metallo, and Parasite.

First up, I want to tell you about Metallo. With Metallo you need someone who can come across as completely inhuman despite looking flesh and blood, as beneath the skin there’s a metal body with a heart of kryptonite. Garret Dillahunt played Matthew Ross on The 4400, and Cromardie on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. If there’s one role he’s proven capable of just from those two, it’s playing someone with a cold and icy voice that is much more intimidating then his face would suggest. He played a Terminator, I think Metallo is the perfect fit.

I am Metallo.
I am Metallo.

Now for Parasite it would be all CGI, of course, and I’d even rather have him, in Parasite mode, not form coherent words and sentences. Just be a monster. But you need to do the brief origin story, which means you need a schmuck looking guy to get splattered with chemicals to make it happen. Calling Justin Long! If there’s one thing your “I’m a Mac” commercials has proven, it’s that you are a schmuck without trying to be. Sorry bro, I think you’re great, but you just have a slap worthy face.

Im a Mac!
I'm a Mac!

Now for Brainiac we have another villain that would mainly need to be done with CG, but in this case we need a strong voice actor. Someone who has a level of class and sophistication in their voice. Someone who can keep the robotic calm no matter the situation. Thankfully, this being a CG character, it opens up signing potentially the living definition of what you need. Leonard Nimoy is more than just a legend in science fiction, he also happens to have by far one of the best voices in Hollywood. I could definitely hear him voicing the evil Brainiac.

Brainiac 1
Brainiac 1

Now in the case of Mr. Lex Luthor, I was on the fence. See, there are two actors who are perfect to play him, and oddly enough, both have! Yes, that’s right, Lex is down to a decision between Kevin Spacey and Michael Rosenbaum. Spacey is a personal favorite actor of mine, one who I felt could have done magic with the character had he not tried too hard to emulate Gene Hackman. Had Spacey gone out there and been himself, or better yet, been Lex Luthor, we would have had a winner. Instead we had the complete over the top insane villain that just felt weirdly placed. Now in the case of Michael Rosenbaum, he’s been playing Lex Luthor on Smallville since I was in high school, and as far as this former fan is concerned, he was the best part of the entire show. His Lex was compelling and sympathetic, and despite his growth into a villain, you still cared and could find yourself on his side.

Actually, decision made. Sorry Spacey, but I think that the only man who should be playing Lex Luthor is Michael Rosenbaum.

Type casting. Its a good thing.
Type casting. It's a good thing.

Now Lois I would give to another TV alumni, but not from Smallville. No, I’d go with Reaper’s Missy Peregrym. She’s young, brunette, and having seen her portrayal of Andi on Reaper, I’d definitely have to give it to her. As Andi, she managed to combine the perfect mixture of the all business serious go-getter (well, she was managing a Work Bench instead of writing headlines) with the girl her age trying to be a girl her age (Lois is something of a socialite, and Andi was a believable twenty-something). I figure it would be a safe bet that she could play a young Lois Lane, not the Pulitzer Prize winner just yet, but definitely a Lois who is the hot young reporter for the Planet. The one that’s making a name for herself both in the journalistic world as well as the social scene of the fine city of Metropolis.

Hi Lois!
Hi Lois!

Now for the star of the show, and easily the most difficult person to cast. I almost went with Brandon Routh, as I did like him in Superman Returns, but I eventually opted against it in favor of someone original. Someone that looks the part, and, most importantly, can act the part. But how does one act as Superman? Does it require a subtle humanity? Or maybe someone who can fit in amongst a crowd while at the same time having it be clear that they’re tough? Ah, screw it, it takes someone who can take a beating and completely no-sell it. Someone that you know can take a punch and pretend it never happened and still get the reaction he wants. There’s very few people that I can say that about, but this guy….this guy is totally one of them. I’m speaking, of course, about John “Superman” Cena, who is the master of taking everything his opponent has to offer, signitures and finishers and trademarks (oh my!), and still be able to get up, act like nothing happened, and win. He’s Superman, I tell you!

The King of No-Selling with no excuse.
The King of No-Selling with no excuse.

But seriously, the role of Superman is REALLY hard to cast. Every actor that came to mind I would typecast as another role, and like Singer said when Routh was cast, you need an unknown. You need someone you aren’t going to remember from another role because Superman really does require you to believe that a man can fly. He’s not that guy in last summer’s blockbuster, or in that artsy award winning flick. He’s Superman. That’s all he is, that’s all he needs to be. Anything short of that just doesn’t do him justice.

So thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? Let’s hear them true believers! Until next time!

The Gold Standard

A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.