There is evil that cannot be stopped without being killed, jobs that the X-Men cannot do. Instead, these clandestine operations fall to Wolverine and his black ops team of mutants: the Uncanny X-Force. Rick Remender created a epic saga full of glorious art, visceral action, and intimate characterization, all of which seem to make it ripe for a big-screen adaptation. This is the dream scenario of such a film.
Director - Rian Johnson
An
Uncanny X-Force film makes tough work for a director, who has to be able to handle large-scale action set pieces as well as character-developing interactions between this team of remorseful mutants. Johnson has proven himself at balancing such a scenario with
Looper, and his work on
Brick and
Breaking Bad has shown a real visual ingenuity, which would help to set a unique tone for this film to stand out from the ever-growing field of superhero movies.
Wolverine - Manu Bennett
The grizzled leader of the X-Force, Wolverine busies himself with killing to keep his mind off of his many past mistakes, and the decisions he knows this team is going to require him to make. If you have watched
Spartacus, this choice shouldn’t require much explanation. Bennett’s ferocious, feral and animalistic when he needs to be but can still hit the intimate character moments. He would be believable as the berzerker taking down hordes of Akkaba soldiers as well as the broken fighter questioning what his team’s purpose really is. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s ripped like crazy and is only 5’9”.
Psylocke - Moon Bloodgood
Psylocke, the lone female on the team, is very much the moral compass for the killers around her, struggling to find goodness for the team amidst the violence they cause, all the while trying to deal with a twisted love triangle. Yes, everyone already knows Maggie Q would be a perfect Psylocke, but for the sake of variety, here’s a new option: a kick-ass female who’s handled herself in big-budget action like
Terminator: Salvation, and small-scale drama like
The Sessions. Not to mention, are you telling me you don’t want to see her in that leotard?
Deadpool - Joel McHale
The merc with mouth. The breaker of fourth walls. The obnoxious, undying, wise-ass who, as it turns out, may actually have a heart after all. And for the task of tackling this douchebaggy hero, McHale fits the bill perfectly. He’s tall, fit, sassy and sarcastic, all calling cards of Deadpool, plus he's proven to be convincing at comedy and action. His role on
Community proves he can play the Deadpool who belongs on screen: a back-talking smart-ass, who knows he’s better than everyone else and is not afraid to share it, even if he might have an actual heartfelt moment every now and then.
Fantomex - Bradley Cooper
Easily the trickiest character to cast. Apart from the fact that you barely get a glimpse of what Fantomex looks like under the mask, his personality is all over the place. He essentially out-Deadpools Deadpool throughout the comic in terms of sarcasm and violence, while simultaneously being the most nuanced and introverted character out of everyone. Oh, and he speaks with a heavy French accent. Cooper checks off as many of these boxes as anyone, being able to do charming, badass, subtle and caring all together, along with the fact that he speaks fluent French, so that doesn’t hurt.
Archangel - Matt Bomer
The troubled transformation of Warren Worthington III into Archangel reaches an apex at the beginning of the series, and his inability to purge Apocalypse’s influence gradually leads the once-gentle mutant into becoming the main antagonist of the story. Bomer physically looks like a disenfranchised rich kid all grown up, complete with the build to be threatening and the demeanour to convey Archangel’s utter desperation and fury. He has never played a full-out villain but he’s got a lot of potential and this role would really allow him to let loose.
Deathlok-Prime - Tony Todd
Although no longer attached to the brain of a mass murderer, Deathlok-Prime is still a cold-blooded machine who wants to get things done, and temporarily sees his interests align with the X-Force. This was the easiest choice of all as one look at Deathlok-Prime and immediately Tony Todd came to mind. He’s older, deadly serious and has a voice that’s iconic and warrants attention, seems fitting for this murderous cyborg.
AoA Nightcrawler - Daniel Bruhl
Pulled from the war-ravaged Age of Apocalypse, Kurt Darkholme is not the young hopeful teleporter that we’re used to. He’s vengeful, solemn and on a very specific mission to kill those who hurt him. From the outset, the actor had to be German and Bruhl has been turning in some acclaimed performances recently in
Rush and
The Fifth Estate. He looks innocent on the outside, but can convey the inner struggle Nightcrawler feels without a word.
Evan - Asa Butterfield
The catalyst for all of the events in the story, Evan, a clone of Apocalypse in child form, presents an embodiment of the question of nature vs nurture, and whether his destiny is set as a destroyer or if there’s still hope for him to change. Butterfield did incredible work in
Hugo, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to see him and the oddball kid questioning everything around him again, albeit with a bit of a sinister edge this time.
E.V.A. - Chipo Chung
Fantomex’s biological spacecraft is a relatively minor part but she’s still a member of the team, dammit! Chung did good work on
Sunshine and sounded exactly how I would imagine E.V.A. to sound like: slightly robotic but still feminine and caring.
Love It? Hate It? Indifferent? Let me know what you think in the comments.