Hey all,
so yeah, I know it's been a LONG time since I've last posted a fan-cast. I've been working on an X-Men and another Batman cast off-and-on for quite a while (the X-Men one should hopefully come in the near future), but I finally got something off the ground. Below is my fan-cast for a new Batman film, which I'd call The Batman.
Batman/Bruce Wayne - Clive Owen (As seen in Sin City, Children Of Men, and Inside Man)
I originally wanted a younger actor to play Batman (Matt Bomer was my first choice), but since I wanted Nightwing to be involved in this new Bat series, I decided to go for an older choice. Clive Owen is a fan favorite, and while I’m not extremely familiar with his acting, IMO he seems perfect for an older Bats.
Others I considered: Matt Bomer, Jim Caviezel, Jon Hamm
Vicki Vale - Naomi Watts (as seen in
King Kong,
21 Grams, and
The Ring)
When I had Matt Bomer for this fan cast, I wanted to recast Watts for a younger Vicki Vale, but since I’m going with an older actor to play Batman, I decided to keep Watts. Personally, I think she’d own the role (especially if they re-did the version displayed in Batman ‘89).
Others I considered: Christina Hendricks, Blake Lively, Kate Winslet
The Joker - Crispin Glover (as seen in
Open Season 2,
Beowulf, and
Alice In Wonderland)
This is definitely a choice from my previous Batman cast that I wanna keep. I think it’s best to go for a much lesser known actor, personally. The only film I’ve seen him in was his voice role in
Open Season 2, but even there he displayed exactly what I wanna see in a big screen Joker: Someone who’s calm one moment, and someone who’s absolutely crazy the next. He has that personality that would make him a fantastic Joker, and one of the few who could replace Heath Ledger.
Others I considered: Michael Sheen, James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Penguin /Oswald Cobblepot- Alfred Molina (as seen in
Spider-Man 2,
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, and
Raiders Of The Lost Ark)
Philip Seymour Hoffman was my original choice for Penguin, but more recently I’ve seen a few fan casts mention Molina in the role, and eventually I accepted the idea that Molina as Penguin would be a more realistic approach to the character (as opposed to Danny DeVito’s portrayal). Plus, Molina’s one of my favorite actors, and if there’s another CBM character he could play other than Doc Ock, it’d be Penguin without a doubt.
Others I considered: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Hoskins
The Riddler/Edward Nigma - Johnny Depp (as seen in
Sweeney Todd,
Alice In Wonderland, and the
Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise)
Another one of my favorite actors, I think Depp is one of the few who could play more than one character well (I think he’d be an excellent Dr. Strange, for example). If he doesn’t get the role of Strange in Marvel’s impending film (which is rather likely, since he’s quite expensive), I’d love to see him play The Riddler. IMO, he seems perfect for the role, even though I think someone like Neil Patrick Harris would’ve been more obvious in casting the character.
Others I considered: Neil Patrick Harris, David Tennant
Alfred Pennysworth - Sean Connery (as seen in
Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade,
League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and the original
James Bond films)
Another choice from my previous cast that I’m keeping. I mean, come on…he’s played James Bond, Indiana Jones’ dad, etc. Playing Batman’s butler should be no biggy at all for this guy. And I don’t care if he’s Scottish, he’s a phenomenal actor.
Others I considered: Anthony Hopkins, Geoffry Rush
Selina Kyle/Catwoman - Carla Gugino (as seen in
American Gangster,
Night At The Museum, and
Elektra Luxx)
Originally, I didn’t want to cast Gugino for the sake of trying to find an original choice. Jennifer Connelly was my choice for Catwoman in my previous Batman fancast, but I don’t think she’s a good fit for Catwoman herself (she’d be good as solely Selina Kyle, however). After a lot of consideration, I decided that Gugino would be absolutely perfect for Ms. Kyle.
Others I considered: Jennifer Conelly, Angelina Jolie
Commissioner Jim Gordon - William Macy (as seen in
Jurassic Park III,
The Lincoln Lawyer, and
Wild Hogs)
I definitely want to keep the same version of Gordon as displayed by Christopher Nolan in his Batman films, and I decided that Macy would probably be the best choice to replace Gary Oldman in the role.
Others I considered: None
Harvey Dent/Two-Face - Jake Gyllenhaal (As seen in
Source Code,
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, and
Brokeback Mountain)
Gyllenhaal was my choice for Batman in my previous cast, but now I’m convinced that he’s…not a very good choice. However, I’ve always wanted him to have some sort of role in a Batman film, and after some consideration, I decided on Two-Face. IMO, Gyllenhaal can play the charming Harvey Dent while simultaneously portraying the twisted Two-Face (even though many people wouldn’t exactly picture him as the latter).
Others I considered: Jon Hamm, Josh Brolin
Mr. Freeze/Victor Fries - Patrick Stewart (as seen in
Star Trek: The Next Generation,
American Dad!, and the
X-Men franchise)
Bruce Willis was my first choice as Freeze, but after some consideration, I decided that Stewart could do a better job (he was even considered for the role when they were making
Batman & Robin). He’s a great actor and his performance as Professor X in the
X-Men movies proves that, and I think it’s about time he played a major villain like Mr. Freeze.
Others I considered: Bruce Willis, Ben Kingsly, John Malkovich
Black Mask/Roman Sionis - Jason Issacs (as seen in
The Patriot,
Batman: Under The Red Hood, and the
Harry Potter series)
Isaacs was my original choice for Ra’s al Ghul (based on his excellent voice performance of the character in
Under The Red Hood), but I suddenly had trouble looking for a good Black Mask. After some consideration, I decided that, IMO, Isaacs would be an excellent Roman Sionis. That doesn’t mean that he’ll still be an awesome Ghul, however.
Others I considered: Sam Worthington, Matt Damon, Jason Statham
Lucius Fox - Denzel Washington (as seen in
Malcom X,
American Gangster, and
Inside Man)
Much like casting Morgan Freeman into the role in Chris Nolan’s films, casting another big name - Denzel Washington - wouldn’t be a bad choice. In fact, I think that Washington would be a great Fox, as he’s getting older and could use a super hero franchise to join.
Others I considered: Billy Dee Williams
Hush/Thomas Elliot - Jason Statham (as seen in
The Mechanic,
The Expendables, and
The Transporter trilogy)
This is another choice from my previous Batman fancast that I don’t think should be replaced. Hush would be a wonderful villain for a Batman movie, and the background/style of the character is a perfect match for Statham, one of the bigger action stars of today. He’s also a great actor, and one who I think can bring enough depth for Mr. Elliot.
Others I considered: None
Killer Croc /Waylon Jones- Kevin Grevioux (as seen in
Planet Of The Apes,
Men In Black II, and the
Underworld series)
I’ve seen the dude in previous fan-casts for the role, and IMO having him as Croc is a no brainer. From what I’ve seen of him in the
Underworld movies, he can bring in the ferocity of the Killer Croc while at the same time, not make him seem like a stale lizard.
Others I considered: None
Nightwing/Dick Grayson - Milo Ventimiglia (as seen in
Heroes,
Rocky Balboa, and
CSI)
It seems like a lot of people want to see this guy in a comic book film. He’s mostly been involved with TV shows, but I think he can carry his own in a film. IMO, I think he’d be a perfect Nightwing. I’m looking forward to seeing his voice performance as Wolverine in the upcoming anime series. As for Nightwing’s role in the film, I’d rather they skip the Robin part of Grayson's life, and dive straight into the epicness of Nightwing.
Others I considered: Hayden Christensen
Bane - Undertaker (voiced by George Lopez) (Lopez - as seen in
Beverly Hills Chihuahua,
Rio, and
The Smurfs)
This is pretty odd casting, I know. I originally wanted someone to be heavily built (a WWE wrestler…such as Undertaker), but I knew that Undertaker doesn’t have a Mexican accent (which is something that Bane needs). So, based on the handful of Lopez’s voice performances that I’ve seen, I sort of compromised with the two: Have Undertaker play the back-breaking Bane, and have Lopez do a voice dub-over. I think that’d be interesting to see.
Others I considered: Gerard Butler
Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinnzel - Amanda Seyfried (as seen in
Red Riding Hood,
Jennifer’s Body, and
Letters To Juliet)
Zooey Deschanel was my original choice for Ms. Quinn, but now I’m thinking she’s a bit too old to play Quinn. After some searching, it seems like Seyfried is a popular choice for the role, and judging from the little bit of her I’ve seen her in, she’d probably do a decent job as Joker’s love interest. And it’s about time we see this girl on the big screen!
Others I considered: Zooey Deschanel, Kristen Bell
Barbara Gordon/Batgirl - Ellen Page (as seen in
Juno,
Super, and
Inception)
Special thanks to @TANKGIRL for this suggestion. IMO, Batgirl’s one of those characters that NEEDS to be redeemed from the Joel Shoemaker films, and after Emma Stone (everyone’s choice, it seems) was cast as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man, I scrambled for someone who could do a great job as Ms. Gordon. Eventually, I’ve heard suggestions for Page to be Batgirl, and after thinking about it, I can definitely see that. Page is a great actress (especially in
Inception), and she’d do a great job as the original Batgirl.
Others I considered: Kristen Dunst, Emma Stone
Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane - Adrien Brody (as seen in
The Pianist,
King Kong, and
Midnight In Paris)
It seems like Brody is wanted for every comic character anymore, from Ant-Man and Mr. Fantastic to Joker and Scarecrow. While he’d go awesome jobs as all of the above, IMO he seems most perfect for The Scarecrow. He just looks precisely the way I would usually picture the character. To boot, he’s a really good actor (even though the only full movie I’ve seen him in was King Kong…that film sucked), and I can see him do wonders with this role.
Others I considered: None
Ra’s al Ghul - Daniel Day-Lewis (as seen in
There Will Be Blood,
The Last Of The Mohicans, and
Gandhi)
I know that Day-Lewis as Ghul is a bit of an overrated choice, but after Jason Isaacs was moved to Black Mask, I couldn’t think of a better actor for Demon’s Head. I originally envisioned Lewis as Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder’s
Superman series, but since that’s likely NOT gonna happen, I might as well bring him in as a character who, IMO, he’s even better suited for - Ra’s al Ghul. While it’ll be very hard for him to top Liam Neeson’s perfect performance, I think he has the chops to give it a try.
Others I Considered: Jason Isaacs
Well, that's my (long) return to fan-casting. As stated before, I'll hopefully put out an X-Men one in the near future.