Captain America: You’re probably expecting my choice of actor for this role by now, and you’re probably expecting the name Jensen Ackles in that spot. WROOONG!! (Superman Returns style!) I want you to hear my reasoning for the choice, instead of getting a pre-conceived notion of it before I explain myself. Now I know what you’re all going to criticize me for: switching actors for this character after I’ve campaigned with Ackles as my choice so long and persistently. I honestly can’t say I blame you. But, just because I have a new favorite for the role doesn’t mean I don’t like Ackles for the role. I still think he would do a great job, and is a close second to this new choice. However, after giving it some deep thought, and weighing the pros and cons of all my choices for Cap, I have to say that this actor rises over them all. One of my favorite actors, he has shown he can be a super bad-ass that is as intelligent as he is deadly (and who was also pretty much a super-soldier but without actual powers), a soldier on the front-lines of World War 2 (and what is Steve Rogers? Pretty much the exact same thing), but also a dramatic character with depth (he was nominated for an Oscar for this role too). If you want to know which movies I’m talking about (if you can’t guess by the time I reveal the choice), just ask me in the comments. He can get in excellent shape too, so that wouldn’t be a problem. He’s got plenty of star-power to lend him credence for the role, and he wouldn’t look out of his league next to the great RDJ, etc. The only draw-back I can see is his age, but he’s not that old at 39, and looks early 30’s at the oldest. Plus, maybe a bit of an experienced look is what Steve Rogers needs? He may not be the tallest actor in the real world, but in his movies he’s looked at least 6’1” to me. And if they could make Jonathan Rys Davies look shorter than Viggo Mortensen, they can make this actor a couple inches taller, 5’10” isn’t that bad a height. Plus, when compared to both Hemsworth and RDJ and the height relationships of these characters from the comics, his height fits in. Now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, my choice for Captain America, the Star-Spangled Avenger, the First Avenger, the Super-Sol-okay, I’ll get on with it! CBM users, Matt Damon as Captain America!
If you’re expecting an explanation for this choice, shame on you. RDJ = Iron Man.
Chris Hemsworth as Thor. I’ll admit, this was not the pick I was expecting Marvel to go with. Pretty much out of left field. Though I won’t say he’s perfect for Thor, I think he’ll do a fine job as the Odinson. He’s got a great voice, very strong build/height, and is actually a pretty good actor. I have faith that he’ll do the role justice.
Chris Pine as Clint Barton/Hawkeye. Perfection. Simply, one word, perfection, describes this match. Pine has EVERYTHING this role requires. Name me one quality that Pine does not have for this role. Clint needs to be played by an actor who can match RDJ’s sarcastic wit blow for blow, which is not an easy task at all. Pine more than proved he is capable of that in Star Trek, as he proved he can do every quality of the anti-authority Clint Barton. Pine was funny as all hell, serious when the situation arose, dramatic, rebellious, bad-ass, need I say more? If you can disagree with this choice, please elaborate, as I can’t think of any fault with Pine as Hawkeye, he was seriously born for this role.
Patrick Wilson as Henry Pym/Ant-Man. Wilson has everything this role requires. He can play extremely intelligent characters that can kick ass at any time (a little film called Watchmen proved that), shows depth and range with finesse, etc. Not convinced he’s too “nice” for the role? Watch Hard Candy, you can’t get much more pr*ckish than that. If he went for a performance in the middle of his nice Nite-Owl role and his Hard Candy role, he’s a perfect Hank Pym!
Evangeline Lilly as Wasp. Lilly is an excellent actress, she shows it every episode on the fantastic series Lost. As lovely little Kate, Lilly portrays strength, intelligence, confidence, determination, and, er, hotness. Loads of hotness. Lilly has a petite body that fits perfect with Wasp and her powers, yet is quite the stunner in the looks department. She’d be perfect for the wife of Hank Pym. The most popular choice for Wasp right now is Eva Longoria, and it puzzles me to no end as to why that is. Longoria isn’t that good of an actress, her best work is Desperate Housewives for God’s sake! Why do people want her for Wasp? I’ve asked this question several times and haven’t gotten an answer, unsurprisingly. Lost, or Desperate Housewives? Which one wins? That’s what I thought.
Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Again, he’s already cast, so no need to go into further detail.
SHIELD:
(I won’t bother using pictures for the first 2, they’re already cast)
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.
Ted Levine as Dum Dum Dugan. Just look at this picture, tell me he’s not perfect for the role!
Other Avengers (I will be ordering them in order of appearance, by decades)
Ian Somerhalder as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver. Peitro is certainly a tough one to cast for some reason. I have not seen anyone nail the character with a perfect pick. My choice is Somerhalder, because he not only looks a lot like Pietro (just give him white hair), but I think he can portray the “I’m faster than you, I’m better than you” personality of the son of Magneto pretty well. I’m still not 100% sold on this choice, but it’s the best I got!
Eva Green as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. Eva looks like the spitting image of Wanda, she’s physically perfect for the part, don’t even try to deny it. She’s also pretty much perfect in the acting part as well. Eva is a fantastic actress, she showed it in Casino Royale as the sexy and deceptive Vesper Lynd. Eva would own this role, no doubt about it!
Kevin Durand as Hercules. Durand is huge, buffed up, and is a very good actor. He’s got a lot of talent, and is great at playing strong, tough guys. He’s pretty much perfect for the physical aspect of Hercules, and is a great fit for the acting aspect as well.
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Black Panther. Mr.Ejiofor is a great actor, for example, in Children of Men, Redbelt (which showed he can also fight), and Serenity. I would recommend Redbelt out of all of those. Ejiofor proved he has grit, toughness, and an ability to bring a graceful and engrossing performance to hold the movie together. He also looks like Black Panther, and has the type of slender, yet well-built, physique I’d imagine T’Challa has. My second choice would be Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, the reasons he isn’t my first choice are that he is a little old, and not the right physique for the role.
Wentworth Miller as Vision. Miller has the same monotone, robotic voice that perfectly matches Vision. He’s not the most entertaining actor out there, but Vision isn’t really a charismatic Avenger, so Miller fits him very well. He also looks like he could be a robot, and does have a striking resemblance to the character from the comics.
Jeremy Renner as Dane Whitman/Black Knight. Renner is an amazing actor. The fantastic film The Hurt Locker is proof of that. He’s gotten an enormous amount of praise and acclaim for his role as Sergeant William James. Black Knight was an odd one to cast, but I think Renner would be awesome as this character. There was recently talks of Renner being close to portraying Hawkeye in Avengers, which, no doubt, he’d be awesome at, but I feel Pine is more fit for that role, and I would still love to see Renner in a CBM, so here he is as Black Knight.
Jon Hamm as Hank McCoy/Beast. Kelsey Grammer was one of the best parts of X-Crap 3. He made a great Beast, and got the personality and mannerisms down excellently. However, he is getting a bit up there these days, and I feel a bit of a younger Hank is needed. Hamm is 38 years old, which would be ideal for Beast. He’s not too young, he’s not too old. Hamm would be able to portray Beast’s super-intelligent and “Shakespearean” personality very effectively.
Tahmoh Penikett as Wonder Man. I can’t believe I never thought of this before. Penikett is perfect for Wonder Man. He looks like he jumped off the page of the comics, and is a great actor. His best work was Battlestar Galactica, where he played Captain Karl 'Helo' Agathon. He was strong, heroic, and just a very cool character. Plus, Helo was originally going to be quickly killed off, but the producers decided against it because of Penikett’s impressive performance.
Charlize Theron as Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel. I’m surprised I haven’t seen this choice before, Theron is on many people’s lists of female CBM characters, from Catwoman to Invisible Woman. She’d be great as either of those, but I have my preferences for those 2 characters, so Ms. Marvel she is! I mean, think about it. Beautiful, blonde, and a terrific actress. I mean, she didn’t win an Oscar (and get nominated for another a few years later) for nothing! Not only can she act great, she can also fight. Theron would fit right in with powerhouses like Damon, RDJ, Norton, etc.
Derek Luke as Sam Wilson/Falcon. Luke is a very talented young actor, the first thing I saw him in was Friday Night Lights, in which he played “Boobie” Miles very effectively. Then I saw him in (don’t laugh) Definitely, Maybe with Ryan “Green Lantern” Reynolds, where he portrayed a good, reliable friend. Somewhere in the middle of these 2 characters is where I think Luke would be best at with Falcon.
Rachel Nichols as She-Hulk. Nichols is a pretty good actress, and was one of the 3 (at best) good things about GI Joke. She can act, fight, and provides some damn great eye candy. Nichols would be a great fit for She-Hulk!
Plus, she looks pretty damn awesome with green skin! ;)
Luke Goss as Namor The Sub-Mariner. I’ve already given my reasons for this pick in my Thor/Cap/Others cast, so I’ll just restate them: he is an excellent actor, and has experience with CBM's from Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. He played Prince Nuada, and was one of the best parts of the whole movie. He made Nuada a complex villain, making him somewhat sympathetic in his beliefs, but not so much in his ways of carrying them out. That last conversation between him and Hellboy as Nuada was dying really cemented the performance to me. He's in great shape, is tall, and has a regal appearance. Nearly perfect for Namor he is, as well as my first choice.
Olivia Wilde as Mockingbird. I have a hunch that most of you will view this as a somewhat odd choice, as I do myself a bit. I haven’t seen Wilde suggested for this role at all, the most popular choice seems to be Laura Vandervoort. However, and I mean no disrespect or offense to the Vandervoort supporters, but I just think Wilde is a better choice. Sure, Vandervoort has more experience with superheroes and action, from Smallville, but Wilde trumps her in the acting department. On House, where she plays Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley, Wilde shows great depth, confidence, range, conflict, etc. Her character is a complicated one, with the whole “self-destruction” angle throughout her story arc, and Wilde portrays her beautifully. Plus, Wilde is set to be the female lead in the highly-anticipated Tron Legacy, and I can guarantee that movie is going to have action in it, so by Avengers time, Wilde wouldn’t be a stranger to fighting. And Wilde is pretty damn smokin’ hot, so that helps too.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Moon Knight. Personally, I can’t think of a better choice for Moon Knight than JDM. Sure, he’s overused in a lot of fan casts now, but that doesn’t negate his amazing acting talent. He has incredible range, and can go from the sympathetic, nice fatherly figure (as seen on Supernatural) to a downright nasty, immoral son of a b*tch (as seen in Watchmen). But his acting aside, Morgan also has a near perfect voice for Moon Knight. Whoever plays MK will need to have serious power behind his voice, and JDM has that power. His voice is deep, strong, and mysterious all at the same time. Even if his voice may not fit MK perfectly to you, technology can easily give it that little edge to make it more ethereal like how I imagine MK’s voice to be.
Terry Crews as Luke Cage. Again, I’ve given my reasons for the choice before, so I’ll restate them: Crews has the perfect look for Cage. He's really tall, and built like a brick sh*t house. You can't deny it. Some may disagree on his acting, but I think he'd be a great Luke Cage. He doesn't always do comedic roles, he's done more serious characters as well. He'd bring his unique personality and charisma to Cage, keeping the audience entertained.
Billy Crudup as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic. Already explained: After the fiasco with Ioan Gruffoblablabla and his incredibly Un-Reed-Richardsy performance, we need an actor that can convey extreme intelligence, not just a little bit of intelligence, as with Gruffoad. Also, he has to be like-able and, well, not annoying, unlike Gruffoad. Enter Crudup, who gave a brilliant performance as Dr. Manhattan in "Watchmen". He'd be a perfect Reed, no contest! Just look at him in this picture, does it not positively scream Reed?!
Elizabeth Banks as Susan Storm/Invisible Woman. Already explained: Banks is another great actress, and brings warmth and sincerity to every character she plays, which I feel is essential for Invisible Woman. Sue is the "mother" of the FF, often being the mediator in fights and holding the group together. Banks would nail that aspect of the character in my opinion.
Bret Harrison as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. I’d like to see a fresh Spidey for the united Marvel Universe, a younger one than Tubby, I mean, Tobey Maguire (wink), and who can better handle the wise-cracking side of Peter, which I, and many others, agree is lacking from the present Raimi movies. This isn’t to say I didn’t like Tobey, or the SM films. In fact, SM 1 is among my favorite CBM’s of all time, and Tobey was great in the first 2 (I won’t get into a discussion of Spider-Sh*t 3). I just feel some new blood is needed, and Harrison is perfect for Spidey. He’s got the humor down pat, and has charisma, like-ability, and charm in spades. He looks like the science prodigy that Peter is, and is really effective at playing the conflicted hero who has to sacrifice what he wants to do his job. For proof of all the things I mentioned, just watch the now-cancelled (yet still excellent) show Reaper. He basically IS Peter on that show. Credit goes to our own Joshw24 for this awesome pick.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I just can’t think of a good enough replacement for Hugh. Damn it man, I’m a CBM user, not a genius! (Hopefully you guys got that joke)
Liam Neeson as Doctor Strange. Neeson is PERFECT for Doctor Strange. No one will be able to change me view on it. He simply embodies everything about Strange. His voice fits a mystical sorcerer (lack of a better word) like a glove. It has an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-awesome (yes, I did just say that) tone that is simply enchanting. Neeson’s voice actually seems like it has power, which is a great benefit to Dr. Strange. But beyond the voice, Neeson’s appearance also screams Dr. Strange. He has a wise, experienced look that is able to convince you of his strength and power, that would never be questioned by any of the Avengers. As soon as any of them look into his eyes and he tells them something, they don’t question the words of Neeson. I mean, come on! The guy trained both Obi-Wan Kenobi, AND THE GOD DAMN BATMAN! That has to at least count for something! But in regards to his acting, there is no contest. Neeson is one of the greatest actors of all time. He did get an Oscar nomination after all. Neeson is excellent at playing the experienced, mysterious figure, who has extreme intelligence and wisdom. Some may say he’s too old to play Dr. Strange, but, um, hello? Dr. Strange is supposed to be old! He’s not a young, newbie magician, he’s a magical veteran, who has attained wisdom throughout his longer life-span! So, if we go by what’s in the comics, and isn’t that what everyone on this site wants CBM’s to do?, then Neeson is THE Doctor Strange, come to life.
Like Luke Cage and Namor, I have given my reasons for this choice before, so here they are: Hunnam is a great actor, just watch the series "Sons of Anarchy" for proof. Hunnam kicks ass on a regular basis, something needed for Iron Fist, but also has legitimate acting talent, unlike a certain other fan favorite for Iron Fist, cough*Ray Park*cough. He's pretty damn near perfect for Danny Rand! Plus, I picture him having great chemistry with Crews as Cage, something which is a must for any movie featuring Iron Fist and Cage.
Garret Hedlund as Captain America (Bucky Barnes). Bucky Cap won’t be on film for a while now, but if he ever does make it onto the big screen, Hedlund is the man! I recently re-watched one of my favorite movies of the past few years, Friday Night Lights, and realized that Hedlund really is a great actor. As the conflicted player Don Billingsley, Hedlund showed emotion, strength, and deep inner conflict which made him one of the stand-out performances. And, as with Olivia Wilde, he’s going to be the protagonist of the upcoming Tron Legacy, so he won’t be a stranger to action by then. Obviously he shouldn’t play WW 2 Bucky, he’s totally wrong for that part, but as Captain America Bucky? A strong yes!
Kevin McKidd as The Sentry. Admittedly, I’m not 100% sold on this choice. Sentry was one of the toughest characters for me to cast. I liked the idea of Brad Pitt, he had the perfect look in Troy, but his age and his overshadowing fame lead me away from that choice. Like I said, I’m not totally for McKidd as Sentry, but I think he’d do a good job in the role. He looks like the character, just give him longer hair and make him keep it blond (he has had blond hair before, but usually it’s reddish), and he is a very good actor. I’m open to other suggestions for this character.
Gerard Butler as Ares. He may be really over-used in fan casts lately. He may be perfect for Kraven the Hunter. But, does he not fit this role? Butler has the intensity, strength, voice, and physique for this role down pat. He played an Ancient Greek in 300 for God’s sake. So what if he’s perfect for Kraven as well? Kraven belongs to Sony right now, and this is a casting for Marvel Studio’s universe.
Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborne (Green Goblin)/Iron Patriot. Don’t fix what ain’t broke!
Timothy Olyphant as Mac Gargan/Spider-Man (Dark Avengers). I cast Timothy Olyphant as Scorpion in my Spider-Man cast a while back, and since Mac Gargan is Scorpion and the Dark Avengers Spider-Man, it was only logical to use him for this cast as well. Olyphant is a pretty good actor, when he wants to be, and does have a certain type of charisma on screen most of the time. He’s not the best actor out there, he’s good, and would be a good Mac Gargan.
Ali Larter as Karla Sofen (Moonstone)/Ms. Marvel. I prefer Larter to be this version of Ms. Marvel, her bad-ass character on Heroes fits more here IMO. Larter is a decent actress, not very good, but decent. I can’t really think of another choice for this character, I’m open to suggestions, but Larter is my choice for now.
Michael Fassbender as Lester (Bullseye)/Hawkeye. Another choice I’ve explained, Fassbender is an awesome actor, and is a joy to watch on screen. He was one of the best in 300, and was also great in Inglorious Basterds. He was f*cking almost out of his mind as Stelios in 300, watch that scene where he's describing a "beautiful death" and not get chills, I dare you! He wasn't only pretty crazy, he kicked some major, MAJOR Persian ass in 300, and was a super bad-ass. Take all that, and give him a target on his fore-head and, well, he IS Bullseye!
Tony Jaa as Daken/Wolverine. Credit goes to HAWK for this pick. I can’t think of a better choice. Jaa is great at stunts and action, and in all his performances acts like Daken does.
That’s all folks. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it.