IRON MAN Fancast

Iron Man was the superhero that kickstarted Marvel's dominate world conquering juggernaut, the MCU. The first of the trilogy featured a cast that was spot on, with a witty script, and an all around great film. But in my first fancast and article on CBM, I am doing the inconcievable and replacing RDJ and the whole cast of Marvel's original wonderchild and paint a new vision for the cinematic version of everyone's favorite genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. 

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Now for the Director. The director has to piece together all parts of the film together and realize the vision that had been concieved. For IRON MAN, I chose a relatively young director; Josh Trank. 

I chose Trank because of what I saw in Chronicle. While he is currently working for Fox, he would be a great fit for my Iron Man movie. Chronicle was "brim with emotion, imagination and modern implication" according to Total Film. These three qualities are what I want IRON MAN to be based on.  Amy Biacolli of The San Francisco Chronicle said it perfectly when she said "Trank tells his tale with an emotional and visual crispness that gives the superhero genre its best crack at naturalism so far. " And if this was done to a potential Iron Man reboot, this movie would be on par with great CBM's like The Dark Night and X2. 

For the Writers, I wanted someone who could write an emotional screenplay that also featured elements of humuor. Not as dark as MAN OF STEEL or THE DARK KNIGHT, but not an overly childish feel. I chose the duo of Terrence Winter and Ian MacKenzie Jeffers. 

Winter's screenplay in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET emulated what I want to see in my Iron Man movie. It was humorus, but not overly light. Jeffers has proven that he can bring the emotion. Such examples would be THE GREY or BOARDWALK EMPIRE. Boardwalk Empire specifically is full of sharply written characters. I want these well thought out and cared for charactes, not lackidasical character development. Tone wise, I don't want the movie overly dark, but not light. Similar to the first IRON MAN movie for example. Blended together, these two writers would be able to convey the script imagined. 

On to producers. I wanted a strong producer that would not hold back but also not be meddling to the point of being a second director. I also wanted producers that would not be frugal with their wallets. I ended up choosing Charles Roven ang Megan Ellison. 

These two have worked together before on films, most recently AMERICAN HUSTLE. They certainly are very open in regards to expressing their opinion. I want Tony's wealth showcase and on display. More cars than a Fast And Furious movie, more toys than Mission Immpossible. And with one being daughter of Larry Ellison, and both makers of critical box office hits, money would not be an issue. 

We now continue into the visuals of the film, cinematography. I wanted a very colorful film. But I also wanted a techno/science fiction vibe. Something that would fit with Josh Trank's directoral style. I chose Simon Duggan and Roger Deakins. 

What a pair of Cinematographers. Deakins' work includes SKFALL, a realistic and gritty style that fits with Trank. Master Deakins is simply one of the last great cinematographers. But Duggan? His work in The GREAT GATSBY was some of the best my yong eyes had ever seen. Pairing them up would be a visual spectacle. I want this movie to have a certain techno vibe, since this is Iron Man after all. This and a certain sense of wonder would be my choice. These two cinematographers are truly masters of the craft. 

For effects, I chose a staple in Hollywood Films. This pick is so common that I am only going to name my choice. That choice is Industrial Light and Magic. They did the current Iron man films and other blockbusters. Not having them would be a travesty. 

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Now on to the fun stuff. Casting. And where else to start then Ol' Shellhead himself, Tony Stark. 

Now RDJ did a memorable job as Tony Stark. He was witty, smart, quick on his feat, and lovable. But I cast a younger, more obscure actor. He has done serious television shows, and has an impeccable likening to the comic book Tony; none other than Jack Huston. 

Huston is most famously known for his work on BOARDWALK EMPIRE, but here I have him in a role not as tragic as Richard Harrow. I want this Tony, although suave,to start of very arrogant, ignorant, womanizing, and with a god complex bigger than Brooklyn. He would not be RDJ's Iron Man, the lovable, witty, slick talker type. But over the course of his cinematic run, he would transition into that. I would also like to see Tony as more of a genius. We saw glipmes of it in the MCU, but I want to see Tony truly as one of the smartest men in the world. Stephen Hawkings, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk roled into one. His alchohism would also be a must to touch on. How he drinks at the slighest sense of trouble. Tony's will is also one of the strongest in comics and may be the actual reason he is called Iron Man. I want this present, how Tony never EVER lets his will be crushed. 

I now move on to Tony's main lady in the beginning. She's a femme fatale, knowing various martial arts, and also seductively beautiful. No not Pepper, but Whitney Frost, played by the lovely Abigail Spencer. 

This might seem like sacrilege but I want Ms Frost to start off as Tony's first love. She would be his Gwen Stacy. The one who pulled him out of all of his bad ways and make him a good man. But Frost would be nothing like Gwen. Instead be a tough amazon like female. Spencer played a sister that would stand by her brother no matter what in RECTIFY, and I want her to stand by Tony like this. Personality-wise, she would be the one to find people guilty until proven innocent. The one who like control and power as much as men love bacon. Her motives may seem suspicious, but she would be very dear in Tony's heart, and vice Versa. Frost's backstory would also be an intriging plot point raising alot of eyebrows about which side she is ultimately on. But after a vial transformation into the masked woman known as Madame Masque, we would know for sure.

Here is the classic Stark lover then, Pepper Potts. I wanted a strong confident Pepper who could hold her own. So I chose a youngish actress that has been in quite a few movies despite her limited time in the field, Amber Heard. 

Now I wanted a strong Pepper for a reason. The Pepper we see in my Iron Man film is a CEO of an up and coming tech company. Her company is seen as a threat to Stark and is bought swiftly, and not able to get rid of her, Tony makes Pepper a member of the board. A computer wiz, this Pepper has intelligence that rivals Tony and even Banner. A close example would be a Felecity (of ARROW) 3.0. But she also has to show lots of emotion, from anger because of the way Tony disregards her even though she still owns 50% of the company, to caring for Tony, because even though they fight, she respects and down the line loves him. She would have a quirky, eccentric, geeky personality.

Now for Tony's butler, Jarvis. While the current MCU has Jarvis as an A.I. I went with the original Jarvis. For this I wanted a nonense type of person. And the one person who embodied this was Dr. House himself, Hugh Laurie.

This Jarvis is not going to be the quaint one from the comics. He is going to be one not afraid to put Tony in his place. He will openly disagree with Tony and express his opinion. The only reason he hasnt been fired is because Tony sees him as a father figure that he never had. Tony takes what Jarvis says into heart, and Jarvis sees it as his goal to shape Tony into the man his parents would applaud. Hugh Laurie could easily bring this to life. He often put his team in their place during HOUSE and could do it with Stark no problem. But Jarvis's harshness would not mean he doesnt love Tony. It would be the opposite, as he sees Tony as the son he never had. But this son would have to be raised right.

And since Tony is a weapons contracter, we obviously need a liason from the military. This liason is fan favorite Rhodey. For this casting, I  went  with an mature actor that loves his work. This man is Nate Parker.

Parker is an actor that I personally enjoy. He brings a sense of proffesionalism to any movie. This would be no exception. This Rhodes would not be the experinced-battle hardened soldier at this stage. He would be a rookie, learning the ropes. A rookie that found Tony and saved his life. But wandering of was something that Rhodes wasnt suppose to do. This gets him in deep poo and almost get courtmartialed. But Tony comes to stop that. There friendship would grow and deepen. They would become brothers, have eachothers back no matter what. I want a Rhodey that has a strong relationship with Tony, but like brothers they will fight. 

Now for Papa Stark himself. Howard Stark is always said to be a gruff, cruel but genius man. I want this to be shown. Especially the cruelness. And I could not think of anyone more gruff than Oldboy himself, Josh Brolin. 

I know, Brolin? Yes I chose the bad boy with a rap sheet. But remember that before Iron Man, RDJ was the bad boy with a rap sheet. Anyways, like I said I want to see an abusive, angry Howard. It would explain Tony's hatred for his father and why Tony is how he is today. And it could show that Howard Stark was just as genius, or even more so, than his son. 

Now for the oft forgotten Stark, Maria. Mrs Stark often gets little attention, but I look to end this. And my choice to play this new Maria is Carla Gugino. 

Not much would be given to her origin, however this Maria would be a key factor to Tony's mentality. Unlike his father, Maria would praise Tony. She wold always believe in him, and love him unconditionally. She is what drives Tony as he is a child, and one of the people who inspires him as and adult. 

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Now onto the villians. Starting with the first one to appear against Tony in my films, Justin Hammer, being played by Joaquin Phoenix. 

Joaquin Phoenix, while very...STRANGE, is an actor that can show tremendous amounts of emotion. The Hammer we got in IM2 was a Tony Stark Jr. I want this one to be a Tony Stark Sr. He shows Tony that you cant just call yourself a hero and start fighting crime. He will beat Tony Stark initally, both physically and in regards to tech. This shows Tony that the rules have changed. And this is a threat that he will try to extinguish, no matter whos blood it will take. Joaquin showed he could display emotion in HER and I want Hammer to be the most emotion filled charcter in this movie series. Full of rage, anger, angst, denial, and revenge. All of this would be toward Tony, who was originally a friend despite Howard's objections. But now, those nice feelings are lost.

The next threat Tony will face is unlike his previous villian. This villian is one that is inside the system. A mole, a tratior,a ightmare, a Stane. Obadiah Stane. Played by House of Cards' own Corey Stoll.

Unlike Hammer who was a much more physical threat, Stane is a mental and intellectual threat. He will plague Tony, haunt Tony, and be an ever growing thorn in Tony's side. At first Tony will not know it is Stane, because Stane has been a long time official. But he will find out and chase Stane down. Stane still however in defeat, manages to release information that ruins Tony's world, such as the reveal that Tony is Iron Man. Corey Stoll shows lots of gravitaus in his HOC role. This kind of presence needs to be here, but in disguise. A cunning man, that would seem as the last person to turn and even go as far as to help Tony find out who was the perp so he could frame a member of Team Iron Man. His creation of the Iron Monger suit would be intergal and also under the books as he is taking Tony's ideas under his nose. Another key plot point would be that Stane creates Ghost, who is more like an AI that can't be put down.

Next up are the co-creaters of a drug that ends up saving Tony, but changing the path of what is human forever. These people are Aldrich Killian and Maya Hansen, played by Barry Pepper and Jessica Chastain respectively

He is obseesed with power. it consumes, eats him, and is the driving force for why he is selling Tony's design. The employee with a grudge, The Controller, played by tough guy Ray Winstone.

And the moment we've all been waitin for, the casting of Tony's arch nemesis, The Mandarin. While I liked IM3 the Mandarin was not the one I expected. So I present my Mandarin, played by Ken Watanbe. 

The Mandarin is Tony's arch nemesis and this iteration has to show it. He will be hinted in the first IRON MAN movie with Tony's capture, but not for long will things  reach a head. The mandarin needs to be someone who can break Tony mentally, physically, and emotionally.800 times in a row. He is a myth, a legend, and a god to people. He is cunning, secretive, and more genius than Stark could wish to be. A man who's army is unseen and innumerable. This is my mandarin.His ideals must be sound to the point were you can almost want to join him. He must strike fear into the hearts of men, and he must be able to do the unthinkable to Tony. A man that makes Tony stay up at night, a culmination of all of Tony's fears. This Mandarin needs to have the power to beat all of the Avengers. This is my MCU's first major threat. His prescene enogh should WRECK everything. . Watanbe is a veteran actor that could produce a Mandarin on par with Heath Ledger Joker

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That's my FanCast folks. I will contine with my Iron Man series, with how I see the movies and possibly screenplays of each, and also venture into other MCU movie remakes. Sound off below, any advice is helpful. Thank you and peace out.