With my previous casts I’ve always cast actors who are/were young for a younger/earlier take on the characters I cast them as, but this time round, I thought try my hand at casting older actors as older and more established versions of characters in a more established and slightly more faithful (to the current Marvel timeline) take on an older universe. Now, as I’ve already done a fair few casts, I’ll admit to have recycled certain actors and actresses here from my previous Marvel casts as different characters, but that’s because this cast is different from my previous casts; essentially they’re not part of the same cinematic universe- this is just an older cast for an older and more established cinematic universe. So, like before I’ve maintained my generic view with casting so, rather than cast one specific film entry in a franchise I decided to cast of characters I’d expect to be around in essentially a 10-13 year window of Spider-Man’s existence, and who will hopefully crop up in his future films.
So, given that I’m casting for a 10-13 year window, rather than start with a new origin story for the Web Slinger though, I’d expect to be introduced to a very well established Spider-Man; basically Spider-Man in his peak, who’s no longer quite a full-on menace, and has earned the public’s respect and is essentially the (almost) current comic book incarnation of the character, well at least prior to that Superior shit- think a cross between Spider-Man from Big Time and Brian Michael Bendis’ rendition of the character (with both traits from the Ultimate and regular universe). Frankly, whilst it’s clear Sony are most likely never going to go down this route for the character, I still think this would be a great take on Spidey for the big screen, and end of the day it’s a fan cast, so that’s what I’m doing.
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Patrick J Adams as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
I mainly know Adams from his work in
Suits, but frankly, he’s more than proven his talents. He’s a solid actor who knows how to work well with comedy and drama and keep it both light and serious, plus as seen in the aforementioned show; he’s pretty much played the part already and can definitely nail the Parker charm. So, to top it all of, he looks the part, and frankly I think he’d be a great candidate for a modern/older take on everybody’s favourite web slinger.
Anyway, just wanted to mention with my take on Spider-Man I’d like for both mechanical web shooters and organic ones to be present. Confused? Well, let me explain; upon becoming Spider-Man, I imagine Peter makes his web shooters and so on, however, when he eventually makes contact with the symbiote, given that it tries to bond with him, I imagine it ‘merges’ his web shooters with his physiology, resulting in (you guessed) it organic webbing.
Diane Keaton as May Parker
I’ve seen Keaton in a fair bit, and think she’d be a solid choice for the role. Whilst personally, I’m more keen on the ‘fiery’ Aunt May as seen in the
Ultimate universe, I think Keaton can nail this ‘tamer’ version of the character and even bring a little bit of grit to the role- I’m not expecting her to go ‘Dirty Harry’ but she’d be a definite improvement on the Raimi Aunt May and (unfortunately) Sally Field’s wasted incarnation of the character too.
Alexandra Breckenridge as Mary Jane Watson
What can be said? From a visual standpoint, Breckenridge is a dead ringer for the role, but ignoring that, she’s a pretty solid actress too. Whilst she’s mainly known for her (recent) ventures into darker material, she’s also pretty versatile and capable of keeping it light too, plus as seen through interviews and what not, she likes to keep it goofy too, so I think she’d be a great candidate for the role too.
Nico Tortorella as Harry Osborn
I haven’t seen Tortorella in much, but I think it’s more than safe to say with his role as Jacob in
The Following, he’s proven himself more than capable of taking on the role of the black sheep of the Osborn family. He can play vulnerable, dark, twisted and borderline scary all pretty well, and I think he could potentially rival James Franco’s take on the character.
Brie Larson as Carlie Cooper
Larson is a pretty solid young actress and just has a very likable charm which I think would help do nothing but benefit her in a role like this. Whilst, personally, I wanna see MJ and Peter together, if ever this character is introduced to the big screen, I think Larson would be the perfect candidate for the role.
Robin Wright as Jean DeWolff
Wright is a pretty damn talented actress, who I've seen in a fair bit now, and put simply if cast in a role like this I think she'd just shine really well as one of Spidey's pivotal supporting characters; really, that simple.
Oliver Platt as Max Modell
Platt’s a pretty solid actor and is incredibly versatile and more than capable of owning this role, and hell, potentially giving the character a chance at being Peter’s new JJJ (albeit a nicer version). Anyway, as seen through pretty much all of his filmography, he’s got what it takes to do the role justice and even elevate the character’s status, so I’d be more than willing to see what he could do in the role.
James Woods as John Jonah Jameson/J.J. Jameson
Casting this role was pretty tough, but if anyone could top J K Simmons (and my younger choice of Jim Carrey) it’s gotta be James Woods. Whilst the entirety of his filmography is a testament for his skills and suitability for this role, I strangely enough, cast him due to his work in
Family Guy- whilst he did basically play an exaggerated version of himself, he was a great funny antagonist, and this is something that’d do nothing but benefit him as Triple J.
Glynn Turman as Joe Robertson
I’ve seen Turman in a fair bit now, and it’s pretty clear he’s a solid character actor that always does justice with his roles no matter how big or small they are. Whilst I didn’t actually cast him here due to any one particular role, I think Turman has the right kind of vibe and presence needed for the role and would be a perfect choice for on of Spider-Man’s older supporting characters.
David Duchovny as Ben Urich
Truth be told, I’ve seen this choice more than enough times on CBM and it’s far from original, but [frick] it; it works. With his work primarily as seen in
Californication, Duchovny’s shown he’s got more than what it takes for the role, and could bring a certain deadpan, world-weary charm to the role and just generally, spice things up a little bit.
Zoey Deschanel as Betty Brant
Again, not necessarily too original a choice, but Deschanel is a solid actress with great comedy chops as seen in
New Girl, and would definitely be a nice little addition to this cast.
Will Arnett as Tiberius Stone
Despite the fact that Arnett is primarily a comedy actor, I think he'd nail this role. I mean, he's played 'villainous'/dickish characters like this before as seen through majority of filmography, in particularly
Blades of Glory, but I can really see him doing the role justice and just shining as this minor 'villain'.
Taylor Cole as Felicia Hardy/Black Cat
What can be said? Cole is a very, very… Let’s say ‘lovely’ individual; she’s great to look at, is a pretty solid actress, can play feisty/fiery characters well and has something of a naughty appeal to her- personally, speaking, that ticks all boxes for me and I think she’d be a great candidate for the role.
Idris Elba as Aaron Davis/the Prowler
Elba is a ridiculously talented and cool and badass actor, who unfortunately has been sidelined to a underutilised role in the MCU, but in a role like this? I think this could be his new Stringer Bell, really that simple.
Bryan Cranston as Norman Osborn/the Green Goblin
With his work in
Breaking Bad Cranston revolutionised his career and won fans all over. He’s nothing short of a brilliant actor, and is ridiculously versatile capable with slapstick comedy and dark drama, and is undoubtedly a brilliant choice for the role as a result- I mean think about it; the Green Goblin is basically Spider-Man’s Joker, so with an actor like Cranston at the helm, you know he’s going to own.
Only think I’d like to mention, is whilst I used the image of the regular version of the Green Goblin, I would still like the character to be influenced by the
Ultimate universe; he should essentially, use a glider and other tech the character is known for despite having genetically induced goblin appearance. In this respect, I’d like for the character (and any other goblin related characters) to be more like the character Menace, as in he actually transforms into a humanoid goblin because of the Oz formula but uses his tech- I just think it’d be a better alternative to the Power Ranger goblin or weird rubber face alternative.
Aleksander Krupa as Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus
Krupa is a solid veteran actor who’s done plenty of shit, both good and bad, but when it gets down to basics, the main reason I cast him is he’s talented, European and can play cold, calculating and intimidating all very well.
Paterson Joseph as Quentin Beck/Mysterio
Oh no race change! Moving on… I’ve not seen Joseph in much but with his weird ass role as ‘Holy Wayne’ in
The Leftovers, I can’t help but think he’d be a great choice for this role. Joseph’s proven himself to be a pretty solid actor and can definitely pull of charming, eccentric and enigmatic, so personally speaking, I’d love to see what he could do.
Jose Pablo Cantillo as Max Dillon/Electro
Oh no, another race change! Moving on again… With his work in
Crank,
The Walking Dead and
Elysium, Cantillo has proven himself to be a solid character actor; he can play tough, intimidating thugs with ease, and unlike Jaime Foxx, he isn’t overqualified for the role and is a very suitable fit.
Marton Csokas as Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter
Csokas is a badass and pretty damn good actor- I’ve seen him in plenty, but I cast him primarily due to his work in
The Debt and
The Equalizer, where he proved himself of being more than capable of being tough, cold, calculating and intimidating. Frankly, I think he’d be the perfect choice for the role and bring a perfect amount of grit to the role and just really shine as a badass villain.
Aiden Gillen as Dmitri Smerdyakov/the Chameleon
Gillen is another pretty solid actor I’ve cast, but why? It’s simple, his role as Little Finger in
Game of Thrones is a perfect indication of his suitability for the role; really that simple.
Andrew Howard as Mac Gargan/Scorpion
With this roles in
I Spit On Your Grave and
Limitless, Howard has a proven himself as being more than capable of playing sleazy and intimidating characters with ease, and frankly if given the chance at role like this? I can only imagine he’d excel and really just make a great and memorable villain.
Oleg Taktarov as Aleksei Systevich/the Rhino
Taktarov is another actor I’ll admit to not having seen too much of, but his role in
Predators, his Russian-ness, his sizable presence/physique and UFC past were more than enough to make me think he’d be a good choice for the role. Going back to Predators though, it’s clear he’s got some talent and can play bad guys with a little bit of good too, so I’d really be interested in seeing what he can do- I mean it can’t be worse than Paul Giamatti, right?
Holt McCallaney as Flint Marko/Sandman
Admittedly, this is somewhat of a generic casting decision, but [frick] it, it works. McCallaney can act, has the look, the size and can play tough and badass with ease; I think that ticks all boxes.
Bill Nighy as Adrian Toomes/the Vulture
Casting this role was pretty damn tough, genuinely did take me a while, but ultimately I went with Nighy after remember how great a job he did in the
Underworld series- whilst the quality of that series dipped with progression, Nighy was always great as a pretentious, regal and savage nut; pretty much what I’d expect for someone like the Vulture.
Titus Welliver as Roderick Kingsley/the Hobgoblin
I’m a big fan of Welliver, seen him in plenty and it’s clear he’s genuinely a very talented and underrated actor. In a role like this, admittedly it can be seen as being a little out of his comfort zone but personally speaking, he’s a badass and he’s talented so I’d be more than willing to see what he could do.
William Fichtner as Curt Connors/the Lizard
Fitchner is another actor who’s pretty damn underrated; he’s admittedly one of those actors who’s thrown out loads of great performances over the years but never quite had a chance to fully shine- with that in mind, I think if given a chance at someone like the Lizard he’d really own the role and definitely give the character the justice he deserves.
Travis Van Winkle as Frederick ‘Flash’ Thompson/Venom
I’ve seen Van Winkle cast as all kinds of characters both in the MCU and DCCU, but out of all the characters he’s been cast as none really fit, till now. With his work in
Friday the 13th and more recently,
The Last Ship, he’s proven himself to be a pretty capable actor and definitely someone who’d be more than capable of portraying both sides of the character and potentially, even elevating the role.
Mark Pellegrino as Cletus Kasady/Carnage
Pellegrino is a realy underrated actor who unfortunately doesn't get too many big roles, and whilst I have more than enough comic characters to cast him as, in this cast, I think he'd work best as Carnage. With his work in
Supernatural he's shown something a little similar to what I'd expect him to bring here, and whilst there he was somewhat of a more sympathetic character, I still think he has what it takes for a role like this, and really trully just own the role of this savage nut and really just shine in a somewhat unique role.
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Note: Now, with the below castings, I’ll admit I’ve added them here just as I've become really quite fond of the characters, but by all rights I kinda set them up already with my cast, but obviously if ever they’re introduced, rather than being alternate universe Spider-Men, I'd imagine they'd be Peter Parker's eventual successors.
Maestro Harrell as Miles Morales/(Ultimate) Spider-Man
Casting this role also was pretty damn tough so I'll admit to having aged the character up a bit, but instead of going like guys like Donald Glover (too old/overused) or Jaden Smith (too… I don’t even know…) I went with Harrell. He’s a bit of a unknown but a solid young actor who knows his way around comedy and drama and has a got a lot of potential- with his small role in
The Wire and his role in
Suburgatory, he’s more than proven his skills, so I’d definitely put him in the running if ever this Spider-Man was to be make it to the big screen.
Shiloh Fernandez as Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man (2099)
Casting this role was also a little tricky for me, but in the end I went with Fernandez. I've seen him in a fair bit now and it's pretty clear he's got talent and is pretty versatile; he can keep it light and he can go dark and he can even do a little intense/badass as seen per
Evil Dead. Put simply, I think he's shine as this particular incarnation of Spider-Man, and if ever the character is adapted for the big screen, I think he'd be an ideal candidate for the role.
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So, that’s my ideal cast for an older Spider-Man. I hope you enjoyed checking it out, and if you did look out for anything else I drop!