Red Dead Redemption is a wide open sandbox video game, the sequel to 2004's Red Dead Revolver, developed by Rockstar Games. Set in the last days of the old west, it follows outlaw turned rancher John Marston as he is coerced into hunting down the scattered members of his old gang. RDR was incredibly well received and received numerous accolades due to its expertly detailed vast open world, extremely well done story and atmospheric soundtrack. It is a prime argument for video games as art and it is one of my favorite games.
Now to tell the truth, RDR looks and sounds like a western epic as it stands, and to adapt it wouldn't add a lot. But should it ever be made into a TV-series, or movie for that matter, I know I'd be all over it.
So here is my fancast for a live-action adaptation...
Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck)
as Bonnie MacFarlane A spirited, unwed ranch owner that takes Marston in when he's wounded and develops a friendship with.
Sam Neil (The Tudors, Jurassic Park)
as Drew MacFarlane A tough, aging New Austin rancher and father to Bonnie, who has survived plagues, droughts and land wars.
Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions, Hellboy)
Abigail Marston A former prostitute and associate of the van der Linde gang. She and Marston met at a young age and would eventually marry.
Jeff Fahey (Lost, Machete)
as Leigh Johnson The district Marshall of the town of Armadillo who is chiefly concerned with maintaining law and order in his jurisdiction, not concernig himself with what goes on near it. He and Marston cooperate in bringing down Bill Williamson.
Muse Watson (NCIS, Prison Break)
as Landon Ricketts A legendary gunslinger who retired and moved to the North Mexican province of Nuevo Paraiso. He strikes up a friendship with Marston when he comes looking for members of his old gang.
Rodrigo Santoro (300, Lost)
as Abraham Reyes A charismatic Mexican revolutionary possessed of less than noble motives.
Alice Braga (Predators, Repo Men)
as Luisa Fortuna A brave and selfless but ultimately naive rebel and admirer of Abraham Reyes.
Michael Smiley (Spaced, Burke and Haire) as
Irish An Irish arms-dealer and consummate liar who aids Marston in taking down Bill Williamson.
Robert Morse (Mad Men)
as Nigel West Dickens A flamboyant con-man and purveyor of miracle cures who projects a false image of being a man of science.
Mackenzie Crook (Pirates of the Caribbean, The Office)
as Seth Briars A manic, misanthropic treasure hunter with an unhealthy interest in the dead.
Thomas F. Wilson (Back to the Future, Freaks and Geeks)
as Bill Williamson A former member of the van Der Lind gang who'd gone on to form his own. He is especially hateful of Marston.
Anthony Laciura (Boardwalk Empire)
as Edgar Ross A Bureau of Investigation agent intending to bring law and order to the dwindling old west by any means necessary.
Óscar Jaenada (The Losers)
as Javier Escuella Another former member of the van der Linde gang who had retained a degree of contact with Bill Williamson.
Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects)
as Butch van der Linde A father figure of sort to Marston as well as the other members of his gang. He'd once been a rebel committing crimes to bring about social justice, but has seen gone insane and merely wanted to spread chaos.
Joaquim de Almeida (Desperado)
as Colonel Augustin Allende A corrupt Mexican Army officer and the tyrannical governor of Nuevo Paraiso. His rule is threatened by Reyes' rebels, whom he enlists Marston's help to suppress.
Danny Trejo as Captain Vicente De Santa A sleazy Mexican Army officer and one of Allende's adjutants.
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, Boardwalk Empire)
as The Man in the Top Hat A man of apparent supernatural nature privy to plenty of knowledge about John's past and future.
Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings, RED)
as John Marston A former member of the Dutch van der Linde gang along with van der Linde, Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella. The gang robbed trains and kidnapped people, but the partnership ended at one point when they left Marston for dead. It was then that Marston decided to leave that life behind and settle down with his wife and son as a homesteader. At the start of the game, Marston finds himself forced to revisit and destroy parts of his old life to preserve his new one.