One of my favorite genres in movies and video games is the Western. However, in today's modern world, the Western genre is a dying breed. I usually think it's gone extinct and then I see films like the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, the Cohen brothers' remake of True Grit, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, and video games like this one:
Red Dead Redemption was released in 2010 by Rockstar games and is a spiritual sequel to Capcom's predecessor,
Red Dead Revolver. Upon its release, the game was met with universal critical acclaim. It is one of the top 10 best selling games of all time (according to GameRankings).
For those of you who haven't played,
Red Dead Redemption tells the story of John Marston, a former bounty hunter and outlaw who if forced by the US government to hunt and bring down the members of the gang he used to run with. The game takes place in 1911, towards the end of the Wild West era.
After playing the game, I knew it would be great as a film. However, I was also surprised to see that I wasn't the first person with this idea. Kinda coming late to the game, but not the point.
For a live-action adaptation, I see two ways
Red Dead Redemption could work. As a film. Or as a TV miniseries. Given the length of the game's story (excluding side quests), a miniseries would be the better choice. However, I didn't think this idea until late in my process, so most of my cast is geared towards film.
...Although I do believe, that most of them (not all, but what can you do) would do the miniseries.
Either way, film or miniseries, the story would be divided into four parts (P.S. I came up with the names myself). For the miniseries idea, each part would be an individual episode:
Part I: The Hunt for Bill Williamson
Based on the first part of the game, part 1 takes place in New Austin, particularly the town Armadillo, MacFarlane's Ranch, and Fort Mercer. John arrives with the goal to take down the first member of his former gang, Bill Williamson. After his initial attempt fails, John makes new friends and allies in New Austin to help him in his task. Part 1 ends when Marston learns Williamson has fled from New Austin.
Part II: Viva La Revolución
Marston travels to the fictional (all locations are fictional though) Mexican province of Nuevo Paraíso (New Paradise). John has learned that Bill joined another former member of John's gang, Javier Escuella. John has a difficult time finding the two as he's swept up in a revolution. John finds himself playing both sides as he attempts to find Escuella and Williamson
Part III: Outlaws to the End
After killing Williamson, John heads back to American and the territory of West Elizabeth. It is revealed that John is working with the government because they kidnapped his family and will not release them until he helps. Arriving in the town of Blackwater, John works with the Bureau of Investigation (later Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI) agent Edgar Ross to bring down the leader of his old gang, Dutch Van Der Linde. Upon his completion of the task, Marston's family is released.
Part IV: Redemption and Revenge
Once his work for the government is done, John returns to his ranch on Beecher's Hope (still in the West Elizabeth Territory). There, he lives a peaceful life with his wife Abigail and his son Jack. One day, however, government agents led by Edgar Ross attack the Ranch, coming for John. Getting his family to safety, John is killed by Ross.
After that, a sort of epilogue takes place. Now, it is 1914, and John's son Jack is seeking his father's murderer Edgar Ross. The story ends with Jack killing Ross in a duel.
So, like I said before, a miniseries would be better for a live action adaptation. However, due to the lateness of this idea, my cast is more oriented for a film (but some of them would make a TV appearance, I'm certain).
Cast: Need I say anymore?
The Marston Family: John and his family, the central characters of the game.
I never heard of Mount before the AMC drama,
Hell on Wheels. However, after watching the series, I belive he is the perfect choice for Marston. He just owns that gritty tough guy look.
I would have said Timothy Olyphant, but I felt he was just too pretty.
If I do get any negative feedback on this article (and it's inevitable), it will most likely be for this choice. Zylka is a good, I wanna say that first.
My main reason for casting Zylka though, was I wanted someone who looked young enough to portray Jack as a young man (he did play a high school student in TASM), and yet with very little makeup, he could portray the older Jack in the story's epilogue.
Leoni is a very good, if not a very overlooked and underrated actress. Abigail is this combination of tough and feminine (and it's very hard to pull the two off at once). I think Leoni could combine both aspects of Abigail.
I've seen a bunch of miniseries in the past, and Beatty often plays a bit part or cameo role. Even though Uncle is a major character, he doesn't appear until the end. I think Beatty is perfect both physically and acting wise for the character.
Dutch's Gang: Much of the story involves John Marston hunting down the members of his former gang.
Another great actor. Morgan is about the same age as Mount (which just works for the characters in my opinion). His filmography and career have showed us the great versatility he has as an actor.
Gonzales only has one American credit: Riptide in
X-Men: First Class. He was meh in that movie, I thought. But he showed room for improvement. I shouldn't base my choice off one movie, but I did. The rest of his filmography was Spanish films.
You'll all probably say I should have gone with someone who looked the part a bit more (like Ian McShane or Daniel Day-Lewis). However, I wanted to cast this based on acting prowess. And Fonda has it. Hell, he was one of the few things about
Ghost Rider I actually liked.
New Austin: The allies and friends John meets along the first part of his journey.
Kruger is another often overlooked actress. I think it's because she did the
National Treasure movies, but I can't say for certain. My casting her was based on her other works. She has showed us she is tough girl, which is what Bonnie is.
Costner has had a pretty hit and miss career. Making such hits as
Dances with Wolves, and
Bull Durham. And then doing such flops as
Waterworld (which is probably one of the most liked flops out there) and
The Postman. Recently, he did the smash hit miniseries
Hatfields & McCoys. His makeup and acting convinced me he could be the Marshal of Armadillo.
A lot of fan caster cast Brian Doyle Murray. Don't get me wrong, he's a great actor and could definitely play West Dickens as the "sleazy gentleman" he is. But there's one quip I have with this...Nigel West Dickens is a British man. So I asked myself, who is British and could definitely play a gentlemanly con artist...McDowell was the only answer.
This one was based more on looks than acting talent (although acting talent did influence). I mean seriously, Roth just looks crazy. Although he's more into film making than performing, I think he has the right stuff to pull of deranged gravedigger Seth.
O'Dowd is probably best known as Kritsen Wiig's love interest in the comedy
Bridesmaids. I feel his comedic timing would be great for the drunkard.
Nuevo Paraíso: The people John meets in the Mexican province of Nuevo Paraíso (New Paradise).
All the fan casters cast this choice, and I mean ALL of them. I preach originality, but I had to say Elliott for one reason...he's so damn perfect for the role. He has that "legendary bad-ass" reputation that Ricketts has.
I did also consider Powers Boothe, but I ultimately though him too tame.
While a great actor, this choice was mostly based on looks. A lot of Trejo's tough guys can translate well to villains. Like his anti-hero Machete. He also voiced Bane in the animated series
Young Justice. So yeah, he can play the villain.
I did the same thing I did with Escuella. I based this off a Spanish actress' one English credit. Mind you that credit was terrible. However, it did introduce us to this beautiful actress. I think she could portray Luisa's naivete and loyalty.
Jaenada is actually the popular choice for Escuella. I think he's better suited for Reyes, physically anyway.
West Elizabeth: The residents of the final Territory John travels to... particularly the town of Blackwater.
Carradine is a brilliant actor who is a part of a legendary acting dynasty! There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he could bring
Red Dead Redemption's main antagonist to life.
This is mostly based on Dorff's performance in
Public Enemies. Some of his credits have him as a supporting character. After watching
Blade, I knew he could play the secondary antagonist and protege to Edgar Ross.
This is just lazy casting, and I apologize for it. I wanted a Native American actor to play Nastas, but I was unable to find one that I had heard of (that's important). Usually, in westerns, Diamond Phillips will play the Native American...hence the lazy casting I'm guilty of.
But he is a great actor.
This one was kind of tough. I had trouble finding an actor who could get MacDougal's quirks right. I finally said Murphy, because I believe he could be neurotic enough (not him, his performance) to be the cocaine abusing professor.
Thumbs up and Reviews are appreciated.