Fantastic Four Reboot Moves Forward – Who Should be Cast in the Lead Roles?

Now, a few years ago FOX brought out the X-Men films of which number one and number two were absolutely brilliant, there is no denying that, but they followed it up with X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine which kind of tarnished the X-Men brand for a while before a successful reboot with X-Men First Class. At this time FOX were also bringing out movies of another famous powerhouse team of Marvel’s called The Fantastic Four; sorry to remind you. However, after the slating that Rise of the Silver Surfer received FOX announced that they would be rebooting the series (mainly a money spinning idea so the rights don’t go back to Marvel Entertainment. I don’t for a second believe that this is out of kindness to the fans because if they cared about the fans in the first place Galactus would not have been a giant cloud of smoke and Jessica Alba in a bad wig definitely would not have been Sue Storm!). A few days ago it was announced that Josh Trank would be directing the reboot after the praise he got for Chronicle and now it has been reported that Jeremy Slater is being approached to write a script for the reboot meaning that FOX must be serious about this venture; whether that’s a good or bad thing remains to be seen. But who will be playing the family of heroes? Here are my main candidates…

 

Mr. Fantastic – Jon Hamm. Hamm is best known for his television roles where he has appeared in The Unit, 30 Rock and the role he is most known for these days as Don Draper in the hit television show Mad Men. He has ventured into film before with projects such as Shrek Forever After, Sucker Punch, The Town, Bridesmaids and Friends With Kids all on his roster. Hamm has won a Golden Globe for her performances in Mad Men and has been nominated another three times so the man clearly has acting talent; the popularity of Mad Men also make Hamm no stranger to attention or pressure from fans so would be a good choice for the role of Reed Richards.

 

Invisible Woman – Elizabeth Banks. Okay, so this is going to be a cast that a lot of people are going to question but here goes; Elizabeth Banks is a very talented actress and has proven her versatility over the years. Like Jon Hamm, Banks also appeared in 30 Rock but is no stranger to huge summer hits as she recently appeared in The Hunger Games and before that Man on a Ledge. She has proven that she can be both serious and light hearted as well as looking good at all times (something important for anyone playing Sue Storm). Jessica Alba has the looks in the original two films but Banks has the acting ability too and would be a great shout for me.

 

Human Torch – Aaron Paul. FOX have sort of screwed themselves over a little bit in that the only part of the original films that was any good at all was casting Chris Evans as Johnny Storm so whoever gets that part in the reboot has a lot to live up to (unlike the rest of the cast). Fortunately, Paul has the ability to do just that. He has had bit parts in television shows and films over the years but really made it big with his role as Jesse Pinkman in universally acclaimed series Breaking Bad. Jesse is my favourite part of the show and Aaron Paul’s portrayal is the reason for this, I have no doubts that he could bring great charisma to the role of Johnny Storm.

 

The Thing – Bruce Willis. The rest of the cast presumably wouldn’t be that expensive so why not blow the budget to get Bruce Willis on board? I’m not Willis’ biggest fan but a few years ago I heard a rumour that The Thing would be fully CGI and Willis would be voicing him. Obviously that never came to fruition but imagine how good it would be if that actually happened? Bruce Willis is a well known tough guy who doesn’t take any stick and would be a great fit for Ben Grimm whether motion captured or in his human form pre-Thing. Just do it.

 

So there’s my cast for the reboot although I highly doubt that any of them will be correct, but who would you have play the Fantastic Four?

The Worst Comic Book Movie Castings?

When casting someone in a comic book movie it is vital that you choose the right person or you face the wrath of the fanboys whom, when they get together, are a force to be reckoned with. If the casting is wrong in a comic book movie it puts fans off, the money doesn’t come in and usually (but not always) when the casting is wrong, the film ends up being total and utter rubbish. The following were all criticised by fanboys and are my chosen 8 worst comic book movie castings.

8. Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane

In 2006 Warner Bros. tried to give new life into the Superman franchise as they have done with Batman. Brandon Routh (miscast himself) played Superman whilst Kate Bosworth took the role of Lois Lane. The problem here is that Bosworth was not believable as Lois Lane; she was too nicey nice and didn’t put across the image of the feisty news reporter that worked her way up to the top of the chain that comic book fans admired her for. She had lost her character.

 

 

7. Jessica Alba as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman

Everyone knows that the Fantastic Four films are not good, but this casting was on of the worst decisions of the film makers. It seemed like Alba was there because she has sex appeal; the scene on the bridge where she stripped down to her underwear in the first film was only written after Alba had taken the part. This must show that when casting for Sue Storm she was there for her looks, not because she suited the role, and fans made sure people knew about that.

 

 

6. Chris O’Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin

Widely considered by many to be the worst comic book movie of all time, this little piece of casting was one (of thousands) of the things that contributed to the awfulness of Batman & Robin. It was never going to work and whoever thought that casting O’Donnell in the role would be a good idea needs their head checking and how he managed to last two films as Robin is beyond me!

 

 

 

 

5. Topher Grace as Eddie Brock/Venom

Eddie Brock, when he becomes Venom, is Spider-Man’s most famous enemy, his arch nemesis. Before that, when he is just Eddie Brock he is already a physical powerhouse that could beat up pretty much any normal person he wanted. So why on earth was Topher Grace cast in this role? He was nothing like his comic book counterpart in physique and fan reaction showed that this was a very unpopular decision indeed!

 

4. Ioan Gruffud as Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic

The male representative of Marvel’s most miscast couple on screen is Ioan Gruffud as Mr Fantastic. Even if you get past the fact that someone like Gruffud manages to pull Jessica Alba, there is still the problem with the character. Gruffud manages to drain all life out of one of the cleverest minds on the planet and makes for a very dull performance in an already under-par film. Not good Ioan.

 

 

 

 

3. Halle Berry as Catwoman

For some reason, unbeknownst to everyone, the film Catwoman was made. And for an even more obscure reason that even fewer people know the answer to Halle Berry was cast in the lead role. Berry won a Razzie for this film for the worst performance by a leading actress. The writers and film makers didn’t do her any favours to be honest but at the end of the day she was totally miscast and gave us a horrible portrayal of Catwoman.

 

2. George Clooney as Bruce Wayne/Batman

Arguably one of the best actors of his generation with an Oscar to his name, but unfortunately the most handsome Batman is also the worst Batman to grace the screen. Clooney has one of his rare blips with this film but it is not all his fault. The film itself is terrible anyway, but casting George Clooney as Bruce Wayne was never going to work, I don’t know what it is but Clooney lacks a certain spark, a quality that Bruce Wayne needed. Luckily though, this film did nothing to hamper Clooney’s career.

 

 

 

And the award for most totally miscast person in a comic book movie goes to…

1. Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider

This was awful. The film. The acting. The characters. The casting. There was nothing good about Ghost Rider and when they decided to ‘reboot’ the franchise with a sequel, they stuck with Nicolas Cage as the main character. Bad decision. Nicolas Cage is a horrible choice for Johnny Blaze, he just does not embody the character at all! If you have to CGI your stars body then you clearly haven’t made the right casting choice. Just because he is a fan of the character does not mean he would play them well; somebody younger required. And please, please, please… STOP with the Ghost Rider films!

 

(Dis)Honourable mentions

Halle Berry – Storm

Ben Affleck – Daredevil

Jennifer Garner – Elektra

Ryan Reynolds – Green Lantern

Vinnie Jones – Juggernaut