Casting Call

It seems as though every week there is a new project announced, or even just a rumor floating around, that one of our beloved weekly doses of nerdery is getting translated to the big screen.

For good reason too; the likes of Spider-Man, The Dark Knight, and Thor, among others, have thrust us into an era of unparalleled Hollywood success, with no signs of slowing down. With this surge in interest, we are also seeing a new trend in the film industry accompanying this specific genre.

There is a recognition on the part of both the audience and the film studios of the potential comic-based stories offer to the medium of film. This transcends the mainstream universes of Marvel and DC as well, and with the success of Walking Dead, more are sure to follow. There are already television adaptations of Chew and Powers in the works. While it can be easy to sell a movie to audiences with a certain celebrity’s name attached to it, more and more often we are seeing fairly unknown actors cast in the title role. While this is not across the board, it is something that I believe is greatly aiding the success of these films.

Take Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man for example; casting Tobey Maguire was one of the best decisions made during the popular trilogy. By casting a relatively unrecognizable actor, we as an audience treated him as many in the comics and film treated Peter Parker, with curiosity that may have been somewhat reserved, providing a relatable perspective to the viewers before and during the film.

Actually Peter Parker

Thankfully for us, Maguire more than filled those webbed red boots and gave us one of the best superhero films to date.  Proving that given the right treatment these characters could fit into a broader market instead of the niche that they had previously been relegated to. By casting more famous actors, like Willem Dafoe and Kirsten Dunst as supporting characters, some of the more imperious viewers were lured in.

It should be noted that Bryan Singer’s X-Men got this formula right first; by focusing the film on the then unknown Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and filling the supporting cast with the likes of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan, both of whom were quite popular by this point in their careers. While X-Men was a great adaptation, it did not quite captivate general audiences in the same way that Spider-Man would do two years later.

Thor would carry on the trend by forgoing casting an expected actor who just looked the part, and instead went with someone who outside of Australia was nameless. After seeing Chris Hemsworth at C2E2 last year I was left wondering how such a tranquil and reserved fellow could adequately portray the God of Thunder. Knowing so little about him however really helped sell the idea that he was, as a character, thrust into an unfamiliar new world. His on-screen character matched up with what I knew about Hemsworth as a person. For all I know, he might actually be Thor.

This outline for success would later be tested in the opposite direction with some less-than-stellar attempts with Daredevil, Ghost Rider, and Fantastic Four. While each of these films were flawed in more ways than one, the fact that well-known celebrities were cast as lead characters didn’t help matters.

Most people couldn’t get past Ben Affleck’s much publicized private life as “Bennifer” enough to take him seriously as the troubled Hell’s Kitchen lawyer, Daredevil. His life outside of the film was enough to take any characterization out of what made Matt Murdock so compelling in the comics. The same can be said for Nic Cage as Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider. While he was less a tabloid figure, his previous film career had already somewhat cemented his persona on-screen. Coming off of The Wicker Man didn’t help his case much either.

There are outliers, and Marvel seems to be keen on making the most of them. Most recently, many in our walk-of-life recognized, the Star-Spangled Captain on the big-screen as having previously been typecast as the cocky jock type. Even as Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four, and as Lucas Lee in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Chris Evans couldn’t seem to escape the confines of expectation.

What a jerk.

That’s why I had my doubts when hearing he had been cast as Steve Rogers. But where Affleck, Cage, and even Evans himself had failed before, he was able to exceed expectations and play Rogers to damn near perfection. Not only was he able to capture the timid pre-super soldier Steve Rogers but he also embodied the endearing, and moral-driven Captain America.

What a nice guy.

Robert Downey Jr. was another name that was familiar to many, as a person who naturally lived the life of an entitled playboy. That’s why when he was cast as Tony Stark it seemed as though there was a collective “oh, that makes sense” throughout the comic community. For this role, it wasn’t that some Hollywood namesake stepped in and took it upon himself to play the hero, but rather, a controversial celebrity icon filled the role of a controversial comic icon.

An Avenger you say....

Whether he wanted to admit or not, his life personified what it was we identified so much with in Tony Stark. He wasn’t perfect, but at the end of the day he was essentially trying to be a better person, and whether or not that ideal was built around a suit of armor had only to do with the character of Tony Stark. Suddenly a popular, but washed-up celebrity was more than just a person; he symbolized Stark not only as a character that we recognized from the comics but as well as the character of his public figure.

Well played Downey

As successful as these adaptations have been, it’s quite clear that the public’s interest in these characters is only growing. Meaning that we are sure to see more and more film translations of comic book lore. As we already know Spider-Man, and Superman are in the process of rebooting, reminding audiences of the endearing quality of these characters and their relevance in pop-culture. I know a good number of people were less than ecstatic with the casting choice of Andrew Garfield, but as he proved at SDCC last year, this character means something to him. As a fan, given the opportunity to portray a cultural icon like that would be something I can’t imagine many people would pass up on.