CASTING CALL: Fantastic Four

This Christmas I had watched all my holiday movies and TV episodes so I chose to do something that kept me jolly; watch comic book movies.  I started out with the #1 movie of 2012, The Avengers.  Then I wanted to see Chris Evans in his other Marvel character role so I watched Fantastic Four.  But before I could move on to the other famous Marvel team, X-Men, I started dwelling on Marvel's first family.  For a short time in my life I collected Fantastic Four comics, mainly do to my love of The Human Torch.  But, like with most superhero books, it's all about who is writing them.  Ed Brubaker brought Daredevil to new heights and Geoff Johns made Green Lantern the longest hit comic I can remember.  With FF I just never felt like I found a writer I could enjoy, with the exception of Bryan Hitch.  But the idea is great.  They're a superhero family.  Reed and Sue are mom and dad while Johnny and Ben are the squabbling siblings.  They're scientists, explorers, and one of them just happens to be the smartest man of his generation.

20th Century Fox has decided to reboot the franchise that only had two films.  Sure Jessica Alba wasn't my first choice for Sue Storm, but the cast wasn't bad.  Chris Evans nailed The Human Torch, which is why I was so surprised when he played a great Captain America.  The two FF films had it's plus's and minus's but I don't think it would fall into the realm of such horrible adaptations like Batman & Robin or Electra.  I put them somewhere in the Green Lantern and The Punisher category; not great, but not bad.  The director of Chronicle, Josh Tank, has been tapped to lead the 2015 release date.  While I enjoyed Chronicle I don't know if Tanks can take on this franchise and bring out the greatness in it.  The least I can do is give him some help with casting. 

Benedict Cumberbatch as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic

Cumeberbatch is used to playing a man who is too smart for his own good in the British hit TV series, Sherlock.  So it's not much of a 'strectch' to cast him as a genius scientist and leader of the Fantastic Four.  Cumerbatch even co-starred with the former Reed Richards, Ioan Gruffudd, in the 2006 film, Amazing Grace.  Maybe Gruffudd can give him some pointers. Cumberbtach is also about to become a big name in American film with his roles in the next Star Trek film and voicing Smaug the dragon in the next Hobbit film.  Better get him locked in before another franchise snags him for their lead.

Elizabeth Banks as Susan Storm/The Invisible Woman

I first saw Ms. Banks in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and then later in the TV series, Scrubs.  She had a sass and style that made me perk up in more ways than one, but she could also pull off the dramatic roles like Invincible and People Like Us.  Susan Storm is the mother of the Fantastic Four and pretty much the entire Marvel Universe in my opinion.  She has to have a very maternal and likable quality to her.  Jessica Alba was just too young and too hot to play a mom.  Banks experience as a maturing actress I think makes her ready for this role, and she as already auditioned for it once, but was beat out by Alba.  I think it's time we give her a second look.  

Joel Edgerton as Ben Grimm/The Thing

Originally for this role I thought about the classic sci-fi tough guy; Adam Baldwin.  But then I found the idea for Joel Edgerton as the FF's muscle.  He's been a boxer in Warrior, a knight in King Arthur, and a soldier in Zero Dark Thirty.  I think he's got more than enough fighting experience.  The original Ben Grimm, Michael Chiklis, was a huge fan of The Thing and convinced the studio to let him wear a suit over going with a CGI Thing.  While I like this idea he was shorter than some of his cast mates.  The Thing gives the Hulk a tough time in a fight so he has to look pretty bad-ass.  I'd go CG and just talk to Peter Jackson about how to make him look bad-ass.

Hunter Parrish as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch

Need a blonde-haired young male who can seem a little juevinile?  Well look no further than the kid from Weeds.  Parrish has had other smaller roles in movies like 17, Again and It's Complicated, but it's his eight seasons of playing Silas Botwin that makes me feel like he can turn this character from a snot-nosed punk to a true superhero in three films.  After seeing Chris Evans play Steve Rogers it's hard for me seeing him play The Human Torch, so I need someone else to step in and bring this character to life.  Enter Hunter Parrish.

Eric Bana as Namor/Sub-Mariner

I thought Bana played a pretty good Bruce Banner in 2003's Hulk, but then Edward Norton came along and looked like Banner did in the comic books.  Then of course they were both trumped by Mark Ruffalo's interpretation that closely resembled the late Bill Bixby.  In any event, Bana has a superhero knack playing Hector in Troy and even Nero in Star Trek.  He's got the look and the upper body muscle to make this arrogant king of the seas come to life.  Namor has always had a thing for Sue Storm, which has always been a pain in Reed's side.  However he could just as well be in the next X-Men film, technically being the first mutant ever.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Victor Von Doom/Dr. Doom

Meyers played King Henry VIII for 4 seasons on Showtime's The Tudors.  So he's used to being a ruling dictator.  He's got a great voice that can project through the metal mask, one thing Julian McMahon didn't have as the original Doom.  Doom is Reed's arch-enemy so he's got to be everything he is not, and everything he is.  Bring in Meyers and his experience with the ladies!

Christina Hendricks as Alicia Masters

Alicia Masters, a.k.a. the Puppet Masters daughter, is most famously a red-head so I'd keep her that way.  Right now Hendricks is the most famous red-head in Hollywood with her roles in Mad Men and Firefly.  Ben Grimm is a great guy who looks like a giant rock, so I say we give him a blind girlfriend who is smoking hot.  Hence with the Hendricks.

Of course my dream scenario is that Fox lets go of all it's Marvel properties like FF, X-Men, and Spider-Man so that they may join the Marvel Studio universe and maybe one day, one day, we'll get a Civil War movie.  But that is just a dream, and for now, I'll try to stay in this reality.  The same cannot be said for the Fantastic Four.

2011 Comics Begin With Death, Cancellations, and Feline Invasions

The comic book gossip squads have definitely been in overdrive these last few weeks with a lot of big things happening. Some people consider these things to be bad, but I remain optimistic about what is to come. Even though I don't have a lot to say on these subject matters I figure I'd at least let the common man know what's been going on, and why it's not all bad.

Archie and DC Comics Dropping the Comic Code:

Marvel comics dropped the 60 year-old code back in 2001 and, just like the movie business; DC is trying to play catch up. Back in 1954 Congress set up the comic book code because they felt comic books turned kids into criminals and made them Nazi's. It was a code that dictated how far comic creators could push the line, which wasn't very far.  This of course was back in communist witch hunt days, and I think we've evolved from the paranoia of the 1950's.

Comics have also gotten a lot more serious. Popular titles like Batman and Spider-man usually have more mature content that is not suitable for anyone under 14. This helps keep the adult fans interested and gives Hollywood better material to steal for their movies, and then turn into crap. Marvel, DC, and Archie all have comics that are appropriate for kids that involve their favorite superhero characters. They aren't considered part of the main stream, but they're something to bring in new readers while they're young. You can bet that's what I'll be buying my kids to start their comic book education.

Wizard Magazine Cancelling Its Publication:

Earlier this week I heard some grave news as a magazine I have read since I was a child was ending after 20 years of publication. Wizard, along with Toyfare magazine, will no longer be available in print. Do to budgetary issues they are laying off most of their staff and just going to be posting news on wizradworld.com.

This was one of the more disappointing things I heard this week since I have a 2-year subscription that is only over a year old. Sure Wizard magazine hasn't been what it used to be in recent years, but it was my dream job to work at Wizard one day, and now that dream it gone. Print media is slowly being phased out. Much like VHS, it will soon be a thing of the past.

I don't know what I will do when all comics are in electronic form. Any comic reader will tell you their joy of going to the local comic book store each week and chatting with store regulars about all things pop culture. I'm going to miss Wizard's casting calls most of all. The writers would say which actor they felt could play our favorite characters. This is something I think about all the time, and it will not die with Wizard. Just see my entries about Batman Beyond and The Flash.

Anne Hathaway is Catwoman:

Months ago rumors started swirling that Christopher Nolan was auditioning female actress's for his next Batman film, The Dark Knight Rise. Everyone knew this lucky lady would be picked to play Catwoman, Batman's most famous female villain and sometimes lover. Last week the announcement was made that Anne Hathaway had won the part, which was met with a mixture of responses. Most think Hathaway isn't edgy and sexy enough to play Catwoman, but I say that's crap.

Hathaway is more known for her light roles like The Princess Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada. But let's not forget her more controversial roles like Havoc, Brokeback Mountain, and Rachel Getting Married. Plus, the Catwoman in the comic has a much more playful personality that Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns.

Some consider Pfeiffer's role the definitive Catwoman, much like they used to consider Jack Nicholson the definitive Joker. Nobody had faith in Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight, but everyone was proven wrong. So why can't Hathaway be a good Catwoman? She's proven to be a great actress, and didn't Michelle Pfeiffer do Grease 2 before she did Batman Returns? I rest my case.

Also announced was Inception actor Tom Hardy as Bane. In the 1997 film, Batman and Robin, Bane was a strong dumb guy who didn't know how to spell cat. But in the comics he is a criminal mastermind who tired Batman out enough to get the jump on him and put Bruce Wayne in a wheelchair for a months. I just hope we get to see Hardy play that version of Bane and not the version whose most famous line is, 'bomb.'

The Death of The Human Torch:

Comic book shops released a new comic a day earlier than all the other this week. For months fans had been teased about the death of a Fantastic Four member. With Reed and Sue off world and Ben Grimm in a temporary state of being human Johnny Storm was the only FF member left at the Baxter Building when alien monsters came knocking on the door. Inside was well was Johnny's niece and nephew. In a last act of heroics Johnny 'Flamed On' for the last time to save his family.

These days death is just something every comic book superhero goes through. Steve Rogers and Bruce Wayne were gone barely a year before they came back, but something tells me the Human Torch might stay dead for a while. The Human Torch was one of my favorite superhero mainly because of his care free, and sometime juvenile, attitude. Although I grieve Johnny's death, I'm excited for the dramatic repercussions. The Fantastic Four is more of a family than a team, and now they will all think about what they could have done to prevent Johnny's death. I'm sure his best friend, Spider-Man, will also feel the weight of his death.

Superhero death's sometimes stick for a while. Jean Grey has been dead for ten years now, mainly I feel because of the popularity of Cyclops new girlfriend, The White Queen. Comic shops have already sold out of this FF issue in less than twenty four hours and are already calling for a second printing. Clearly this is a marketing scheme to get people more interested in the Fantastic Four and create comic book hype in main stream news. We'll just have to wait and see what the aftershocks are from Johnny Storm's valiant sacrifice in the Marvel Universe, comic book sales, and around the world.

With all these cancellations, codes breaking, and heroic deaths I feel like I've left you on a bad note. So let me leave you with some good news. 80's cartoons are making a comeback and yesterday the first image of a new Thundercats cartoon surfaced on the web. The cartoon is set to premiere later this year on Cartoon Network.  As a former Thudercats lover all I can say is Thundercats, ho!