Nothing gets a conversation and/or debate going faster than an alternate casting. Everyone has their own opinion about what actor should play which role and, more importantly, nobody can ever agree with anyone else’s picks. If it’s even slightly different than what you pictured in your head, you will immediately disregard it and ridicule the person who suggested it. The aim of the FanCast is to inspire conversation, create debate and provide ammo for the bloodthirsty nerds who can’t ever be wrong.
The new DCU is almost here! James Gunn and Peter Safran are set to reveal their ten-year plan for the DC Cinematic Universe this month. With the news that Henry Cavill will no longer be playing Superman, we wondered who else could be getting replaced and who will be getting introduced. But before that happens, let’s fan-cast the Justice League!
Here are our choices for the DCU’s Justice League
Timothée Chalamet | Green Arrow
What you might have seen him in: Dune, Call Me By Your Name, Bones and All
Why he’d be perfect for the role: Coming fresh off of Dune, Timothée Chalamet as well as an Oscar nomination in 2018 for his leading role in Call Me By Your Name. He is the most promising and sought after young up-and-comer in the industry today. Even though he has said he isn’t interested in superhero work, it would still be interesting to see Chalamet as The Emerald Archer. What can I say about Green Arrow that Stephen Amell hasn’t already accomplished on Arrow? Maybe one-way Chalamet’s version could be different would be not going as dark as Arrow did and working to save Star City in more ways than just relying on what he has packed in his quiver. At one point in time in the comics, Oliver Queen became Mayor of Star City and was cleaning up the streets in a legal sense. This would help with both lives that Olivier Queen is choosing to lead, the one on the streets and the one where he is just starting out within the political system. It is understandable that Timothée Chalamet would prefer to make a career without putting on a pair of tights, but maybe one day he will change his mind.
-Jinxy
Joseph Quinn | The Flash
What you might have seen him in: Stranger Things, Dickensian, Make Up
Why he’d be perfect for the role: DC loves casting outside of the box, with most of their gambles paying off. There are tons of examples of actors being cast that the fans initially hated but then came around on once they saw their performances. Ezra Miller is a perfect example of that. There were tons of petitions trying to get the CW kid in the role and it wouldn’t be until The Snyder Cut that they finally saw what he could do with the role. But by then, he had already become problematic as fuck. So, while Gunn hasn’t officially cut him loose, it’s safe to assume that everyone associated with Snyder is getting the axe. If he didn’t go crazy and torpedo his career, I could see them rebooting the entire DCEU around him but that’s definitely not going to happen. What they’re going to do is pick a fan favorite that won’t be controversial in anyway which is why I think they’re going to go with Quinn. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, there was no way you avoided his character from Stranger Things. He made Metallica relevant again and was *the* costume of Halloween. Everyone loved him, so take that goodwill and go cash those checks with it.
-Sailor Monsoon
Kiernan Shipka | Black Canary
What you might have seen her in: Mad Men, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Silence
Why she’d be perfect for the role: Whether you watched her grow up as Sally Draper or caught her chilling adventures as Sabrina Spellman, Kiernan Shipka’s presence has the uncanny knack of being able to stand out in a crowd. She is not to be ignored and as Dinah Lance, she won’t be. Sweet and innocent upon first appearance, don’t underestimate her. She is not a damsel in distress, she is a force to be reckoned with and Shipka is more than capable of handling her own. There comes a time when every bird must spread their wings and fly away. But this canary won’t just fly, she’ll sing. Or rather, she’ll scream. Whether infiltrating high class society’s or beating up criminals in back alleys and slum town bars, this blonde bombshell has a heart of gold and more than capable of knocking your block off with elegance and grace. Much like getting hit by her canary cry, watching her prance around in a black leather jacket and soaring through the streets on a motorbike, she will knock you off your feet.
-Jinxy
Billy Magnussen | Plastic Man
What you might have seen him in: Aladdin, Game Night, The Many Saints of Newark
Why he’d be perfect for the role: Plastic Man is long overdue for the big screen. The Wachowski’s tried making one years and years ago with Keanu Reeves and after that fell apart, no one has tried since. Even though the character is great and could potentially be as big as Deadpool if done right, I think the reason no one has tried is because elasticity is the one thing CGI hasn’t been able to do convincingly yet. Anything that’s supposed to look human that bends and stretches in impossible angles looks like shit. It just does. So I think the only way to make this character work on screen is to make him look fake when he’s real, so when he’s CGI, it’ll look better. What I mean is, utilize the same make up effect some cosplayers use to look cell shaded. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just Google Borderlands cosplay. Make him look cartoony beforehand and he’ll match the CGI. If you’re casting a literal cartoon character, might as well get an actor who’s damn near one already. Magnuson was one of the funniest things about Game Night and that’s saying a lot. He can steal the scene from anyone and has that same goofball charm you can’t help but love even though he’s annoying as fuck energy as Plastic Man.
-Sailor Monsoon
Austin Butler | Hawkman
What you might have seen him in: Elvis, The Shannara Chronicles, The Carrie Diaries
Why he’d be perfect for the role: Breaking onto the scene last year as none other than Elvis, himself. There is something about Butler’s cool, calm demeanor that we can’t quite put our finger on. There is a mystery behind those eyes, we’ll never know what it is but it’s intriguing nonetheless. I can see Butler wielding a mace and gracing the exotic skies of St. Roch and as everyone else will be too busy trying to get an angle on him, he has already figured them out. Because he’s been watching them, like a hawk. Carter Hall is an old soul and we need somebody to play him who hasn’t just been around the world, but has travelled across the spiritual plain. The pain and sorrow that needs to exude is exactly the story that Austin’s eyes tell; a tragic tale of one man’s happiness constantly escaping him. It’s heartbreaking, isn’t it? Finally finding your true love only to die in each others arms, get reincarnated and do it over and over again. Will he ever be able to escape his fate or is he destined to forever fall victim to it? He can only hope that when it comes time for his next reincarnation, hopefully, it will be in place better than this one.
-Jinxy
Glen Powell | Green Lantern
What you might have seen him in: Top Gun: Maverick, Devotion, Set It Up
Why he’d be perfect for the role: Powell is without a doubt, my choice for Cyclops. Krasinski and Blunt were always my picks but now that Krasinski is done with the MCU, the role should go to Powell. Even though he slides into the alpha douche role easily, he’s also shown a softer side in things like Hidden Figures and Devotion. He’s perfect for authority figures and I believe wouldn’t hesitate to fight Wolverine for his lady. But since he will most likely have aged out of the role by the time Marvel decides to do something with the X-Men, the second best role he’s suited for is Green Lantern. I’ve always seen Hal Jordan as a mix between Indiana Jones and Clark Kent. He’s a good ol’ boy that loves adventure but is also concerned about doing what’s right above all else. He’s the kind of man that could easily run the Justice League if asked but also wouldn’t fight for control of it. It’s the kind of role Powell was born for.
-Sailor Monsoon
Noah Schnapp | The Atom
What you might have seen him in: Stranger Things, Abe, Waiting for Anya
Why he’d be perfect for the role: There is something about small characters that don’t appeal to most people. Maybe it’s because we have been made to feel small by other people or the world around us. Whatever the case may be, human beings have a tendency to look down on themselves and there’s nothing quite like looking up and seeing our heroes soar across the sky. Much like Noah Schnapp who got the short end of the stick in the first couple of seasons of Stranger Things, Ray Palmer has never been able to hold a solo book, nor does he have any iconic storylines of his own. Both characters are seemingly destined to forever live on the sidelines, always to be overshadowed by that of their peers. But as movies have told us time and again; never underestimate the little guy. So, instead of looking up, maybe we should be looking down. Not on ourselves, but at what’s going on around us. Maybe we’ll find that feeling small makes The Atom more relatable than we ever dreamed he could be. Which would make both Noah Schnapp and this tiny hero capable of standing on the shoulders of giants.
-Jinxy
Jonathan Majors | Martian Manhunter
What you might have seen him in: The Harder They Fall, Loki, Lovecraft Country
Why he’d be perfect for the role: Even though he’s going to be in the MCU for the foreseeable future, DC would be fools to not get Majors while he’s white-hot. He’s been consistently killing it with each new project since The Last Black Man in San Francisco put him on everyone’s radars, with Creed III looking like it’s going to continue the streak. Bouncing between major franchises is always risky (look what happened to Jennifer Lawrence) but I don’t see DC making Martian Manhunter a flagship character. Make a great movie with him and have him pop up here and there in other films to connect the universe. Hell, you can even recast him later since he’s a shapeshifter. But for his first appearance, they’re going to need an actor that will make audiences want to see more of Martian Manhunter and that’s definitely Majors.
-Sailor Monsoon
Anya Taylor-Joy | Zatanna
What you might have seen her in: The Witch, Emma, The Last Night in Soho, The Northman
Why she’d be perfect for the role: Anna has been making quite the name for herself in recent years, working with many big-name directors and starring in films with prestige roles. With performances in The Witch and The New Mutants, it’s safe to say that she knows how to pull a rabbit out of a hat. The magic that Taylor-Joy is capable of conjuring up when she graces the screen is nothing shy of mystifying. Just her very presence gives the illusion of there being more to her than meets the eye. It’s no surprise that she would be the perfect choice as the spell-casting, backward-talking magician known as Zatanna Zatara. Black magic isn’t always about voodoo, hexes, and curses and we need an expert who can harness the occult. Whether she is on stage putting on a show with a flick of the wrist for the unbelievers or tackling hordes of demons in the seven realms of the underworld with a slick tongue, watching Anna mystify on both sides definitely seems possible. If you aren’t already picturing Joy in a black tuxedo and top hat, you certainly are now!
-Jinxy
Jack Lowden | Superman
What you might have seen him in: Benediction, Calibre, Mary Queen of Scots
Why he’d be perfect for the role: Since Henry Cavill has been mentioned as a potential James Bond replacement for years (it ain’t happening y’all), my thought process was like, “why don’t I just cast my Bond choice to play Superman because that seemed to work out last time” but since Jack O’Connell is way too rough for the role (he’d be a perfect Wolverine though), my second choice got bumped up. Lowden hasn’t done a lot but what he has done is mighty impressive. He got rave reviews for last year’s Benediction, held his own against Gary Oldman in Slow Horses and has popped up in about ten or so other solid movies. He’s tall, he’s good looking and he’s dating Saoirse Ronan who’d be a terrific Lois Lane. He might not be the conventional choice but I think he’s got the goods to quiet the haters.
-Sailor Monsoon
These are the actors we would cast if we were making a live-action Justice League for the DCU. Who would you FanCast?