Fancast: Batman

First off, I was planning on posting this later in the month, but I decided to post it earlier because I wanted to cheer up my friend DDD, who's a great caster and an all around awesome guy. Anyway, I'm aware of the upcoming Batman reboot with Ben Affleck, and I am catiously excited for it. However, this cast is for my own take on Batman, a superhero that I have known and loved ever since I was 5 years old.

 

Anyway, my pick for director for this series would be David Fincher, director of Se7en, Fight Club, and the American adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He's one of my favorite directors, and I think his dark and gritty style would fit for an adaptation of Batman. And for this take, I want it to be grounded in reality, but not completely realistic like the Nolan films. I want it to take place in a world where it's still capable for things like aliens and magic to exist. 







Anyway, enjoy the cast!



Heroes:



Alex O'Loughlin (Moonlighting, White Out) as Bruce Wayne/Batman: The son of millionaire philanphropists Thomas and Martha Wayne, who witnessed his parent's murder in front of him. Since then, Bruce as devoted his life to fighting crime as the vigilante Batman. Bruce is a highly skilled detective, martial artist, escapologist, and strategist. He uses a variety of bat-themed weaponry and gadgets, including a custom car called the Batmobile. 







Reason for Casting: O'Loughlin has been a popular choice for Batman for some time now, and I was hoping he'd been pick for the role before Ben Affleck. Anyway, he's a great actor (as seen on Hawaii Five-0), and has the right physique and rugged good looks for Batman. Plus, he's already played a detective that operates at night on Moonlighting.

 

Anthony Steward Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Merlin) as Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne family butler, who raised Bruce and served as his surrogate father figure ever since the death of his parents. Alfred helps Bruce in his fight against crime, usually serving as his medic. 







Reason for Casting: I originally had John Hurt in this role, but I decided that he was too old. Anyway, Head is a good actor, and he's already played a similar role on Bu ffy. I think he'd be great as Alfred.

 

Terrence Howard (Hustle and Flow, Dead Man Down) as Lucius Fox: The CEO of Wayne Enterprises, who helps Bruce by creating gadgets and vehicles that Bruce has designed. 







Reason for Casting: I know this may seem like an odd casting choice. Howard has a lot of charm and charisma, and it was seeing him in Dead Man Down, where he pulled off the right look for Fox, that convinced me to cast him. 



Brad Pitt (Killing Them Softly, Fury) as Commissoner Jim Gordon: The commissoner of the Gothim City Police, who oftern works with Batman. He is skeptical of Batman's vigilante methods, but recognizes the necessity of him, and has a mutual respect for the Caped Crusader. 







Reason for Casting: I've decided not to go with Bryan Cranston as Gordon, since it's overused. Anyway, Pitt is a great actor, who has worked with David Fincher before. It was mainly his role in Se7en that convinced me to cast him as Jim Gordon. I have a feeling he'd do a great job in the role. 



Kevin Chapman (Rescue Me, Person of Interest) as Detective Harvey Bullock:  A seemingly corrupt detective on the force, who is extremely loyal to Gordon. Having a fondness for donuts and a hidden sentimental streak, he's also very distrusting of Batman. 







Reason for Casting: I originally had James Gandolfini in the role, but he unfortunately passed away. Anyway, Chapman is a pretty good actor, and it helps that he's played a corrupt detective before on Person of Interest. I think he would do really well as Bullock, giving a performance similar to Robert Costanzo.



Alice Braga (Predators, Elysium) as Detective Reynee Montoya: A detetctive from the Major Crimes Unit, who is also another good cop on the force. 







Reason for Casting: Again, I didn't want to go with someone obvious like Michelle Rodriguez (who I think is overrated). Braga has played a tough chick before in Predators, and I think she'd be good as Montoya. 



Common (Street Kings, Hell on Wheels) as Detective Crispus Allen: Montoya's partner from the Major Crime Unit. Allen sees Batman as a necessary evil, not wanting to deal with him personally, but tolerating his existance. 






Reason for Casting: I know that a lot of rappers aren't very good at acting, but I see Common as one of those exceptions. He's great on Hell on Wheels, and I think he'd do great as Allen. 

Villains:

Michael Sheen (Midnight in Paris, Masters of Sex) as The Joker: A psychopathic criminal mastermind, and Batman's archnemesis. The Joker posses a warped, twisted sense of humor, and his plans only make sense to himself. The Joker uses a variety of gag-themed weapons, but is not above using things like knives. 



Reason for Casting: Sheen's a fantastic actor, and he's good at playing deranged as seen in Unthinkable. In fact, his roles in Unthinkable and Tron: Legacy that convinced me that he'd be a great Joker. 

Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Lennon Naked) as Edward Nygma/The Riddler: A criminal obssessed with puzzles, and delights in sending complex clues to forewarn both Batman and the police. The Riddler is a genius with a wide variety of knowledge and different styles of thinking, but ususally excels in different styles of thinking. 



Reason for Casting: I have to admit that this choice mainly comes from Scott's performance on Sherlock. He was a great cerebral villain there, and he'd be good as the Riddler. 

Zachary Quinto (Heroes, American Horror Story) as Dr. Johnathan Crane/The Scarecrow: A psychologist who uses a variety of drugs and psychological tactics to intimidate fear in his victims. The Scarecrow is an expert hand-to-hand combatant, and mainly uses a fear toxin to make a victim to hallucinate their greatest fear. 



Reason for Casting: Quinto has a very creepy, unsettling vibe to him, as seen  in Heroes and American Horror Story. He'd make a very unnerving and scary Scarecrow. 

Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!, An Education) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face: The former district attorney of Gotham, who had half of his face horribly scarred, making him become the criminal Two-Face. Dent has an obession with the number two, and makes many of his decisions with a coin flip. He also uses dual firearms (such as .22 semiautomatics or a double-barreled shotgun). 



Reason for Casting: I know that this may seem like an out-of-the-left field chocie, but I think Cooper would do good as Dent, since he has this charisma to him that would work with the role. 

Eliza Dushku (Wrong Turn, Dollhouse) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman: A cat burgular who has a complex love-hate relationship with Batman. Catwoman is a skilled acrobat and matial artist. She also uses a whip, and her costume has climbing talons and retractable claws. 



Reason for Casting: Dushku is a great actress, has played seductresses before, and is pretty familiar with action. She'd be great as Catwoman. 

Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, Mob City) as Roman Sionis/Black Mask: A powerful and violent crime boss who is known for wearing a black, skull-shaped mask. Roman is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant with enhanced strenghth and endurance, and is also known for carrying around handguns. 



Reason for Casting: What convinced me to cast Bernthal was his role on The Walking Dead (mainly him in the 2nd season), that convinced me to cast him as Mask. 

Norman Reedus (The Boondock Saints, Pandorum) as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot: An assassin-for-hire that is known for his excellent marksmanship. Besdies his marksmanship, he has a cybernetic eyes that grants him increased accuracy, and also uses a variety of firearms, incluidng a wrist-mounted machine gun. 



Reason for Casting: This role mainly came from Reedus's role on The Walking Dead. He was badass there, and he would be even more badass as Deadshot. 

Matthew Goode (A Single Man, The Good Wife) as Dr. Thomas Elliot/Hush: A childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, who is now obssessed with destroying Batman. Hush is a master surgeon, tactician, strategist, martial artist, athelete, and marksman. His main weapon is a pair of handguns.



Reason for Casting: Goode's a great actor, and it was mainlt his creepy, unsettling perfomance as Uncle Charlie  in Stoker that convinced me to cast him. He'd be great as a dark reflection of Batman. 

Dominic Purcell (Prison Break, John Doe) as Waylon Jones/Killer Croc: A criminal with a rare skin condition that gives him a crocodile like appearance. Jones posses superhuman attributes, along with harden skin, razor sharp claws and teeth, and an immunity to toxins. 



Reason for Casting: Purcell is great at playing thuggish characters. He'd fit a role like this, rather than a role like Venom.

Edgar Ramirez (The Bourne Ultimatum, The Counsoler) as Bane: A South-American criminal genius, whose tactical prowness is on par with Batman's. Besides being a tactical genius and strategist, Pain also posses superhuman strength, which he enhances with a drug called Venom. 



Reason for Casting: Ramirez is a great actor, and what convinced me to cast him was his performance as Carlos the Jackal in Carlos.

Jason Clarke (Lawless, White House Down) as Matt Hagen/Clayface: A criminal that can transform himself into living clay. Hagen can shapeshift himself, and can recompose his body from mud if it is ever destroyed. 



Reason for Casting: Clarke's a really talented and underrated actor who I can see own the role of Clayface, especially if they went with the Batman: The Animated Series route with the character.

Christina Ricci (Monster, Penelope) as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn: A A physchiatrist at Arkham who fell madly in love with the Joker and joined him as his accomplice. Quinn is a talented gyminist with enhanced strength and agility, and primarily uses a mallet as her weapon of choice. 



Reason for Casting: Ricci's a talented actress, who has done dark work before and I think she can nail the creepy and psychotic parts of the character. 

Kevin Spacey (House of Cards, The Men who Stare at Goats) as Hugo Strange: A psychologist who was hired to deduce the identity of Batman, until he became obssessed with the Dark Knight himself. Strange has a genius level intellect, and posses a mastery of the field of psychology.



Reason for Casting: Spacey has to be one of my favorite actors, and is criminally underrated. If you've seen him in Se7en or The Usual Suspects, then he'd own a role like Strange. 

Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, Dead man Down) as Talia Al Ghul: The on/off love interest of Batman, who is the daughter of Ras Al Ghul and the leader of the  League of Assassins. Talia is a master of hand-to-hand combat and use of weaponry. 



Reason for Casting: Rapace is a great actress, and one of my favorites. She knows her way around action and would be great as Talia.

Christopher Lambert (Highlander, Southland Tales) as Ras Al Ghul: A terrorist who wants to purge the earth of modern humanity, and restore it to its natural state again. Ras posses logetivity from the  Lazarus Pits, along with a genius level intellect, superior strength and stamina, and knowledge in martial arts, fencing, and alchemy. 



Reason for Casting: Do I really have to explain this? It's Connor freakin' MacLeod fighting Batman! How awesome would that be?

Anyway, please leave your thoughts and comments below. I hope that you have enjoyed this cast.