Fancast: The Avengers

First off, I'd like to apologize for not posting anything in the past seven months. My Junior year of high school was a real pain in the ass. I kept promising my fellow CBMers such as DDD that I would post something. And I've finally been able to get around to posting a cast.

Anyway, ever since the release of the live action Avengers movie, I've seen a lot of Avengers casts popping up. Some of them have been good while others have not. I've decided to throw in my two cents and make my own cast. Like with most of my casts, my choices include a mix of original and not so original picks.

Anyway, on with the cast!:

Heroes:

Phillip Winchester (Camelot, Strike Back) as Steve Rogers/Captain America: A scrawny army reject who was chosen as a candidate of the Super Soldier project. Being a successful result of the project, Rogers became known as the legendary World War 2 hero known as Captain America. After being frozen in ice for nearly 60 years, Rogers woke up in the modern world and now leads the Avengers. Due to the Super Soldier Serum, Rogers posses peak human strength, speed, stamina, agility, durability, healing, mental process, senses, and logetivity. Rogers is also a master strategist an advance military operator, is multi-lingual, and is a master martial artist, acrobat, and marksman. He wields a circular shield made from a adamantium-vibranium alloy, rendering it indestructible.



Reason for Casting: I've seen that Winchester as become quite a popular pick for Thor. However, after seeing his work on Strike Back, I can't help but see him as Cap. He has the tough, military look to him, and posses the grit, toughness, and leadership qualities to pull off Cap, and hive us a performance that would rival Chris Evan's.

Patrick Dempsey (Grey's Anatomy, Freedom Writers)Tony Stark/Iron Man: A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer, who is the head of Stark Industries. He was injured in Afghanistan by one of his own weapons, and was captured by Al Qaeda, who forced him to make weapons for them. Along with fellow prisoner and medical researcher Ho Yinsen, they developed an electromagnet that hold the shrapnel that was nearing his heart in place, and then a suit of powered armor, which Stark used to escape. After he escaped, he started to develop more advanced versions of the suit and used them to better the world as Iron Man. The weapons systems of the suit have changed over the years, but Iron Man's standard offensive weapons have always been enhanced strength, flight, repulsor rays built into the palms of his gauntlets, pulse bolts (that pick up on kinetic energy along the way; so the farther they travel, the harder they hit), an electromagnetic pulse generator, a unibeam, and a defensive energy shield that can be extended up to 360 degrees. Other capabilities include creating and manipulating magnetic fields, and emitting sonic blasts.



Reason for Casting: I know a lot of people say that Robert Downey Junior is impossible to replace, but I believe that Dr. McDreamy could give a good performance (plus its better than seeing him casted as Doctor Strange for the millionth time). What convinced me was his performance in Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon. Yes, the movie sucked balls like nobody's business, but Dempsey's performance was probably one of the few good things about the film. The movie proved he can play arrogantly intelligent characters. Plus he can pull off the dry, sarcastic humor, and has the looks of the handsome corporation owner Tony Stark.

Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, Melancholia) as Thor: The God of Thunder, the Son of Odin, and the Prince of Asgard, who is one of the founding members of the Avengers, like most Asgardians, Thor posses superhuman durability, logetivity, speed and strength, and posses an immunity to all earthly diseases and some resistance to magic. In battle, Thor wields the mystic hammer Mjolnir. The Mjolnir grants Thor the ability to control weather and the elements of the storm (lightening, rain, wind, and snow), flight, dimensional travel, and can be thrown and will return to the exact spot where Thor stands. Only individuals who are deemed worthy can wield Mjolnir.



Reason for Casting: Yes, this pick is unoriginal at best, but I still stand by it. Skarsgård is a brilliant actor, and posses all of the physical requirements for Thor. He's a giant at 6'4", has a very athletic physique, and possess the Nordic looks for Thor. He'd give Chris Hemsworth a run for his money.

Lee Pace (The Fall, Pushing Daisies) as Dr. Bruce Banner/the Hulk: A brilliant scientist who was exposed to a large amount of gamma radiation. Now , whenever he is excited or angry, Bruce will turn into an angry brute known as the Hulk. As the Hulk, Bruce posses superhuman strength, speed, endurance, reflexes, and durability, an immunity to all diseases, and gets stronger the more angrier he gets.



Reason for Casting: I didn't want to pick an obvious choice for Banner (e.g. Sharlto Copley, Billy Crudup). I decide to go with Pace since he's a talented and underrated actor, his performance in The Fall being excellent. Plus he has this Banner vibe to him and would give a performance that rivals Mark Ruffalo's.

Simon Baker (The Mentalist, The Guardian) as Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym/Ant Man/Giant Man: A brilliant scientist who created the size changing Pym Particles, and who has gone through several superhero titles such as Ant Man, Giant Man, and Yellow Jacket. Because of the constant exposure to the Pym Particles, Hank can change his size at will, which allows him to grow from the size of an insect to the size of a skyscraper. Pym retains his normal strength while in his "ant" size while he posses enhanced strength and stamina in his "giant" form. As Ant Man, Pym wore a cybernetic helmet that allowed him to communicate and control insects.



Reason for Casting: Baker's an underrated and talented actor who deserves more Big Screen work. As in his performance as Patrick Jane on The Mentalist, he can play arrogant, charismatic, and intellectual, and can do humor when its required. Plus, he's particularly the spitting image of Hank from the comics. And at least I'm not casting Nathan Fillion or Patrick Wilson.

Mila Kunis (Black Swan, Ted) as Janet van Dyne/the Wasp: The on-and-off girlfriend of Hank Pym, who was injected with Pym Particles, and became the hero known as the Wasp. Janet's powers include the ability to shrink down several centimeters, the power of flight via synthetic wings,and can augment her body's bio-electricity and fire it as energy blasts from her hands, which she calls her "Wasp's Sting".



Reason for Casting: I know that a lot of people on this site aren't fond of Kunis (Note to RoadDog: I'm aware of the fact that you find Kunis annoying, so please don't bring that up in your review. At this point, you're beating a dead horse), but to me, she has grown as an actress and is now pretty versatile. Her petite body, pretty face, and small assets fits Wasp very well. She'd also have great chemistry with Simon Baker. All in all, she'd be great as Wasp, especially if they're going with the take of her portrayed in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Chris Pine (This Means War, Star Trek Into Darkness) as Clint Barton/Hawkeye :A S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent who was framed for a crime he didn't commit. He was later cleared of the charges and joined the Avengers. Hawkeye is an exceptional fencer, acrobat and a grandmaster marksman, and excels in the use of ranged weapons, especially the bow and arrow, and uses customized trick arrows. His main mode of transportation is a Sky-Cycle, which is modelled after a commercial snowmobile and is fitted with anti-gravitational technology.



Reason for Casting: I know that Pine is a popular pick for Captain America, but I really prefer him as Hawkeye. He has the quick wit, the looks, and the charm to play a convincing Hawkeye, and knows his way around action. He'd give a much livelier performance that Jeremy Renner.

Olga Kurylenko (Seven Psychopaths, Oblivion) as Natasha Romanova/Black Widow: A former Russian intelligence agent, who defected to the United States and joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and later the Avengers. Natahsa is a world class athlete, gymnast, acrobat, aerialist capable of numerous complex maneuvers and feats, expert martial artist (including karate, judo, ninjutsu, aikido, savate, various styles of kung fu, and boxing), marksman, and weapons specialist as well as having extensive espionage training. She has also been injected with a variant of the Super Soldier Serum, and was given peak human strength, speed, agility, relaxes, durability, senses, immune system, and extended longevity. Her gauntlets are wrist cartridges containing various tools of the spy trade: tear-gas pellets, a radio transmitter and spring-loaded cable. She prefers to use automatic weapons and firearms, combat knives and explosives as needed. She also uses a device often referred to as the Widow's Bite that is capable of emitting highly potent electric shocks with a maximum of about 30,000 volts.



Reason for Casting: I'm not as opposed to Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow as most people on this site are, and I'm sick of everyone bitching about her. She's already appeared in two films, and we've gone past the point of no return, so suck it up. But at the end of the day, I prefer a Slavic actress to play Black Widow. Kurylenko is not only Slavic (Ukranian to be exact), but also has the action experience, the acting chops, and the body for the role of Black Widow. She also gets brownie points for playing a Bond Girl.

Chiwetel Ejiofer (Serenity, Children of Men) as T'Challa/Black Panther: The king of the country of Wakanda, who is also a member of the Avengers. T'Challa posses superhuman senses along with Olympic-level strength, speed, reflexes, stamina, and agility. He also has a genius level intellect, an ids a master gymnast, martial artist , and acrobat. His costume contains a vibranium microwave mesh along with cloaking technology, and night vision lenses. His main weapons include an energy dagger made from vibranium and retractable vibranium gloves that are sewn into his gloves which can cut through anything.



Reason for Casting: Chiwetel is a very talented African American actor who I think would make a great Black Panther. It also helps that he is of Nigerian descent.

Michael Fassbender (Shame, Prometheus) as the Vision: An android created by Ultron to destroy the Avengers. However, the rebelled against his "father", and joined the Avengers. The Vision's powers include density control ranging from invulnerability to intangibility, mass control ranging from extraordinarily heavy to weightlessness, flight, solar energy projection (via his eyes or his forehead jewel), superhuman strength, intelligence, reflexes and senses as an artificial being, computer/IT network interfacing, and he is also capable of self repair and regeneration as an artificial being.



Reason for Casting: I know that people will bitch about Fassbender being in a cast, but this is my cast, so I can do whatever I want. Anyway, Fassbender is one of the most talented actors working today, and thus is casted in many CBM roles (most notably Batman). However, I see him in a handful of roles and the Vision is among one of them. The inspiration for this pick came from Fassbender's performance in Prometheus. There, he proved he could play logical, distant, and robotic characters very well, and those traits are required when playing a role like the Vision.

Kristanna Loken (Bloodrayne, Burn Notice) as Carol Danvers/Mrs. Marvel: An Air Force officer who gained superpowers when her DNA was fused with Kree genes, and a prominent member of the Avengers. Danver's powers include superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability, energy projection and absorption, and flight.



Reason for Casting: I know that a lot of people don't think of Kristanna as a good actress, but she's great on Burn Notice and she has all of the requirements for Danvers. She's tall at 5'11", has a deep voice and buxom body, and is great with action. She'd be kickass as Danvers.

Maggie Grace (Taken, Californication) as Barbara "Bobbi" Morse/Mockingbird: A former S.H.E.I.L.D. agent and wife of Hawkeye. Morse is a Superbly trained athlete and gymnast, and is trained in various unarmed combats. She is also an expert with a use of a variety of weapons. She uses a pair of battle staves that can be combined to form a bo staff. She also posses greatly enhanced physical strength and agility, which is the result of being injected with an experimental serum that was a combination of the Super Soldier serum and the Infinity Formula.



Reason for Casting: Grace is a great actress who has the right height and look for Mockingbird, knows her way around action, could pull off her attitude, and would have great chemistry with Chris Pine. Plus, this pick is better than seeing Laura Vandervoort in the role for the thousandth time.

Michael Biehn (Aliens, Planet Terror) as Nick Fury: An experience soldier and director of the espionage organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division). Fury has been injected with a special serum called the Infinity formula that halts his aging. Fury is a seasoned unarmed and armed combat expert, was a heavyweight boxer in the army, and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu. Fury was trained as a paratrooper, Ranger, a demolitions expert, vehicle specialist (including aircraft and seagoing vessels), and a Green Beret.Fury has access to a wide variety of equipment and weaponry designed by S.H.I.E.L.D. technicians. He wears a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform made of 9-ply Kevlar (able to withstand ballistic impact up to .45 caliber bullets) and a Beta Cloth (type C), a fire-resistant material, which has a kindling temperature of 1,700 °F (930 °C). Fury is experienced in the use of firearms, but prefers to use the .45 Colt Automatic pistol.



Reason for Casting: I'm probably one of the few people who want to see a Caucasian Nick Fury. For Fury, you need an older, badass actor, and Biehn (aka Kyle Reese aka Hicks) definitely fits the role. He'd be insanely awesome as Fury.

Lena Headey (Game of Thrones, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones) as Maria Hill: The deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who took over as director when Fury went missing. As a trained S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she is experienced in espionage, hand-to-hand combat and the use of a variety of weapons. She uses various equipment, such as standard S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform, a flight pack, an experimental plasma pistol, and conventional firearms.



Reason for Casting: I didn't really mind Colbie Smulders as Hill, but she was too bland for me and didn't really do much. Headey, judging from her work, especially from Terminator: The Sarah Connot Chronicles and Game of Thrones, she'd kick ass as Hill.

Villains:

Thomas Kretschmann (u-571, The River) as Johann Schmidt/the Red Skull: Adolf Hitler's head of weaponry and Captain America's archenemy. Having planted his brain in a clone of Rogers' body, Schmidt has allied himself with the Terrorist organization HYDRA, planning to destroy his archnemesis for good. Schmidt is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, strategic genius, political mastermind, and expert marksman. Due to being in a cloned body of the Captain, Schmidt gains all the enhancements of the Super Soldier Formula.



Reason for Casting: I'm surprised that nobody has suggested Kretchmann for the Red Skull before. He's played Nazis for the majority of his career and has played a mad scientist before in Cars 2. So he's pretty much a shoe-in for the role.

Chow Yun-Fat (The Killer, Bulletproof Monk) as The Mandarin: A terrorist who is hellbent on world domination, and is so powerful that even the Chinese government fears him. The Mandain is a scientific genius, a superhumanly skilled martial artist, having been trained in the Oriental arts since birth, and can survive for years without food and water by living on stored Chi. He also uses ten rings that grant him great power. The rings on his left hand grant him the powers of Ice Blast, Mento-Intensifier, Electro-Blast, Flame Blast, and White Light. The rings on his rich hand grant him the powers of Black Light, Disintegration Beam, Vortex Beam, Impact Beam, and Matter Rearranger.



Reason for Casting: I know a lot of people were disappointed on how the Mandarin was portrayed in Iron Man 3 (that didn't stop me from enjoying the movie as a whole). Yun-Fat os perfect for the role as he 's Chinese and I was convinced he'd be great after seeing his performance in Pirates of the Carribean 3: At World's End.

Harry Llyod (Robin Hood, Game of Thrones) as Loki: The son of the Frost Giant kind Laufey, and Thor's adoptive brother. He wishes to rule other Asgard, and is unintentionally responsible for the creation of the Avengers. Despite being a frost giant, Loki posses the strenghes and attributes of an Asgardian, which include superhuman strength, durability, healing factor, stamina, and longevity. He is also granted various abilities from mystical powers, which include telepathy, flight, shapeshifting, inter-dimensional travel, psionic ability, astral projection, molecular rearrangement, energy blasts, molecular rearrangement, and hypnosis.



Reason for Casting: Lloyd is an underrated actor who needs some silver screen love. He's great at playing villains (such as Son of Mine on Doctor Who), has played similar characters to Loki (like Viserys Targaryen on Game of Thrones), and has a wicked smile to boot. He'd make a great Loki and give Tom Hiddleston a run for his money.

Richard Armitage (Spooks, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) as Doctor Victor von Doom: The ruler of the country of Latveria, who is master of the arts of sorcerery and science. Doom wishes to prove himself superior to Reed Richards and to rule the world. Even though he is primarily an enemy of the Fantastic Four, he has often fought the Avengers. Besides his genius level intellect, Doom wears a suit of power armor, and possesses the powers of technopathy and mind transferral. However, his real weakness is his arrogance.



Reason for Casting: I'm aware that Armitage was in Captain America: The First Avenger, but it was a small role, and I think he deserves bigger. Anyway,Armitage would be amazing as Doom, and would easily portrayal Doom's arrogance, intelligence, and charisma in the role. What mainly sold me on casting him was his performance as Sir Guy of Gisbourne in BBC's Robin Hood.

Corey Burton (Superman: The Animated Series, Treasure Planet) as Ultron: An android created by Hank Pym, which soon gained conscious and rebelled against its creator. Ultron has now deticated its life to destroying his "father" and the Avengers. Ultron's abilities have changed with each design, but its general abilities include a genius level intellect, superhuman levels of strength, speed, stamina, durability, and reflexes; flight at subsonic speeds; and various offensive weapons such as concussive blasts of energy fired from its optical sensors and hands, and an "encephalo-ray", which places victims into a deathlike coma. Ultron can also convert electromagnetic radiation for usage and storage.



Reason for Casting: I find it to use the guy who's playing Hank Pym to voice Ultron to be lazy casting, even if Ultron's brainwaves are based on Hank's. Anyway, Burton is a fantastic voice actor, who I think can nail Ultron. What mainly inspired me to cast him was his performance as Brainiac on Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. If he just made his Brainiac voice much more robotic, then he'd nail Ultron.

Eric Bana (Munich, Deadfall) as Kang the Conquerer: A time traveling dictator from the 20th Centruy, who has an empire that spans over various centuries. Because of his exploits, he has often fought the Avengers. Kang has no superhuman abilities, but is an extraordinary genius, an expert historical scholar, a master physicist (specializing in time-travel), engineer, and technician. Courtesy of 40th century technology, he has mastered combat and tactics, and is thoroughly versed in the principles of time travel. Kang wears highly advanced battle armor that enhances his strength; is capable of energy, hologram and force-field projection, has a 30 day supply of air and food, and the ability to control other forms of technology. It is made from alloys found in the 40th century.



Reason for Casting: Bana is a very talented actor who I have seen casted in various roles that range from Batmna to the Lizard. However, what convinced me to cast him was his performance as Nero in Star Trek.

Keith David (They Live, Gargoyles) as Thanos: The Mad Titan who is obsessed with death and nihilism to the point where he fell in love with Mistress Death, it's embodiment. He wishes to control the Infinity Gems, which would grant him God-like powers and dominion over the Universe. Thanos posses superhuman strength, stamina, and durability, can absorb and project vast amounts of Cosmic energy, and is capable of telekinesis, telepathy, and matter manipulation. He has been trained in the Titan art of war, and is genius in all known fields of advance science.



Reason for Casting: David has a deep, commanding voice that would work very well with Thanos, as seen in his work on Gargoyles and Todd McFarlane's Spawn. But what sold me on casting him was his big grin, which is one of the characteristics needed for Thanos.

Please leave your thoughts and comments below. I hope you have enjoyed this article. Also, rude or mean comments will be deleted. I hope to have mu next cast up soon.