Logan Lerman as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. I was the first person to suggest Lerman for the role of Peter in the actual reboot article. He is quickly becoming a fan favorite to replace Tobey Maguire in the lead role of the franchise, both on this very site and on various other sites as well. SuperHeroHype! has him as the most popular choice on their poll in the fan forums. For good reason, too. Lerman is an incredibly talented young actor, with great range to go from dramatic and serious fare to funnier and comedic fare. I would first see Lerman portray the son of Christian Bale’s Dan Evans in 3:10 To Yuma (an amazing film), where I was instantly impressed with the young lad’s chops. He held his own while standing opposite powerhouses like Bale and Russel “Gladiator” Crowe. As the determined and noble youth, Lerman demonstrated an innate ability to give his characters depth and make them compelling for the audience to watch, which is key for Spider-Man. If you want to watch only one movie to judge Lerman’s talent on, Yuma would be it.
But, if Yuma is sold out at your local Blockbuster, I would recommend the funny comedy Meet Bill. In this movie, Lerman showed that he has charisma coming out the wazoo. He was downright hilarious as the cocky and confident “Kid” (he was never referred to by name). Lerman had very natural chemistry with the rest of the cast, particularly with The Dark Knight’s Aaron Eckhart, and Fantastic Four’s Jessica Alba, who is surprisingly okay in her role. He was like-able, charming, and hilarious at the same time. Lerman will also be starring in the anticipated Percy Jackson movie, and he looks very good from the trailer alone.
He also looks almost exactly how I’d imagine a young Peter Parker to look, is the right height, and is the perfect age for what they’re going for. Lerman would be able to give us a more confident and wise-cracking Spidey that most of us think has been lacking from Tobey’s portrayal, but he’d also be able to portray the deeper aspects of the character with finesse, as well.
Fun fact, did you know his full name is Logan Wade Lerman? He’s got Wolverine and Deadpool in his name, that’s got to count for something.
Quite a year for Mr. Yelchin. First, he portrayed Kyle Reese in Terminator to great reception, despite the movie’s overall mediocre reviews. He was very effective portraying the soon-to-be father of John Connor, and the future nemesis of Ahnold. Then, a couple months later, Yelchin would portray Pavel Chekov in the 2009 Star Trek film, which he also received positive remarks for, and the movie itself was critically acclaimed. Yelchin showed he can be like-able, tough, and strong-willed in Terminator, essential for Harry’s, shall we say, “happier times.” Of course, a big part of Harry is his struggle against his father’s legacy as the Green Goblin, a legacy which he would eventually inherit, becoming the second Green Goblin. The actor playing Harry would need to be able to be convincing as a darker character as well as the supportive friend to Peter. Yelchin would be able to handle this with ease. In Alpha Dog, Yelchin had a very mature role which was much darker than, say, Reese or Chekov. He’d be more than able to convey Harry’s complicated story arc, going from the like-able best friend of Peter, to the dark villain of Spider-Man.
Sorry, but I couldn’t think of choices that I really, really liked for MJ or Gwen. I don’t really know many teen actors out there. I apologize. I like the possibility of Emma Stone as MJ, though I’m just not quite sold on it.
Helen Mirren as May Parker. Mirren would bring gravitas and quality to the reboot if she was cast as Aunt May. I know it’s a long shot, very much so, but it doesn’t hurt to dream. Her award-winning portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II shows that she is amazingly talented as an actress. Mirren would be able to make Aunt May the supportive, kind, wise voice of reason to Peter that she’s supposed to be. I’ve seen her pop up in other casts for the reboot, including Josh’s and MovieTheaterLad’s. I’ve actually had this choice in mind for a little bit too. Great minds, huh?
Terry O’Quinn as Ben Parker. Ah, good ol’ John Locke. Best known as that character on the incredibly popular show Lost, O’Quinn would be a fantastic addition to the reboot. I could see him perfectly giving advice to young Peter, he’s very mentor-like on Lost, giving off a very wise and sage-like vibe. I can just imagine him now uttering the famous line, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
James Remar as J. Jonah Jameson. When Josh came up with this pick in his reboot cast, I was surprised at how good it was. Surprised in that it was such a good pick, and it WASN’T JK Simmons. Everyone loves Simmons’ portrayal of JJJ. He’s hilarious, and just plain dead-on in every sense. Now I do believe there is a possibility that JK might come back, since Casino Royale kept Judi Dench as M, but I admit, it is unlikely. So, we’d need to think of a damn good replacement, right? Well, Remar is it. He’s got a lot of talent, proven by his terrific performances in Dexter, and can handle humor, shown by his memorable opening scene in Pineapple Express, and his great voice-work in Ratatouille. Not to mention how he’d look just like JJ if given the mustache and a little grey in his hair. Damn good work Josh, damn good.
Phil Lamarr as Joseph “Robbie” Robertson. You may recognize him as the voice of John Stewart in the Justice League cartoons, Gambit and Oliver Trask in Wolverine and the X-Men, and, ironically enough, Randy Robertson in Spectacular Spider-Man. He’s famous for his extensive history of voice work, but I think he’d do a great job as Robbie. He’s done some live-action stuff, for example a couple of episodes of Castle, starring Nathan Fillion. Lamarr would be able to be the good friend and sorta-kinda mentor to Peter, as shown by his great range of vocal performances in Justice League. And he looks perfect from a visual stand-point.
Now time for Villains:
Ralph Fiennes as Norman Osborne/Green Goblin. Yes, maybe a bit typecast, but come on, can you honestly tell me he would not completely own this role? Fiennes is one of the best actors out there right now, and is fantastic at playing villains, his chilling and sinister acting as Lord Voldemort seals the deal for me. The Potter films may be mostly for teens and kids, but I’ll be damned if Fiennes doesn’t scare the shit out of pretty much everyone, not just kids, on screen. He’d be perfect as the terrifying Green Goblin, insane and menacing as he should be (and not in a Power Rangers suit.) Now, everyone knows Green Goblin isn’t the only side to Norman, which is what makes him such a dynamic character in the first place. There is also the intellectual business-man facet to the character as well. Fiennes would also excel at this part too. There are plenty of good-guy roles that Fiennes has done to show that he can work as the almost-fatherly type figure to Peter at times, and he’d make you really feel how truly insane and lost he is by the transformation from seemingly good person, to sinister mastermind. I’d say the best example of his “good-guy” work is the Constant Gardener, co-starring Rachel Weisz. Fiennes puts in a damn excellent performance in, very compelling and makes you really feel for his character. He’d be an awesome Norman, no question.
Credit goes to MovieTheaterLad for this great choice. I’m convinced Hoffman would own this role based on his outstandingly villainous performance in Mission Impossible 3. He was exceptionally intense, intelligent, and just plain evil. I firmly believe he’d bring gravitas to Ock as Mirren would to Aunt May. Hoffman’s such a quality actor, it’s no wonder why he’s being praised constantly for his work. I also believe that he, like Fiennes, would be able to give pre-Ock Otto a very human touch to make his tragic accident all the more tragic. He’d be able to make the role his own, I’m sure, and not be weighed-down by Alfred Molina’s great performance in Spider-Man 2.
The rest will be in alphabetical order.
Robert Knepper as Kletus Cassidy/Carnage. Basically a fan favorite for the role, Knepper would own as Carnage. He rocks as a villainous character, shown by Prison Break, as he was a criminal who was put away for heinous crimes and is incredibly creepy in his actions. His eyes seem like they look into your soul sometimes. Knepper was very mysterious and gave his character this feeling sort of like the Joker in The Dark Knight, where you don’t know what’s going on in his head, and you’re scared to find out. Plus, doesn’t Knepper look like a serial killer? That may sound weird, but doesn’t he? He looks like he could snap at any second, perfect for Carnage.
Paul Bettany as Dimitri Smerdyakov/Chameleon. Also my choice for Lex Luthor in the Superman reboot, Bettany makes an awesome villain. Firewall, starring Harrison “Handiana Jones” Ford, proved it to me. His voice was very creepy and he just made a great antagonist to Ford’s protagonist. Since Chameleon almost always wears his trademark white mask, an actor who is great at voice-work would be needed, and Bettany excels at it. He gives off a very calculating and intelligent vibe, great for Chameleon, who is a master tactician and a master of disguise.
Ben Foster as Max Dillon/Electro. You need an actor who is adept at portraying insanity and madness in his characters for Electro, and the name that instantly comes to mind for me is none other than Foster. Honestly, the man is a genius at being a psycho. He even starred in 3:10 To Yuma alongside Lerman, and played the cold-blooded killer Charlie Prince, a role for which Foster received critical acclaim. Not convinced? How about his turn as The Stranger in 30 Days of Night? Even those who didn’t like the film have praised his off-kilter and creepy performance. Still not enough? Maybe his role in Hostage as the psychotic Mars Krupcheck? He seriously scared the crap out of me with his maniacal performance. Okay, I think I’ve given plenty of examples by now. Obviously, Foster can excellently portray crazy characters, and Electro is pretty insane and crazy to start with. Besides, Foster looks perfect for the part. And who cares if he was Spacker Dave in Punisher and Angel in X3? No one remembers Punisher, let alone his small role, and no one wants to remember X3 (Bazing!).
Best known for his part on the sadly cancelled show Reaper, Wise would be an awesome Hammerhead. Not only does he look absolutely perfect for the part (you have to give him that), he can definitely act the part. Reaper may have been a comedy (for the most part), and Wise may have been hilarious when called upon, but he does get some sinister stuff to work with from time to time. Wise was very convincing when he was needed to bring out the more menacing side to his character, and gave the Devil a very mysterious and intelligent feel, in that you’d know he’d always have something up his sleeve, but you had no idea what it was or when it would be revealed.
Josh Lucas as Roderick Kingsley/Hobgoblin. I have a hunch this might not be a popular choice with you guys, but I like it. I personally think Lucas is a very good actor, I loved his role in American Psycho, starring Christian “Done Professionally” Bale. He had this stuck-up and snobbish way about him that reminds me of Hobgoblin, at least the human side to him. I also enjoyed his performances in Glory Road and A Beautiful Mind, also starring Russel Crowe. I’d really love to see what he could do as a crazy villain, and I think he has the talent to pull it off.
Gerard Butler as Vladimir Kravinoff/Kraven The Hunter. No, not the most original pick out there, but you have to admit, Butler is really perfect for this role. We’ve seen him do tough and intense in 300, as King Leonidas, where he was the definition of a bad-ass, chopping down Persian soldiers like they were flies. We know he can do action, shown by Gamer. He is also excellent at playing villains, demonstrated by this year’s Law Abiding Citizen. In that movie, Butler was so intelligent, cunning, and vicious that I couldn’t help but get flashes of Kraven. Not to mention how Butler looks perfect for the part, like he came out of Spider-Man’s comic page. Butler is perfect for Kraven. ‘Nuff said.
Kevin Spacey as Curt Connors/The Lizard. I know he was in Superman Returns, but that movie isn’t well-remembered now anyway, and he can play other characters. People criticize Spacey all the time for his performance in Returns alone, which puzzles me to no end. It puzzles me because: 1) he did the best with what he had, 2) the script and Singer made him do an imitation of Hackman’s real estate tycoon Lex, and 3) he’s a damn excellent actor. Superman Returns isn’t nearly a good representation of what Spacey can do as an actor. Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, American Beauty, etc. Any of these ring a bell to those who criticize Spacey for Returns? He’s a quality, quality actor, regardless of his performance in Returns. He’d be able to convincingly portray Connors’ intellect and mentor-like relationship with Peter, giving him advice and being one of the few men who Peter can talk to based off of intelligence. In the movie 21, Spacey displayed a lot of Connors’ qualities which I just described, at least in the early parts of the film. He would be able to really bring out the emotional tragedy in the Lizard’s story, making you truly feel sorry that such a horrible thing is happening to such a good person.
A fan favorite for the role on this site, Del Toro would rock everyone’s socks off as Morbius. His excellent and memorable performance as Jackie Boy in Sin City was the first time I saw him in anything, and it really left an impression on me. He won an Academy Award for his amazing turn in the critically-acclaimed Traffic, and was nominated again 3 years later for 21 Grams. I know he has more than enough talent and range to pull it off, and Sin City showed he has potential to be a great villain. In a few short weeks, Del Toro will star in the remake famous horror classic The Wolfman, and I am very excited for that movie, and his performance. The fact that he looks like the spitting image of Morbius helps a bit too.
Kenneth Branagh as Quentin Beck/Mysterio. This may sound a little douchey, and I don’t even know exactly why I think this, but I’m in love with myself for this pick. I don’t know, it just seems so genius to me. Sorry if I sound a little douchey. But I really think Branagh would absolutely rule all kinds of ass as Mysterio. He’s not only a great director, but he’s an incredibly talented actor, as well. He’s got that perfect mix of theatricality and condescending charm (shown with finesse by his performance in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) that fits Mysterio like a glove. Beck thinks everyone is beneath him because of his arsenal of illusions and theatrics, and Branagh would be able to bring that to life superbly. Even if you haven’t seen Chamber of Secrets, Branagh has been exemplary in Hamlet (1996, a film he also directed) and the show Hollander, co-starring Tom “Loki” Hiddleston. Now, with all that said, I realize this is nothing more than a dream pick. Now that Mr. Branagh is behind the camera on Thor, there is pretty much no chance of him getting this role. I realize it. But I simply love this impossible choice so much I had to get it out there.
I originally wanted Kevin Durand for this role, but I decided it would be a waste of his talent to be just a big brute. I also originally wanted Purcell as Venom, but I found a much better choice who has both more talent and more of a resemblance to Brock from the comics. I think Purcell’s more-or-less limited acting range is suited better for Rhino, who is pretty much just a huge muscle-bound gun. Yes, he’d have to be in some sort of suit (he doesn’t have that bad a starting height at 6’2”), but almost any actor would when playing Rhino. They could always make the suit more of a mechanical invention like in Ultimate Spider-Man or the Spider-Man 2 game, too.
Adam Baldwin as Flint Marko/Sandman. Baldwin is a very talented actor, and also my choice for Rex Mason/Metamorpho of DC fame. He’s great on Chuck as the stoic and hard-ass John Casey, and was fantastic on Firefly as Jayne Cobb. On Firefly, Baldwin was brutish in his manners and actions, but also regularly displayed a cunning intelligence and common sense. He usually does act brutal, but he’ll occasionally hint at there being more to him than that, a more complex and multi-layered characterization beneath the gruff-and-tough exterior. That’s what I want from Sandman. I like that they made Sandman a deeper character in Spider-Man 3, one of the few things that movie got right. Baldwin would be able to convincingly portray those requirements, as shown by Firefly. And he looks dead on from the comics.
Timothy Olyphant as Mac Gargan/Scorpion. A lot of people say Olyphant is a bad actor, but, if you’ve seen Deadwood, you’d know that’s not the case. Olyphant was great as the honest Sheriff of the titular town, I found him to be a very compelling protagonist for the show. Gargan isn’t a total villain, at least not at first because he was driven insane by the experiments done to him to turn him into Scorpion, so he needs to be a tad sympathetic and based off of Deadwood I think Olyphant could pull it off. But, of course, Scorpion is for the most part an enemy of Spidey, so you’d need to get someone who can accomplish that. Olyphant can do this as well. He made a great kinda-bad guy in the Girl Next Door (one of my favorite parts of that movie) and was a full-on villain in Live Free Or Die Hard, even though he lacked a bit of personality. If he could take the type of charisma he had in Girl Next Door and even A Perfect Getaway, mix in some of his acting from Deadwood to make Gargan a little compelling, and eventually throw in some of that plain-old villainy from LFODH, you’ve got a perfect Scorpion.
Wenham is a really great actor IMO, and can kick some ass shown by 300, where he played Dilios. One of my favorite lines of the movie comes from his character: "Hardly, my Lord, just an
eye." I also really enjoyed his performance in Van Helsing as the weak and clumsy Carl. Wenham was also very effective as Boromir's tormented brother Faramir in the last 2 Lord Of the Rings movies, and as Eden Fletcher in the Proposition. He has the talent to pull off the more villainous type IMO. I changed this pick because I decided it would be too much of a waste of Guy Pearce's talents for a smaller character like Shocker.
Alexander Skarsgard as Eddie Brock/Venom. Best known for his role as the vampire Eric Northman on the hit show True Blood, Skarsgard would own as Venom. He was rumored to be the front-runner for the role of Thor many months ago, but it was not meant to be. I wanted him to be Heimdall instead, but it was also not meant to be. So now we come to Brock. Oh Venom, how can we move past your character-raping at the hands of Raimi and Sony? Well, just cast Skarsgard, problem solved! We need a much more primal and animalistic Venom this time around, and this guy can bring those qualities and more. On True Blood, he’s vicious, sinister, creepy, you name it. He’d make Eddie actually scary and intense, the way he should be. But Skarsgard would also bring a certain cunning edge to Eddie, so he’s not just some dumb meat-head. Skarsgard also looks the part excellently, and is a giant at 6’4”, with a good starting frame that seems like it wouldn’t be too much of a challenge to pack on a bit more muscle. Credit goes to Ryden for bringing this excellent pick to my attention, and further credit goes to Cookiepussproductions for being the one who originally thought of it.
Personally, I couldn’t give a sh*t about Vulture. He’s one of Spidey’s worst and lamest villains to me. But, I’ve done most of the villains, so why not? Straithairn is a terrific actor, by far the best example of this is Good Night, And Good Luck, directed by George Clooney (yes, THAT George Clooney.) Straithairn really gives a phenomenal and interesting performance, and was nominated for many awards for it, including an Oscar nom. I also really enjoyed his portrayal of Noah Vosa in the Bourne Ultimatum, I thought he was quite effective as the corrupt government official. He’d be a fantastic addition to the cast, and might actually make me give a damn about the character.
And that’s it for this cast. Thanks for reading.