Those of you who checked my previous fan casts will know for my casts I’ve taken on a bit more a generic view with casting, those of you who don’t, just to make it clear; rather than cast one specific film entry in a franchise I decided to cast of characters I’d expect to be around in a ‘5 year’ window of the Marvel universe/existence of the Avengers (yes, I’m inspired by the New 52), and who will hopefully crop up in Marvel’s future films.
So, before I get started, I’d just like to mention I enjoyed the first Thor film. It wasn’t perfect and it had its flaws, but overall it was enjoyable. My only complaint was that I’d have preferred it to be a little grittier like The Lord of the Rings trilogy or Game of Thrones, but from what we’ve seen so far of Thor: The Dark World it looks like Marvel have decided to go down that route, but then again they misled us that way with Iron Man 3, so who knows?
Anyway, the only other thing I’d like to mention is whilst in the first Thor it wasn’t expressly mentioned what kind of beings Asgardians (and the rest of the residents of the other realms) were, for my take on the series I like the idea of them being interdimensional beings; admittedly not too sure what that means myself, but they shouldn’t be aliens and or gods, just powerful near-immortals who were arrogant enough to let people worship them as gods in the past. As for the whole idea of magic and science being one and the same? This is a concept I really loved as it can be applied to all kinds of characters outside of the more mystical ones, so this is definitely something I’d like to see expanded on throughout the/a MCU.
___________________________ Phillip Winchester as Thor Winchester is a bit of an unknown, but a very talented actor and someone I think could bring the right kind of regal vibe balanced with a more tough and gruff appeal to the role. Replacing Chris Hemsworth is pretty tough, but I’m confident Winchester is an ideal choice for the role; he can handle drama, action and even knows how to play charming and likable whilst playing arrogant well at the same time too- his work in
Crusoe,
Camelot and
Strike Back proves so.
Liam Neeson as Odin/the All-Father What can I say? He’s [frick]ing Liam Neeson, King of Classy Badasses! He’s a ridiculously talented actor and always brings class and gravitas to whatever films he’s in, even turds like
Clash of the Titans. Despite his talent though, personally speaking, I think he resembles Winchester pretty well and could definitely pass off as his old man, so if given the chance I’d love to see him paired with Winchester as Odin.
Peyton List as Jane Foster I mainly know List from her work in
Smallville and
Flash Forward; whilst it may not have fully displayed her skills it did effectively showcase her talents. She can do drama, play cute, feisty and flirty all very well and just has a certain charm to her which I think she could translate well to the role and help her in portraying the woman who brings Thor ‘down to Earth’.
Bret Harrison as Donald Blake I’m a big fan of Harrison; he’s a pretty talented young actor who doesn’t get much of a spotlight. His work in
Reaper and
Breaking In has shown he can play well with comedy and drama (more so comedy) and I think he could do well in a role like this.
Anyway, just thought I’d mention, I don’t expect Thor to be turning into Blake and so on, but rather for the character to be around in simple supporting role, a bit like a ‘Jimmy Olsen’ for Thor.
Aaron Yoo as Amadeus Cho Yoo is another pretty talented actor who slightly overlooked. Whilst he hasn’t done anything mind-blowingly good he has proven a knack for handling comedy and drama very well and even at playing the smartass; his work in
Disturbia and
21 is a testament to that, so I’d be willing to give him a shot.
Only other thing I thought I’d mention is, again rather than being too big a player (in the beginning at least) I imagine the character to being another ‘Jimmy Olsen’ type supporting character but smarter, by all rights, he’d actually be a better stand in than Kat Denning’s ‘Darcy’ and could definitely add something more the film then just being a stock comic relief character.
Katie McGrath as Sif McGrath is a pretty hot up and comer. I haven’t seen her in much but she’s shown off her talents well in
Merlin, proving she can play tough and smart well so whilst an unknown, I’d love to see what she could do.
Todd Lasance, Collin Chou and Rory McCann as Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg/the Warriors Three All three of these actors won me over in these roles, so much so that I actually think they’d surpass the actors in the roles currently. Lasance caught my attention with his work in
Spartacus; he can definitely play the charming ladies’ man hero. Chou’s work in
The Matrix Reloaded and
Revolutions proved he can play the humble badass like a boss. As for McCann, well his work as the Hound in
Game of Thrones speaks for itself; he’s a mountain of a man is badass too. Whilst some might see him as too serious for the role, his work in
Hot Fuzz has proven he’s also capable with comedy so that’s nothing to worry about.
Liam McIntyre as Balder I’ve heard McIntyre being cast in a number of CBM related roles but none of them really fit for me, but I think he’d own as Balder. He’s a talented up and comer who’s more than proven his chops with his work in
Spartacus as the titular character. He can play tough, commanding, intelligent and badass like a boss, so it’s clear to me he’d be great as Thor’s big brother.
David Harewood as Heimdall Admittedly this casting decision is inspired by Idris Elba being cast in the role, but I still stand by it. Harewood is a pretty solid actor and he’s got the necessary presence to him needed for a role like this. He can play authoritative and wise and douchey/borderline evil like a boss as seen from his work in
Blood Diamond,
Robin Hood and
Homeland so I’d be down to see what he could do.
Denzel Washington as Nick Fury Replacing Sam Jackson? Not an easy job, but if there is one actor in Hollywood who could surpass him as super spy Nick Fury it’s Washington. He’s a badass and has proven himself time and time again and with roles in films like
Training Day and
Safe House in particular showed me what he could do as Fury and I loved his characters in both films so would love for him to eventually get the role.
Rhona Mitra as Maria Hill First off I just want to say Cobey Smoulders is a hot but cringe worthy actress whereas Mitra on the other hand, is a really great actress. She won me over a long time ago with her work in
Doomsday and more recently
Strike Back. If given the chance I’m certain she could deliver with the role in spades, because let’s face facts; she’s hot, she’s tough and she can act- already an improvement from Smoulders.
Lance Reddick as Uatu the Watcher Reddick is a really great actor and I could give thousands of reasons why I’d love to see him cast in the role but let’s keep it simple;
Fringe. Reddick’s role in that show really struck a chord with me and convinced me he’d really shine in the role. Yeah, admittedly he wasn't an Observer but he's got a really great and powerful voice too so personally, I think he'd own in this and just be really great as the glue that binds the MCU together.
Rupert Friend as Loki I’ve seen Friend in a few things now but cast him as Thor’s treacherous brother due in particular to his early appearances in
Homeland. There he effectively played darkly humoured and complex badass and showed what potential he has to offer; whilst it’s not quite Loki it spoke volumes about his talents, so I’d be down to see what he could do here.
Ralph Fiennes as Laufey Why Fiennes? Well, admittedly I cast him here as he’s great at playing off Liam Neeson, but even so he’s a great actor who could definitely bring some presence to this role and really just class it up.
Katheryn Winnick as Amora the Enchantress I’ve seen Winnick in a bunch of things now and I think this is an ideal comic book role for her to fill. She’s a very talented actress and is very beautiful too capable at playing sirens and seductresses very well, so casting her here? Definitely the right choice in my book.
Robert Maillet as Skurge the Executioner For a role like this you need a larger than life actor, who better than Maillet? He’s a ridiculously imposing individual and a badass to boot. Whilst he’s played all manner of baddies in all kinds of films requiring an individual of his size, I cast him after seeing him in
300 and
Sherlock Holmes. His roles in those films showed of his versatility and physicality very well, so if given the chance I can definitely seeing him do the role justice.
Eva Green as Hela Green has been fan cast in this role ridiculously, but it works so why the [frick] not? She’s hot and can play smart, dark/emo seductresses very well and would undoubtedly do wonders in the role; her work in
The Golden Compass,
Camelot and
Dark Shadows proves as such.
Charles Dance as Surtur Since I first saw Dance in Last Action Hero as the creepy glassy eyed guy as a kid I knew he was an epic actor, his work in
Game of Thrones has done nothing but further cement that idea in my head. Dance can do regal, authoritative, badass, manipulative and intelligent in his sleep so having him in this role would be nothing short of epic.
James Purefoy as Malekith I’m definitely looking forward to Christopher Eccleston’s performance in this role, but Purefoy was my first choice, as he truly is a brilliantly underrated actor. I’ve seen him in quite a few things now and it’s clear he’s pretty versatile and very capable with action and drama. However, the main reason I cast him was because of his work in
The Following. There he play a creepy yet charismatic, slightly eccentric, psychopathic genius very well. Put simply, I think this could be translated well to a role like Malekith and with Purefoy and his devilish charm behind it, well, we’d be in for a treat.
Manu Bennett as Ulik Bennett is just a completely badass actor. He caught my attention and earned my fandom with his work in
Spartacus and continued to earn it with his work in
Arrow and
The Hobbit. He’s just a natural born badass, intimidating and talented so in a role like this I can definitely imagine him making the character more appealing as well as being a worthy foe for Thor.
Iwan Rheon as Gorr/the God Butcher Admittedly this is another
Game of Thrones based casting decision, but Rheon would undoubtedly do wonders in this role. His work as Ramsay Snow is very simply put a perfect audition for Gorr. He can play intelligent, manipulative, sadistic and entertaining all at once and I’d just love to see him get some bigger roles with this being one of them.
Clancy Brown as Cul/the Dark-Father Brown is another very badass actor I’ve cast. I mean who better to play Liam Neeson’s evil brother? Seriously who? Brown was the [frick]ing Kurgan! That alone is practically an audition for the role, but regardless of that, he’s badass, got a great voice, intimidating and a beast of a man. Quite simply I think he’d own in the role and can’t think of anyone who’d be better.
Tony Todd as Thanos What can I say? Todd as Thanos to me is just perfect casting. He’s a great veteran actor, has a powerful authoritative presence, a great voice and is just an imposing powerhouse of a man. His role as the Candyman and work in the
Final Destination films just further justify my reasoning for this casting choice as both just prove how creepily perfect he is for the job.
Ian Glenn as Mephisto Glenn is another very underappreciated actor I’ve cast here, but his talent justifies my decision to cast him here. He’s very talented and versatile and is capable of playing charming, smooth, suave and intelligent with ease so in the role of a big bad like this I think he’d be a genuine pleasure to watch.
___________________________ So, that’s my ideal cast for Thor. I hope you enjoyed checking it out, and if you did look out for my Daredevil cast!