• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Retro-casting superhero films and shows

Not a coincidence. Ideally it would have been Duke Kahanamoku, but he was in his 50s at the time. Although he was probably fit enough to do it.
 
Okay, 40s-era Aquaman. As if they made a serial like the old Captain Marvel and Batman stuff. Keep in mind that Aquaman was woefully lacking in development back in teh 40s, especially compared to Captain Marvel and the rest. He had no recurring allies (Mera came around in the 60s, IIRC, and so did Black Manta)

Arthur Curry: Johnny Weismuller or Buster Crabbe, depends on if you want an Aquaman/Tarzan or Aquaman/Flash Gordon crossover
Blackjack: His nemesis from the 40s, just a pirate. I choose Wallace Beery.

Note that Aquaman was not given the name "Arthur Curry" until Adventure Comics #260 in May 1959. The Golden Age Aquaman was just named Aquaman. (Talk about "woefully lacking in development.")
 
"The Manhunter from Mars" (1990)
written & directed by John Carpenter
Music by John Carpenter & Alan Howarth
Special Make-Up Effects by Rob Bottin
Special Visual Effects by ILM

John Jones - Lance Henriksen
J'onn J'onzz - Carel Struycken
Diane Meade - Kim Cattrall
Despero - Keith David
 
"The Manhunter from Mars" (1990)
written & directed by John Carpenter
Music by John Carpenter & Alan Howarth
Special Make-Up Effects by Rob Bottin
Special Visual Effects by ILM

John Jones - Lance Henriksen
J'onn J'onzz - Carel Struycken
Diane Meade - Kim Cattrall
Despero - Keith David

Oh, man, this one is so good. I can see it being made, too.
 
So last year I watched the animated Batman vs. Two-Face film with Burt Ward and Adam West. The cool thing about this movie is that it is set in the canon of the Batman '66 show. It also let us see Two-Face, who reportedly was forbidden by the network from appearing on the show. The other awesome thing about this film is that William Shatner plays Two-Face. They cast an actor who could have plausibly been on the show when it was on.

This got me thinking about that series and others. If I could add anyone to the cast of Batman '66 to fill out characters who never got their due on that series, it would be as follows. In keeping with the tradition of them replacing certain villain actors over time, I might list more than one actor for a role. Feel free to add on, just remember that the point is to cast actors who could have plausibly played the role at the time of filming.

Two-Face: William Shatner (He did a good job in the movie, and I consider it official)
Harley Quinn: Mamie Van Doren, Linda Evans
R'as al-Ghul: Michael Ansara, Omar Sharif, Leonard Nimoy
Poison Ivy: Tina Louise
Clayface: Boris Karloff (You know why)
Bane: El Santo
Killer Croc: Ted Cassidy, Richard Kiel
Solomon Grundy: Tor Johnson
Scarecrow: Peter Cushing
Dr. Hugo Strange: Christopher Lee
Deadshot: Lee Van Cleef

Also, I want to update this thread with ideas for other things, such as Avengers made in the 90s and such. Please feel free to add your own ideas or tell me why mine are bad.

Two-Face: Bill Shatner, Jack Lord, George Hamilton
Harley Quinn: Marta Kristen, Elke Sommer, or Goldie Hawn (Harley's in her twenties, not her thirties or forties)
R'as al-Ghul: Michael Ansara, Omar Sharif, Leonard Nimoy or Henry Silva
Poison Ivy: Tina Louise, Nichelle Nichols, Leslie Uggams
Clayface: Boris Karloff (and I agree with you on this)
Bane: Cal Bolder
Killer Croc: No change
Solomon Grundy: Cal Bolder or any other actor of a similar size, possibily even this guy
Scarecrow: No change
Dr. Hugo Strange: Christopher Lee or Roddy McDowell
Deadshot: No change


Professor X's original comics design was modeled on Yul Brynner, hence the eyebrows. So Brynner would probably be the ideal choice there.

My choice: Richard Chamberlain.

If the special effects of the '60s had made a Fantastic Four series possible, the ideal Mister Fantastic would've been Russell Johnson (who was Alex Ross's model for the character in Marvels). I'm having trouble thinking of candidates for the other three, though. I have a mental image of a '60s actress who looked a lot like Jack Kirby's rendering of Sue Storm, but I can't remember her name or where I saw her. I'm bad at this.

Susan Oliver would've been good as Sue.


90s-era Black Panther, a Spike Lee Joint

T'Challa: Denzel Washington
Killmonger: Wesley Snipes
Nakia: Nia Long
Okoye: Jada Pinkett Smith
W'Kabi: Malcolm Jamal Warner
M'Baku: Tony Lister
N'Jobu: Bobby Brown
Shuri: Leila Ali
Ramonda: Debbie Allen
T'Chaka: Richard Roundtree
Zuri: Robert Townsend
Ulisses Klaue: Rutger Hauer
Everett Ross: Henry Czerny

Swap Denzel's role and put Wesley in there, and it would work (Snipes was to play T'Challa originally in a planned Black Panther movie to be made by Sony back in the '90's.)
 
Last edited:
Two-Face: Bill Shatner, Jack Lord, George Hamilton
Harley Quinn: Marta Kristen, Elke Sommer, or Goldie Hawn (Harley's in her twenties, not her thirties or forties)
R'as al-Ghul: Michael Ansara, Omar Sharif, Leonard Nimoy or Henry Silva
Poison Ivy: Tina Louise, Nichelle Nichols, Leslie Uggams
Clayface: Boris Karloff (and I agree with you on this)
Bane: Cal Bolder
Killer Croc: No change
Solomon Grundy: Cal Bolder or any other actor of a similar size, possibily even this guy
Scarecrow: No change
Dr. Hugo Strange: Christopher Lee or Roddy McDowell
Deadshot: No change




My choice: Richard Chamberlain.



Susan Oliver would've been good as Sue.




Swap Denzel's role and put Wesley in there, and it would work (Snipes was to play T'Challa originally in a planned Black Panther movie to made by Sony back in the '90's.)

I really like Richard Chamberlain as Reed. Oh, and Goldie Hawn as Harley would be AWESOME. I put Mamie Van Doren mainly because I'm a big fan. Jack Lord as Two-Face is brilliant. Very dashing guy. While we're at it with the almost-captains of TOS, why not Jeffrey Hunter?

I had never thought of Nichelle as Ivy before. As I reflect on it, I think she'd have been perfect. Probably would have brought the same energy to the role that she put into Mirror Uhura. I don't recall having heard Leslie Uggam's name before.

Yeah, Leonard Nimoy would have done an amazing job as R'as al-Ghul. an't believe that it never crossed my mind.

That Cal Bolder fellow certainly is imposing. Hmm, ifwe're going the bodybuilder route, I'll suggest Mickey Hargitay. Not quite as big, but I think they might have cast him. Remember how Cliff Robertson, who played Shame, had his wife as Shame's minion? Imagine Mickey Hargitay as Bane, with Jayne Mansfield as his assistant. I know they'd been divorced for years at this point, but she could have conceivably appeared in the first two seasons.

Yeah, Wesley Snipes was the go-to guy for action back in the 90s. Hmm, if we had him as T'Challa, maybe Miguel A Nunez as Killmonger? The guy pulled off DeeJay in Street Fighter back in 94.

EDIT: I also really like Elke Sommer and especially Marta Kristen as Harley.
 
One actor whom I want to call attention to is Penny Singleton. She was most famous for playing Blondie in the 40s and was also the voice of Jane Jetson. If you look up more pictures of her, she was a stunningly beautiful woman. She also had great comedic chops. I'd really recommend her as Harley in a 1940s-era Batman.
 
I really like Richard Chamberlain as Reed. Oh, and Goldie Hawn as Harley would be AWESOME. I put Mamie Van Doren mainly because I'm a big fan. Jack Lord as Two-Face is brilliant. Very dashing guy. While we're at it with the almost-captains of TOS, why not Jeffrey Hunter?

Yeah, I too can now see him as Dent/Two Face. BTW, when I said 'Richard Chamberlain as...' I meant him as Charles Xavier (there are some panels in one of the '60's X-Men comics that (to me) have him resembling Chamberlain without hair.

I had never thought of Nichelle as Ivy before. As I reflect on it, I think she'd have been perfect. Probably would have brought the same energy to the role that she put into Mirror Uhura. I don't recall having heard Leslie Uggam's name before.

Uggams played a THRUSH agent in an episode of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., Natasha Brimstone.

Yeah, Leonard Nimoy would have done an amazing job as R'as al-Ghul. an't believe that it never crossed my mind.

Another actor to play R'as could be....David Carradine!


EDIT: I also really like Elke Sommer and especially Marta Kristen as Harley.

Other 60's starlets I now just thought of to play Harleen/Harley:

Tuesday Weld
Sue Lyon
Hayley Mills (or her elder sister, Juliet)
Susan Oliver
Carol Lynley
Mia Farrow
Sharon Tate
Inger Stevens
Patty Duke
 
Oh, yeah. David Carradine as R'as is good. Okay, a bit recent for "retro", but here are my casting wishes for if they had continued on with the Christopher Nolan/ Christian Bale batman series. I'm not recasting, only suggesting the people that I'd like to see in unfilmed roles.

Penguin: PHilip Seymour Hoffman
Riddler: David Tennant
Poison Ivy: Jessica Chastain
Mr. Freeze: Sean Bean
Hugo Strange: David Bowie
Man-Bat: Andy Serkis
Hush: Hugh Jackman
 
Oh, yeah. David Carradine as R'as is good. Okay, a bit recent for "retro", but here are my casting wishes for if they had continued on with the Christopher Nolan/ Christian Bale batman series. I'm not recasting, only suggesting the people that I'd like to see in unfilmed roles.

Penguin: PHilip Seymour Hoffman
Riddler: David Tennant
Poison Ivy: Jessica Chastain
Mr. Freeze: Sean Bean
Hugo Strange: David Bowie
Man-Bat: Andy Serkis
Hush: Hugh Jackman

Substitute a young Charles Dance for Sean Bean and I'm for this.
 
Oh, yeah. David Carradine as R'as is good. Okay, a bit recent for "retro", but here are my casting wishes for if they had continued on with the Christopher Nolan/ Christian Bale batman series. I'm not recasting, only suggesting the people that I'd like to see in unfilmed roles.

Penguin: PHilip Seymour Hoffman
Riddler: David Tennant
Poison Ivy: Jessica Chastain
Mr. Freeze: Sean Bean
Hugo Strange: David Bowie
Man-Bat: Andy Serkis
Hush: Hugh Jackman
I don't really see Bowie as Hugo Strange, one name I heard a lot in association with the character was Robin Williams, and I think the serious version of him would have been perfect.
Wouldn't Hush just be Christian Bale in a dual role?
 
I don't really see Bowie as Hugo Strange, one name I heard a lot in association with the character was Robin Williams, and I think the serious version of him would have been perfect.
Wouldn't Hush just be Christian Bale in a dual role?

I'm trying to keep it in theme with Christopher Nolan. Like how he reuses actors. Bale would play Hush post-surgery, sure.
 
I get the Nolan thing, but Dr. Strange just doesn't really strike me as the kind of character I think of when I think of David Bowie.
 
I get the Nolan thing, but Dr. Strange just doesn't really strike me as the kind of character I think of when I think of David Bowie.
He prefers "Professor". It keeps the rodent lawyers way.
Bowie should be the Joker.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top