As a comic book movie fan, I’m always looking forward to the various studios announcing their casting decisions. Like, that time when they told us Benedict Cumberbatch would play the Sorcerer Supreme, or when the new Spider-Man was announced to be Tom Holland – I love those guys! Of course, where there’s love, there’s also… disappointment. Remember when DC/WB chose Ben Affleck for the role of Batman? I was WTF’ing left and right, but eventually I admit I was very wrong, and his depiction of the Caped Crusader was top-notch. However that’s not always the case. Sometimes the role was too small for a great actor, other times it was the actor was just plain wrong for the part.
Now let’s see some of these “bad casting decisions”, and let me know if you agree!
David Harbour
David Harbour showed us what he’s really got in the Netflix’s Stranger Things series, and I bet he’s going to make an awesome Hellboy in Mike Mignola’s reboot. But there was one role that kinda missed the target, and I bet you haven’t even noticed it! He played a government official who had almost zero screen time in the Suicide Flop, I mean “Squad”. Yeah, Harbour was in it and we didn’t even see him! What the hell, Ayer? Couldn’t you at least give him the role of that guard the Joker threatens? What a waste of talent…
Scott Eastwood
Speaking of the Suicide Squad, did you know Clint Eastwood’s son was in it? Yeah, I ain’t joking! Scott Eastwood, one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, was somehow forced into a role of a military dude, whose only definitive feature was wearing a cap backwards. GG, Ayer, yet again. Sure, the fans had a field day speculating if it was possible that Scott’s character could somehow be Dick Grayson (aka Nightwing) undercover, but… That theory was a bust. To be fair, we didn’t see the body after he detonated the bomb at the end, so… maybe there’s a chance? I don’t know. I sure hope so!
Lauren Cohan
Do you remember those measly 20 seconds when Batman v Superman showed Lauren’s character? Yeah, neither do I! Turns out she played THE Martha Wayne in the flashback scene. That’s right, a world-class cutie, and an amazing actress was wasted on a character that’s never going to appear on-screen again. This time I’m blaming Zach Snyder. You could’ve literally had ANY one of your female assistants play the role of a dead woman, but you had to drag Lauren into this.
Jesse Eisenberg
But small roles weren’t the only sin that Batman v Superman has committed. You know how in the comics Lex Luthor is this sinister, and level-headed genius who can easily outsmart Superman? Yeah, we don’t want that, apparently! According to the Snyder-vision (patent pending), DCEU’s Lex Luthor is more akin to the Joker than his comic book counterpart. And for that I blame Zack Snyder (again) and Jesse Eisenberg for playing himself instead of committing to the role, cuz that’s for losers!
Willem Dafoe
And, if you think I’m just gonna crap on DC because I’m a Marvel fanboy, you’d be wrong! Generally Marvel is pretty good about their casting, but there are a few questionable choices, like getting Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin. While he wasn’t the worst Marvel villain ever, he could have been so much more, if only the DC/WB got him first. Just imagine what a great freaking Joker he’d be! Like, seriously, his face, his mannerisms, even the voice are pretty much up there with Mark Hamill. So yes, he wasn’t really miscast as Norman Osborn, but he’d make a way better Joker than, say, Jared Leto. Just saying.
