Brave and the Bold Casting Thread

[J.Drangal]

Jacob Elordi, like Austin Butler or Bill Skarsgård are all interesting to me, but I also think they're all better suited to more “auteur” adaptations of Batman than what I imagine Gunn would do...
I'm not saying that he doesn't have his own style, he clearly does. But I think he might want his Batman to be relatively federative and probably a more classic—and lighter—interpretation of the character than the tortured versions that these actors would naturally inspire.

From the snippets we have about Batman in the DCU, I can imagine him picking a guy of mature age (or looking mature), fairly buff, and with a capacity for occasional self-derision. I lack references for actors who are currently popular or who gravitate around Gunn, but I would expect someone with a vibe similar to Jeffrey Dean Morgan (not him directly of course but you get the idea...).

This is a completely gratuitous presumption, but I don't think the appeal of this new Batman will come so much from the actor as from the way the character is used... And I'm not saying this to put any actor down, it's more a question of concept/promise.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Jacob Elordi, like Austin Butler or Bill Skarsgård are all interesting to me, but I also think they 're all better suited to more “auteur” adaptations of Batman than what I imagine Gunn would do...
I'm not saying that he doesn't have his own style, he clearly does. But I think he may want his Batman to be relatively federative and probably a more classic and lighter interpretation of the character.

I can imagine him picking a guy of mature age (or looking mature), fairly buff, and with a capacity for occasional self-derision. I lack references for actors who are currently popular or who gravitate around Gunn, but I would expect someone with a vibe similar to Jeffrey Dean Morgan (not him directly of course but you get the idea...).

This is a completely gratuitous presumption, but I don't think the appeal of this new Batman will come so much from the actor as from the way the character is used...

I dislike this enormously, but you're right . The fact we're even having a conversation where we have a broad consensus that the calibre of actor Batman historically has gotten is unlikely is rough.

 

[BobJM]

For the Elordi fans, Nate Mann is right there. And seems a more likely fit for DCU casting. Relatively unknown, Juilliard trained. I’d let him audition

 

[J.Drangal]

I dislike this enormously, but you're right . The fact we're even having a conversation where we have a broad consensus that the calibre of actor Batman historically has gotten is unlikely is rough.

Oh, I completely agree!
My post was all about what I expect, not what I want...

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

I’ll eat crow if I’m wrong, but this is ****ing Batman. I don’t think any of the casting for Gunn’s DCU means anything. I think there’s a very good chance Butler or Elordi would agree to it. It’s basically the most desirable superhero role there is.

 

[TMP98]

Elordi is the exact kind of actor they seem to actively want to avoid casting. Big name rising stars who are going to get very, very busy and expensive. It'll be someone much more low profile and affordable. Maybe they'll broke the mould because it is Batman after all, but I feel like we've got a pretty good read on who Gunn wants to cast.

Ehh, Aaron Pierre certainly fits the bill of a big name rising star. Granted, I'm sure a big part of the appeal was doing a marquee HBO show with a creative team with the pedigree that Lanterns had, but it's not impossible. More so feel like Elordi might not be interested in superhero stuff, especially with the genre's decline

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Ehh, Aaron Pierre certainly fits the bill of a big name rising star. Granted, I'm sure a big part of the appeal was doing a marquee HBO show with a creative team with the pedigree that Lanterns had, but it's not impossible. More so feel like Elordi might not be interested in superhero stuff, especially with the genre's decline

He is (and he's great, so is Alcock), but he also got snatched up way earlier in his career than Elordi.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I’ll eat crow if I’m wrong, but this is ****ing Batman. I don’t think any of the casting for Gunn’s DCU means anything. I think there’s a very good chance Butler or Elordi would agree to it. It’s basically the most desirable superhero role there is.

I disagree. I think the potentially endless nature of the role in a shared universe, with how many appearances will probably be demanded of the actor, etc. will probably make that a nonstarter. Both in terms of who would say yes and how expensive they'd be. If they were offered crazy **** you money, probably, but they're not gonna get offered crazy **** you money.

Not saying it's good, I dislike almost every single casting choice Gunn has made so far (I like... Chandler, Alcock, Pierre and Hoult and I think that's it?), but there's suuuuch a pattern.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Are you trying to say that the ambition isn’t there to go after big names? You keep saying Gunn actively wants to avoid casting big or up and coming names. Because that’s demonstrably untrue. Gunn talked to Bradley Cooper about Lex, they went after Josh Brolin, Ewan McGregor, and Matthew mf McConaughey for Hal Jordan before settling on Chandler who was not their first choice. The ambition is certainly there. And in regard to Elordi, WB very recently went after him for Superman but he declined. The question is if someone like Elordi would agree to it, not if Gunn would be ambitious enough.

Just because they haven’t secured huge names yet doesn’t mean Gunn won’t be ambitious with the Batman casting.

I’m just saying they are more than likely going to try to get big names for Bats, and if any big name actor is going to sign on, it will be for Batman or one of his villains.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

How could anyone dislike Rachel Brosnan as Lois Lane as a casting choice?

 

[SwordOfMorning]

How could anyone dislike Rachel Brosnan as Lois Lane as a casting choice?

She’s okay. Not particularly creative or exciting but if you’re just looking for basic Lois, she’s fine.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Jacob Elordi, like Austin Butler or Bill Skarsgård are all interesting to me, but I also think they're all better suited to more “auteur” adaptations of Batman than what I imagine Gunn would do...
I'm not saying that he doesn't have his own style, he clearly does. But I think he might want his Batman to be relatively federative and probably a more classic—and lighter—interpretation of the character than the tortured versions that these actors would naturally inspire.

From the snippets we have about Batman in the DCU, I can imagine him picking a guy of mature age (or looking mature), fairly buff, and with a capacity for occasional self-derision. I lack references for actors who are currently popular or who gravitate around Gunn, but I would expect someone with a vibe similar to Jeffrey Dean Morgan (not him directly of course but you get the idea...).

This is a completely gratuitous presumption, but I don't think the appeal of this new Batman will come so much from the actor as from the way the character is used... And I'm not saying this to put any actor down, it's more a question of concept/promise.

It's so telling that it's "Gunn's" Batman when right now he isn't writing or directing it.

Thank the maker for Matt Reeves.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

She’s okay. Not particularly creative or exciting but if you’re just looking for basic Lois, she’s fine.

I tend to like the characters to be who they are, recognizable. I don't see the point of intentionally miscasting a character just for the sake of "doing something different".

 

[DarthSkywalker]

She’s okay. Not particularly creative or exciting but if you’re just looking for basic Lois, she’s fine.

Comic fans and basic casting. Name a more iconic duo? You can't!

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I tend to like the characters to be who they are, recognizable. I don't see the point of intentionally miscasting a character just for the sake of "doing something different".

Wild jump from what I said to ‘intentional miscasting’ there.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I tend to like the characters to be who they are, recognizable. I don't see the point of intentionally miscasting a character just for the sake of "doing something different".

This is exactly how you miss out on the best Bond.

Or the best Joker.

It's not a question of doing something just to do it. But most "oddball" castings are done with intent and purpose, to create interesting characters beyond the surface. People discount the importance of the soul an actor injects.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

This is exactly how you miss out on the best Bond.

Or the best Joker.

It's not a question of doing something just to do it. But most "oddball" castings are done with intent and purpose, to create interesting characters beyond the surface. People discount the importance of the soul an actor injects.

Ding, ding, ding.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Ding, ding, ding.

It's like that one "totally miscast" Bane once said,

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Ultimately, for me, the ideal is that an actor is both playing the character and has something really unique about themselves as a performer that defines THAT version. A lack of that idiosyncratic, it’s interesting because it’s THIS person quality is the main thing that gets lost for me with casting where it feels like they’re just trying to achieve off the rack *insert character here* - I always want it to be as much about the actor as the character.

Nothing wrong with not being hung up on that, just a personal taste thing.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Ultimately, for me, the ideal is that an actor is both playing the character and has something really unique about themselves as a performer that defines THAT version. A lack of that idiosyncratic, it’s interesting because it’s THIS person quality is the main thing that gets lost for me with casting where it feels like they’re just trying to achieve off the rack *insert character here* - I always want it to be as much about the actor as the character.

Nothing wrong with not being hung up on that, just a personal taste thing.

I feel like this doubly important for someone like Batman. One of the big reason the character has endured is how much each version belongs to their actor. And not just Bats, but Joker, Riddler, Gordon, Alfred, etc. From West's era through Pattinson's. His unique chemistry with his cast doing their own thing is why The Batman was so successful.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

To be clear I love Rachel and think she's perfectly fine as Lois. I think she would've been better with stronger material. But how the character is written and her skill set made for a very boilerplate Lois.

 

[J.Drangal]

It's so telling that it's "Gunn's" Batman when right now he isn't writing or directing it.

Thank the maker for Matt Reeves.

Yeah, even though I think someone like Lindelof may have had relatively free rein to do what he wanted with Lanterns, I can't see Gunn not micromanaging Batman if he doesn't end up directing it himself (I still think that's a possibility...).

I also continue to believe that the DCU may not be so much an extended universe as many assume, as the addition of a "Gunn DC saga" (centered around Superman and Peacemaker) and satellite projects that, I assume, can exist without much of his influence and without major impact on his films (Clayface, Lanterns). Batman being apparently his favorite character, I guess he'll join the former group...

------

Off topic, but about Lindelof:
I started rewatching his Watchmen series, which I hadn't seen since it was first broadcast. I remember liking it but forgetting the details... and I don't know how I managed to forget so much, because I'm having a really, really great time rediscovering this series, which this time should definitely stick in my memory.
It's also a serious reminder of how dense and rigorous a superhero series can be when people really put their minds to it...

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Rachel is the best Lois we’ve ever had.

 

[WayneMB]

she had nothing to do, OG lois is still superior.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

she had nothing to do, OG lois is still superior.

Noel Neill?