It all started with the movies, needing younger to keep the franchise going or because they thought that the general audience would connect more with a younger hero. Then the comics, to help promote their films, altered their characters to fit the ages in the film. Now Batman and Superman are in their 20s instead of late 30s/early 40s.
They already had an older superhero film that succeeded, Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. He is 48 now. Back then in Iron Man 1 he was 43. Jon Favreau had to fight for that though, from what I hear. The studio wanted a teen Tony Stark, probably because the success of Spider-Man the studio was afraid to go with an older hero. Maybe thats why the cartoon show featured a teen Tony Stark.
High Jackman is 44. When if 1st played Wolverine he was 31. But he still looks like a young Wolverine, sort of. At least I wasn't aware of his age anyway. And he is still playing Wolverine, but that could be because he was grandfathered in.
But what was the response by the public and comic fans to a younger actor, Michael Fassbender, playing Magneto in 1st Class over the older actor, Sir Ian Murray McKellen, in X-Men?
I thought I remembered rumblings at the time that McKellen was too old for Magneto, and later thought I heard that finally we got a right aged actor for the part.
However, I do want to point out that in my opinion Chris Evans and Hemsworth are perfect choices for Captain America and Thor. Just like I thought Downey Jr. was the perfect Stark.
Studios have always seemed to promote the younger age though, I heard that one suggestion for the movie Hero Bear and the Kid (that hasn't been made yet) was to make the little boy a teenager, and to put Hillary Duff in the film. So its not just making the older characters younger, it can sometimes be making the younger kids teenagers.
But TV does this too, I remember watching Friends and thinking the stars were so much older than me, and now the stars of How I Met Your Mother are my age.
It could have a similar reason as to why DC introduced Robin in the Batman comics, because younger kids connected with Robin being young and it boosted sales. Maybe they see the younger crowd as being a more viable market than the older crowd and that is why they target them.
Similarly why cartoon shows like Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice, and Avengers gets canceled and replaced with Ultimate Spider-Man, Tinny Titans, and other shows that appeal to young and younger crowds rather than try to appeal to older or young and old at the same time.
My dad said that I outgrew their target market.
So, while I agree that the prospect of sequels and cameos and continuing to use that actor for things in the future must play a part, I also think it has to do with market research on the studios part. Them thinking that the more profitable way to do things is casting unknowns, or little well knowns like Evans, and younger actors who are around their mid 20s-early 30s.
Someone should make a, maybe generic, superhero movie with an all old cast. Casting actors and actresses who people would have loved to see in superhero films but now they are too old. Not like Red, I mean like a superhero movie where the actors play superheroes like Spider-Man or Superman types but are "too old" by studio standards. Like in their 40s and 50s and even 60s and 70s.
I heard that Denzel Washington wanted to, would LOVE to, play a superhero but no one asked him.
