Thursday, April 27, 2017

Casting the He-Man movie: the others

It's been a while since I did one of my He-Man casting blogs, but with the very exciting news that Sony has chosen a December 2019 release date for their Masters of the Universe movie, I figured I'd better pick this back up and finish it up.

I've covered most of the main characters in my previous blogs, but the great thing about He-Man is that there are a slew of great side characters as well. With each new character, Matel had a new toy to make and sell.

But that also gave the writers another character to explore and do something with.

Here are my casting suggestions for some of the remaining characters:


Andrew Garfield as Mekaneck

Unfortunately Andrew Garfield wasn't kept on as Spidey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he's a good actor and he'd be a great addition to the He-Man movie. He could take a relatively small role like Mekaneck and make it a great part of the movie.

That's what some of the actors in the new Star Trek movies have done. Andrew Garfield could do the same.

He's good at comedy, has experience in action movies and he could bring his own flair to the role.


Miles Teller as Meckaneck

Teller was an okay Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four reboot, but that couldn't save the movie.  Why not give him another shot in an action movie with He-Man?  He did well in the Divergent movies.  I don't see him as a lead actor, but a supporting role would be just fine.

He could bring a little comedy to the role and mix it with some seriousness.

He's developed into a recognizable name, but he's certainly not an A-list actor.  A role in what will hopefully be a franchise wouldn't hurt his career path.


Zachary Levi as Stratos

Who?  That's what you may ask yourself when seeing this name.  Maybe you recognize the face though?

If you look at his IMDB profile, you'll probably notice several movies that you've seen him in, but didn't even realize it.

That was the case with me anyway

He was the voice of the main man in the animated movie Tangled.  He was Chuck in the TV series Chuck.  He was also in Thor: The Dark World (as one of Thor's pals).  Pretty decent variety of work there.


Ryan Reynolds as Stratos

I'm not a huge Ryan Reynolds fan, honestly.  He was OK in The Proposal.  He was mildly funny.  He's been in a lot of comedies.

Most of them are the kind that you wouldn't turn off if you ran across them on TV --- as opposed to the kind you'd purposely seek out at a Redbox.

Somehow, Reynolds has become a big name in Hollywood though.  Despite his flop as the Green Lantern (which, oddly enough, I didn't think was that bad).  Honestly, he's probably too big of a name for Stratos at this point.

Deadpool is Reynold's big role now.  I doubt he'd be on board for this role.  That being said, he wouldn't be a bad choice.  He'd bring a bigger name to the role.  I'm for anything to help make the movie a success.


John Hennigan as Tri-Klops

All your wrestling fans out there probably recognize this guy.  He spent something like 8 years in WWE and is now Johnny Mundo in Lucha Underground.

Now, Hennigan is not the best actor in the world.  I mean, he's got some acting experience in independent movies, but most of his experience is as a sports-entertainer.

He's got experience in backstage skits and live audience interaction.  Experience on a big budget movie?  Not so much.  That being said, Tri-Klops was always rather robotic, so even if Hennigan's acting ends up being wooden, he'd still probably fit the part.

The biggest advantage with John Hennigan is that he's crazy athletic.  He does Parkour.  He could bring a great fighting style to the movie.


Kellan Lutz as Tri-Klops

A lot of people would say that Lutz would be a great choice for He-Man, but, based on what I've seen of his acting, he's no lead actor.  He could be a B-player, but not a guy on the main team.

He's ripped.  I'll give him that.  Just like John Hennigan, Lutz has the frame to play any number of the henchmen from Snake Mountain.

He's not nearly as athletic though.  I'm sure he can do a decent fight scene.  He did play Hercules a couple of years ago.  He can lift weights and do sword battles, but the flippy, flying through the air, kung-fu style stuff?  That's all John Hennigan.

While Lutz wouldn't be my first pick to be Tri-Klops, I don't think the producers even have Hennigan on the idea list.  Lutz would be a decent choice in that case



Karl Urban as Tri-Klops

If the moviemakers want a bigger name and an older choice, Karl Urban seems ideal.  I'm a big fan of him, so I may be biased.  He was great in Pete's Dragon.  He really found success as Bones in Star Trek.

He's so great at having really great comedic timing.  He can also do some pretty dramatic acting as well.

He's a recognizable name and face.  Star Trek is the biggest current franchise he's been connected to, but he was in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and he made several appearances in the Xena series.  He's got big-screen experience and television experience.  He's pretty seasoned if you look at his work and resume.

While he wouldn't be doing all the crazy acrobatics, he's definitely capable of doing fight scenes.



Ewan McGregor as Man-E-Faces

Here's a choice that could make Man-E-Faces more than just a bit role.  McGregor obviously has the acting ability to play whatever role he's given.

Man-E-Faces, from the Filmation series, was dramatic and then scary and then overdramatic.  He was, after all, an actor.

I can just picture McGregor as a robot thespian.  And, really, how could he turn down a role like that?  How many times does one get to play a robot thespian?

I think he'd be perfect for this role.



Scott Porter as Man-E-Faces

If you've seen Hart of Dixie, then you know how awesome Scott Porter is.  He's actually got a superhero background too.  He's the voice of various heroes in several video games and animated TV series.

That means he's not above doing a 'superhero script' like Masters of the Universe.

He's been in a couple of other series since Hart of Dixie ended, but each of those shows only lasted a short time.

Bad thing to happen to a talented actor, but good thing for someone trying to cast a talented actor, eh?  It's all in how you look at it.



Dave Franco and Rami Malek as Two Bad

This is one character (or two, I guess) that I didn't appreciate in the Filmation series.  But in the 2002 Mike Young Productions version of the show, Two Bad had a backstory.  They made him interesting.

They showed his origin (as two people) and how Skeletor punished them by making them one.

Now I want to see how they do it in a big screen way.  They've got to get a couple of good actors for it though.  Dave Franco and Rami Malek are the only two people I want to see play Two Bad.

I have no doubt they'd really embrace the role and make it incredibly fun.  Make it happen, Hollywood!



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