Casting the He-Man movie: Ram Man

One of the lesser talked about characters of the Masters of the Universe series is Ram Man. He's a character that was mainly used for dumb comedy in the Filmation series. Armed with his metal head gear, he would use those spring-loaded legs to launch himself like a rocket into walls, doors or whatever kind of obstacle was in front of him. He was a human battering ram, hence the name "Ram Man."

Yeah, he was a few tools short of a full tool box. He was no master strategist for He-Man's team of heroes.

Obviously, if they were to use Ram Man in the upcoming He-Man movie, they'd need to update him a bit -- like they did in the 2002 Mike Young Productions series. Instead of being a 5 foot human missile, he was a large, overweight warrior who happened to have is head covered in armor. A little more contemporary and a little more realistic.

One candidate to portray Ram Man is Michael Chiklis. I haven't seen all of his work, but I did see him as The Thing in the Fantastic Four movies from the early 2000's. The Thing is somewhat similar to Ram Man actually. Both are used moreso for comedy purposes, but definitely provide muscle for their groups. Obviously nobody will provide more muscle than He-Man for the Masters of the Universe, but compared to Teela, Stratos, or Man-at-Arms, Ram Man is the muscle of the group.

The only problem I foresee with Chiklis is that he's 52-years-old. Like I said in some of my previous He-Man casting blogs, if the Hollywood executives want a He-Man movie that could provide a few sequels over the next 10 years, then Chiklis may not be the best choice. He'd be in his mid-50's by the time the first movie was released --- that's if they began filming today and released it in 2018.

Chiklis could probably handle some action scenes. Even though he's not likely to end up on the cover of Muscle & Fitness anytime soon, Chiklis isn't walking around with a cane by any means. Ram Man is a character who doesn't have completely well-defined muscles either. So, Chiklis could probably do the role justice, but there are probably better options, too, like those listed below ...

... like Jeremy Renner. He's getting paid big bucks to star in Marvel's Avenger movies, so I'm not sure that the He-Man movie could afford him. If they were to get Renner on board, that'd be a pretty big name for the cast. His efforts in headlining movies haven't gone terribly well, but Renner is Hawkeye for another couple of Marvel films, so he's got some name value until that ends.

Renner could obviously handle any kind of action sequences thrown his way. He's younger than Chiklis and he's already been in the Avengers movies, so he's willing to sign his name on for a multi-movie contract. Besides being a big name and having the athletic skills down, Renner is also a good actor. He's got a great ability to maintain a seriousness in his roles, while also adding comedy --- usually in a sarcastic way.

Renner's brand of comedic skills could be just the update that Ram Man needs.

Meanwhile, if the studio wanted to go really young, there's always Josh Hutcherson. He's probably not well known to some older people, but most of that coveted teen market would recognize him from the Hunger Games movies. 

Just like Renner, Hutcherson could handle any of the action scenes thrown his way. Unlike Renner, despite being in The Hunger Games, he's not making that Marvel money, so he's probably affordable.

In terms of acting, judging solely on his work in Little Manhattan, Bridge to Terabithia, Journey to the Center of the Earth and, of course, The Hunger Games movies (because those are all the movies I've seen him in), I think he'd do just fine. I don't know that he's got that dry sense of humor the way Renner does, but Hutcherson could handle a combined comedy/physical role that Ram Man would offer.

Lastly, there is Jonah Hill. If the He-Man moviemakers want to appeal to that 18-35 male demographic, then Jonah Hill may be the way to go. He's starred in a dozen comedy movies.

His acting ability shouldn't be questioned due to that though. Hill starred in Moneyball with Brad Pitt and did a great job taking on a role in a drama.

 And, let's be honest: Ram Man is not going to be an Oscar-nominated role, so Jonah Hill's comedy skills are really all that are needed here.

Hill is one of those celebrities who has gone up and down with his weight, but he's always energetic and likes to do physical comedy. He may not have hand-to-hand combat training, but I think he'd be able to get into whatever shape it'd take to tackle the role.



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