Question: "Recast Luke, Leia and Han Solo."
Scott's Answer: Assuming we're casting the film in the 70s and not today... For Han Solo, I will go with an actor who actually auditioned for the part: Kurt Russell. He's certainly got the lovable rogue act down pretty good! For Princess Leia, either Jodie Foster or Debra Winger. For Luke Skywalker, I actually struggled with this one but I will suggest Bruce Boxleitner.
Andrew's Answer: Unlike Scott, I'm not casting in the 1970s. For Luke, I'm going with one of my favorite actors, Colin Farrel. For Leia, I'm going with Katherine Heigl. And for Han Solo, I'm going with Hugh Jackman. My bonus pick is Geoffrey Rush as Obi Wan.
Casting isn't something I normally think of so this is a hard one for me. Firstly I thought that you cannot recast Han Solo, Harrison Ford nailed that role. But as soon as Scott mentioned Kurt Russell a light went off in my head and he could have done it justice. Out of today's actors I cannot see anyone doing a better job then Hugh Jackman, he's a big guy, he can do action and he is charming.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that any number of actors could have pulled off the Luke and Leia role. But I would cast little known or unknown actors so I don't really have any names to give. I would have thought though that Colin Farrel would be to old to play Luke.
Scott.
Kurt Russell was a little too young for Han, I could see him as Luke however.
ReplyDeleteJodie Foster would have made a good Leia.
Galaxy roaming, lovable rogue?- William Shatner.
Knowing Hollywood's practice of rewarding those who toe the corporate line, (so to speak.) I want to go with Jaimie Foxx as Luke and Beyonce as Leia. I'd go with Anne Hathway as Leia, but that wouldn't work opposite Jamie Foxx. we could expand Samuel L.'s role and let him be Han. By this same reasoning, perhaps Kelsey Grammar as Palpatine or Darth.
ReplyDeleteJed -
ReplyDeleteI couldn't accept Kelsey Grammar as Palpatine or Darth Vader, if only because I'd be thinking of Sideshow Bob the entire time. :-)
shawn -
ReplyDeleteKurt Russell may have been borderline in the age department. And like I said, he auditioned for the role so I assume he fit whatever characteristics they were looking for at the time.
Shatner? Maybe 20 years earlier. Now that you mention it, I'm having trouble seeing it. :-)
Scott/Anon -
ReplyDeleteHugh Jackman is a good choice! And after watching Lockout (stupid but kinda fun), I'd also go with Guy Pierce.
Scott, I agree, Ford really nailed the role and recasting him would be extremely hard. I do think Russell or Jackman could do it, but Ford would be better.
ReplyDeleteOn the others, I agree totally. I like Luke (Leia is ok) but I never felt like they were anything special. I really think both roles could easily be recast without missing a beat.
Shawn, Foster as Leia would have been interesting! Bill Shatner? LOL! You know, it might have worked... maybe.
ReplyDeleteJed, LOL! Are you suggesting a Wayans brothers version? "Star Wars Movie."
ReplyDeleteI would hate to see how a studio would cast the movie if it came out today. It would probably be Ryan Reynolds as Luke, Liam Neeson as Obi-Wan, and Blake Lively as Leia. Vader would be Ian McKellen without the mask. And Han would probably bizarrely be handed to Will Farrell as Luke's comic relief.
Scott, Sideshow Darth...
ReplyDeleteScott - all my picks were, of course, tongue in cheek. I'm kind of down on Hollywood since the election, and thought Beyonce and Jaimie Foxx were particularly vile and racist in their post election comments, thus deserving this plum assignment. Likewise, Grammar, as a white conservative out of the closet actor needs to be cast as the scurrilous villain he must be in real life. :)
ReplyDeleteAndrew - yes, lets call it Star Wars; the Revenge of the Whiz" and get grandma Diana Ross to do the music. I like that idea.
ReplyDeleteJed -
ReplyDeleteOh I know, but I think my Sideshow Bob comparison is still accurate.
And since Boss was cancelled, Grammar might have some room in his schedule to do the new films. :-)
Andrew -
ReplyDeleteRe: your modern casting, I think Will Ferrel would be playing Chewie as bizarre comic relief!
And they'd probably get some actor with name recognition to play C3PO instead of a lesser known voice actor.
Mark Hamill as the Emperor -- Considering the phenomenal voiceover job he’s done as the Joker in many DC series, games and movies since the early 1990s, I think playing the cackling Emperor would be a breeze.
ReplyDeleteAnother Emperor choice: Robert Carlyle of Stargate Universe and Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold on Once Upon a Time. In the latter role, he is absolutely superb.
Nathan Fillon as Han Solo – Not because of Serenity but because of his lead role in Castle. He can do the right amount of “yeah, riiiight” that is key to Han Solo’s character.
Jadan Smith as Luke Skywalker – Trying to think of a young & upcoming actor, and he’s done some decent work.
Not sure about the princess, though if Stana Katic, who stars as Kate Becket on Castle were about a decade younger, she would be perfect, especially considering that she and Nathan Fillion already have excellent screen chemistry.
Members of Congress as Imperial stormtroopers.
Serious list
ReplyDeleteLuke: Anton Yelchin
Leia: Emmy Rossum
Han: Christian Bale
Obi-Wan: Gary Oldman
Darth: Giancarlo Esposito
Not-so-serious list
Luke: Michael Cera (admittedly, I considered him for the serious list.)
Leia: Zooey Deschanel (b/c I know it tweaks Andrew!)
Han: Neil Patrick Harris
Obi-Wan: Martin Short
Darth: Patrick Warburton
Lando: Tracy Morgan
Chewie: Zach Galifianakis
tryanmax -
ReplyDeleteGood list! It's nice to see Anton Yelchin getting the credit he deserves. He didn't get to do much as Chekov but he was probably the best thing about Terminator Salvation (not that that's saying much!).
Tracy Morgan as Lando... "You truly belong here with us in the clouds, Liz Lemon!"
BIG MO -
ReplyDeleteNathan Fillion as Han Solo has been mentioned elsewhere. Interestingly, while I don't watch Castle, they recently did a fun sci-fi-themed episode about a murder at a convention. Lots of in-jokes to appreciate.
"Shiny!"
And good idea about the stormtroopers. :-)
Big Mo - there is the faintest whiff of hypocrisy in your casting aside the fair Stana Katic while going with the jowlier by the season Nathan Fillion. So, remembering this is merely a fantasy playing out anyway, cast them both at the right age. After all, they have great chemistry together and would be perfect in a re-make.
ReplyDeleteScottDS - yep, that Castle episode was hilarious. He did a great Shatner playing Shatner.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Stephen McHattie as the emperor.
ReplyDeleteScott, I picked Anton for two reasons. 1. I think he'd do the role justice. 2. Call up a picture of Anton and a picture of Hamil as Luke and then try not to freak out.
ReplyDeleteDuh, uh. Ha ha... like, uh... ha ha. Um. Me so actress good. Oh look, a booger.
ReplyDeleteJed, I tried so hard to enjoy The Wiz and it just didn't work. :( I would cringe at what you propose... and I think the fans would kill you.
ReplyDeleteBIG MO -
ReplyDeleteTotally! (And I didn't mean to belittle your choice by pointing out that Fillion had been mentioned before. Reading it again, I came across as a tad harsh.) :-)
Jonathan Frakes directed that Castle episode, hence his cameo as Castle's "number one fan."
Scott, All the voices would need to be famous people. And don't forget George Clooney, he and Brad Pitt need a cameos.
ReplyDeleteOn you and tryanmax, trying to shove nerds down our throats... forget it.
Big Mo, I love the idea of Nathan Fillon. He could absolutely play Han Solo. I hadn't even thought of that one! Good choice!
ReplyDeleteJed, I love the idea of McHattie as the Emperor or even Vader. :)
tryanmax, You are an evil man.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Congress critters as stormtroopers doesn't work... stormtroopers need to at least have some competence.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, you have to give Zooey credit for one thing, though. Never in the history of cinema has an actress been so singularly unsuited to perform in any role. And for that, she deserves to at least be regarded as a curiosity.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, LOL! That is so true. I honestly cannot imagine any role she would be suited for! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteHow about Mel Brooks as Yoda? Now that's a schwartz I can believe in.
ReplyDeleteTennessee Jed - You're right; "Kate" is quite lovely as she is, and would make a gorgeous princess.
ScottDS - no offense taken :)
Big Mo, LOL! Mel Brooks as Yoda? That's crazy! That's as crazy as Joan Rivers as C-3PO!
ReplyDeleteI always thought it'd be cool if the studio let Mel Brooks go back and "update" Spaceballs, in effect parodying George Lucas' penchant for endless changes.
ReplyDeleteScottDS- that would be schwartz-tastic.
ReplyDeleteNow that Disney owns Star Wars, they could do a serious retcon. They could pull a Lion King 1 1/2 to show how Timon and Pumba were there behind the scenes the whole time, trying to break up Mr. and Mrs. Darth Vader, keeping the kids of Vader from shacking up, proposing marriage to Boba Fett to distract him, and teaching Palpatine how to use Pumba gas to increase his Sith lightning tenfold.
They could have Anakin and Padme go gooey-eyed to "Can you feel the love tonight," the Ewoks, Jawas and Geonosians could sing "Hakuna Matada," and Yoda/Yogurt could take Rafikki's place to dispense mystic nonsense and kung-fu justice.
Scott, That would be pretty funny, especially if he totally turned Space Balls into a joke -- adding a digital Jar Jar Binks for example etc. etc. The problem is that it would probably cost a fortunate to do that and they'd never make the money back.
ReplyDeleteBig MO, I think they would want to make as many annoying changes as possible to each scene. LOL!
ReplyDeleteAll things considered, it may not cost that much. I imagine part of the gag would be to make the new effects look either too perfect, or purposely cheesy, in order to set them apart from the rest of the film. (A common complaint of Lucas' changes is that there's no consistency.)
ReplyDeleteAnd instead of something like "Jedi Rocks," Brooks could write a new song. ("Balls Rock"?)
I have more ideas but I'll spare you. :-)
If Star Warz was made in the late 60s:
ReplyDeleteLuke: Bob Denver
Han Solo: Robert Vaughn
Princess Leia: Yvonne Craig
Obi Wan: Sebastian Cabot
Darth Vader: Freddie Blassie
70's recast
ReplyDeleteLuke:Ron Howard
Leia:Jenny Agutter
Han :Christopher Walken
I believe Walken did a screen test for the part.
Kenobi:Sean Connery
Darth Vader: Voice of James Earl Jones
Emperor:Michael Cochrane
Today's recast
Luke:Sam Claflin
Leia:India Eisley
Han:Sam Rockwell or Jeremy Renner
Ben Kenobi:Tom Wilkinson
Darth Vader: Voice of James Earl Jones
Emperor: Ian McShane
K -
ReplyDeleteRobert Vaughn as Han Solo... awesome!
And with Bob Denver, I could see Mad Magazine doing a Star Wars/Gilligan's Island parody cover. :-)
Sooner -
ReplyDeleteYeah, Walken tested for the role. Whether he would've made a good Han Solo... who knows? Jenny Agutter is a good choice for Leia.
I had to look up Sam Claflin and then I realized I just saw him in the last Pirates movie (which was only slightly less incoherent than the last two). He was very good... and grounded... a good counter to Depp and the rest of the gang.
I don't know India Eisley but with Claflin, a good choice for Leia could be his mermaid co-star Astrid Bergès-Frisbey.