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Thursday, March 28, 2024
The Observer

Curious Casting

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Erin Rice


Although post-Oscars film releases have been underwhelming, cinephiles have something else to get up in arms about: a slew of new casting announcements and rumors. From the controversial to the downright confusing, here’s an update on the casting news.

Bradley Cooper has been rumored to take Harrison Ford’s place as the next Indiana Jones now that Disney owns the rights to the franchise. If true, it’ll be a strange transition into a new generation of Indy, but it’s likely that anything will be better than “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

Rooney Mara has officially been cast as Tiger Lily in the upcoming Peter Pan-based film. This choice has stirred up plenty of controversy, as Tiger Lily is clearly a Native American character in “Peter Pan,” and Mara is not Native American. Entertainment writers and activists alike have openly protested the casting decision, claiming that the film’s production company, Warner Bros., is missing a valuable opportunity to bring a Native American actress into the public eye. Still, others argue that the casting choice would still be problematic due to the offensive stereotypes that accompany Tiger Lily’s character. It seems that Warner Bros., will have to proceed with caution with this one.

Another apparently controversial casting choice announced recently was that of Michael B. Jordan as the Human Torch in Marvel’s upcoming “Fantastic Four 2.” The “Fruitvale Station” actor is set to star alongside Kate Mara (Rooney Mara’s sister), Jamie Bell and Miles Teller in the second iteration of the “Fantastic Four” series. However, some followers of the superhero series are reportedly upset over the fact that Jordan, who is African-American, was chosen to play the Human Torch. Despite the outcry of close-minded “fans” claiming Marvel should stick to the look of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed character created in 1961, the production team and Jordan have not shown any indication of change, and the film is in development.

Kevin Spacey has just confirmed a role as Winston Churchill, Hollywood Reporter recently announced. Spacey will play the British politician for a role in “Captain of the Gate,” a World War II film focused on Churchill as the prime minister of England. The film is in early development, but the news that Spacey will get to put his stellar acting and dead-on impression skills to use is exciting news. An underrated and often typecast actor, Spacey could do great things with this role, and though we love to see him as a villain, this could be a refreshing moment in Spacey’s career.

Finally, it appears that every actor in Hollywood will star in the fourth film in the “Jurassic Park” franchise, titled “Jurassic World.” Though the plot is still not known, the film has already signed on Chris Pratt, Judy Greer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jake Johnson, BD Wong, Vincent D’Onofrio and Omar Sy, making for one of the most unexpected casts in recent history. While casting rumors remain, including whispers about Idris Elba and the coveted Jeff Goldblum, the film will be released in 2015, 13 years after “Jurassic Park 3.”

Continuing with bizarre casting choices, the acclaimed German director Werner Herzog has reportedly signed on Pamela Anderson, Mike Tyson and Russell Brand to his upcoming film “Vernon God Little.” The “Jurassic World” cast may be a bizarre collection of actors, but Herzog takes the cake by hiring some of Hollywood’s most bizarre actors. The film is apparently an adaptation of a novel of the same name, which follows the aftermath of a school shooting tragedy. Of all of the casting choices mentioned, this has to be the most puzzling, but is possibly the most intriguing. For “Vernon God Little” and all the films mentioned, only time will tell.