Actors Who Picked the Wrong Superhero Roles

[Deck Rickard]

Absolutely.

Not sure about Batman but definitely Superman. But mostly I just think he may have played the wrong X-Man. I can't help but see him as young Scott Summers.

I also think that if Bobby Cannavale wasn't part of Ant-Man's supporting cast, he could have been a good Ben Grimm.

Damn, yeah Hoult WOULD have made a great Cyclops. It still kills me how much Cyclops was mishandled even in the GOOD X-Men movies.

 

[Herofan]

Too many.

Jennifer Connelly as Carol Ferris instead of Betty Ross
Hugo Weaving as Sinestro (or Mr. Freeze) instead of Red Skull

Guy Pearce as Daredevil instead of whoever in IM3.
Gwyneth Paltrow as Karen Page instead of Pepper Potts.

I think Eric Bana was bad as Bruce Banner but, at least a bit later, could have been a really good good Bruce Wayne/Batman.

I would have preferred Joaquin Phoenix as Two-Face rather than Joker.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Finally! Someone else here who agrees that Eric Bana SUCKED as Bruce Banner. I see so much love for Ang Lee’s Incredible Shrek movie around here I feel like I should be taking crazy pills, lol. That movie was bad all around because the technology wasn’t there yet to make Hulk convincing and it thought it was wayyyy deeper than it actually was. But I think perhaps the biggest problem was how flat and dull Bana was in the lead role.

To be clear, Eric Bana is a great actor. I’ve liked him in a number of films. But he missed the mark in that movie IMO, maybe just because Ang Lee didn’t have a clue how to make a good Hulk film and gave him horrible direction. Connelly and Elliot were better, but Nolte just acted drunk and Josh Lucas walked around looking like he was possessed by a demon.

I hate that movie.

 

[Herofan]

Bana was promising in the hint in the trailer, then that hint was all we got if we even got it. Nolte was definitely weird, a little interesting but more underwhelming, and Lucas and the trying so hard to make you hate him really annoying. Nolte's character just felt thrown in, unnecessary and yes contributed to trying to be too deep.

Anne Hathaway was a good Catwoman, but she would have made a GREAT Lois Lane.

I think she came off as too princess-y as Catwoman and would have more so as Lois.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Bana was promising in the hint in the trailer, then that hint was all we got if we even got it. Nolte was definitely weird, a little interesting but more underwhelming, and Lucas and the trying so hard to make you hate him really annoying. Nolte's character just felt thrown in, unnecessary and yes contributed to trying to be too deep.



I think she came off as too princess-y as Catwoman and would have more so as Lois.

Yeah, making Nolte the Absorbing Man was so stupid. It would have been better if he had just been a POS psycho who killed his wife and messed with his son’s DNA, thus contributing to Bruce’s trauma. He could have just been around, incarcerated and haunting Bruce. They didn’t need to also make him the big bad to fight at the end of the movie (if you can even call that weird freeze frame thing a fight lol). And yeah, Lucas tried waayyyyyy too hard to be evil. Dude just has a natural ability to come off like a slimeball (see Ford v. Ferrari); he doesn’t need to overdo it.

 

[Herofan]

I don't like Jake Gyllenhaal in general and also as Mysterio but based on how he played Mysterio he probably could have been better as Kraven.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I like Jake (and I liked him as Mysterio) but I really wanted him for Batman at one point. I also wonder how he might have been as Spidey when he was younger and almost took over the role from Tobey. Not that I WANTED him to take over the role but I just wonder how he would have been.

I have no interest in a Kraven movie or the character in general; I always thought it was silly how this guy is supposed to be this badass hunter and yet they gave him a name that means coward. I guess it works for a villain but Sony wants to make him a hero, lol. I know the term craven isn’t used all that much anymore but it’s still funny to me.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Hugo Weaving as Sinestro (or Mr. Freeze) instead of Red Skull

Gwyneth Paltrow as Karen Page instead of Pepper Potts

In a most endearing way; Red Skull Weaving reminds me of Raul Julia as M. Bison (big big fan of the movie and everything about it). I'm glad it happened, and it is a major reason Captain America the First Avenger is one of my favorite MCU movies.

As for Karen Paige I'm very glad we got Deborah Ann Woll in the role instead.

Honorable mention of sort, I liked Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth in Wolverine but of course the movie overall was lacking, he could have been a lot better had he played him in the 2000 film.

Yeah, no. I wouldn't want Liev Schreiber as silent Sabertooth with barely any character.
Sorry.

 

[Herofan]

Honorable mention of sort, I liked Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth in Wolverine but of course the movie overall was lacking, he could have been a lot better had he played him in the 2000 film.

Likewise for Taylor Kitsch as Gambit better in an earlier film.

Stephen Dorff was good as Deacon Frost in Blade but also could have been good as Gambit.

 

[BobJM]

I always thought Henry Cavill would have been an excellent Black Bolt if Marvel had moved forward with Inhumans as a theatrical piece.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I always thought Henry Cavill would have been an excellent Black Bolt if Marvel had moved forward with Inhumans as a theatrical piece.

I know people might disagree with me on this but I’ve always wondered if Cavill might have been a better Batman than Superman. He’s good at brooding, and his Witcher voice sounds like a damn near perfect Batman voice to me (only with an English accent). And he would definitely throw himself into the physicality that the role demands. I don’t know if it would have worked but it’s interesting to think about.

 

[BobJM]

That’s pretty interesting—now that you say it, I can see it. He’d be a great Bruce Wayne.

Benjamin Walker could play Superman alongside him, instead of his supporting role in Jessica Jones season 3.

 

[Deck Rickard]

That’s pretty interesting—now that you say it, I can see it. He’d be a great Bruce Wayne.

Benjamin Walker could play Superman alongside him, instead of his supporting role in Jessica Jones season 3.

Yeah Ben Walker could make a great Superman. I think there’s still a chance it could happen but the window is closing. He might also have made a good Batman too; he played Patrick Bateman on Broadway, after all. Wish I would have gotten to see that show.


Also, I really wish Riz Ahmed had been cast as… any other comic book character than whoever he played in Venom lol. Dude deserves better.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Finally! Someone else here who agrees that Eric Bana SUCKED as Bruce Banner. I see so much love for Ang Lee’s Incredible Shrek movie around here I feel like I should be taking crazy pills, lol. That movie was bad all around because the technology wasn’t there yet to make Hulk convincing and it thought it was wayyyy deeper than it actually was. But I think perhaps the biggest problem was how flat and dull Bana was in the lead role.

To be clear, Eric Bana is a great actor. I’ve liked him in a number of films. But he missed the mark in that movie IMO, maybe just because Ang Lee didn’t have a clue how to make a good Hulk film and gave him horrible direction. Connelly and Elliot were better, but Nolte just acted drunk and Josh Lucas walked around looking like he was possessed by a demon.

I hate that movie.

I’d genuinely be curious to hear what you think that would look like.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I’d genuinely be curious to hear what you think that would look like.

Well, I’d start by not splitting the screen in a bunch of stupid ways to make it “look like a comic book panel.” You could argue that’s a minuscule thing that doesn’t matter, but I found it genuinely distracting and reminded me of the worst parts of More American Graffiti.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Well, I’d start by not splitting the screen in a bunch of stupid ways to make it “look like a comic book panel.” You could argue that’s a minuscule thing that doesn’t matter, but I found it genuinely distracting and reminded me of the worst parts of More American Graffiti.

Yeah this is the kind of answer I expected, snark instead of a genuine response.

Look it’s all well and good to say you didn’t like the film, but to say that it’s not a good adaptation of the Hulk character and mythos and complain that the film has its fans…well to me that just displays a lack of familiarity with the source material.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah this is the kind of answer I expected, snark instead of a genuine response.

Look it’s all well and good to say you didn’t like the film, but to say that it’s not a good adaptation of the Hulk character and mythos and complain that the film has its fans…well to me that just displays a lack of familiarity with the source material.

Perhaps “good adaptation” is the wrong term. Can it be a good adaptation and a bad film? Because I think that’s my biggest issue with it. The Absorbing Man thing aside, I think the components are there for it to be a faithful adaptation, that’s true. But it’s the translation to the big screen that I have the bigger problem with. The performances are stilted, the special effects weren’t there yet, and the stylistic choices (from the comic book panel thing to hiring Danny “Go-To Superhero Movie Music Guy” to do the theme to overdoing it with the psychology aspects) make me conclude that Lee was out of his element. He’s a great director for sure (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, etc.) but I just feel like he misfired.

 

[BobJM]

Although I consider Selina Kyle to be one of the highlights of TDKR, Anne Hathaway could have been a great Wonder Woman:

 

[Roose Bolton]

Perhaps “good adaptation” is the wrong term. Can it be a good adaptation and a bad film? Because I think that’s my biggest issue with it. The Absorbing Man thing aside, I think the components are there for it to be a faithful adaptation, that’s true. But it’s the translation to the big screen that I have the bigger problem with. The performances are stilted, the special effects weren’t there yet, and the stylistic choices (from the comic book panel thing to hiring Danny “Go-To Superhero Movie Music Guy” to do the theme to overdoing it with the psychology aspects) make me conclude that Lee was out of his element. He’s a great director for sure (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, etc.) but I just feel like he misfired.

I mean, you can say that Ang Lee went too psychological and weird, or that you think Eric Bana shouldn’t have played the character without emotion. But in the context of this thread …it’s not necessarily a “wrong” depiction of the character. It’s getting more into the realm of what’s accessible or widely appealing to the general audience. And that’s a whole other conversion.

 

[metaphysician]

*cough* My own opinion remains: the only thing the Ang Lee Hulk movie really needed to change, was to chop off the entire fourth act appendage. Yes, it sort of made sense on its own, but it ruined the pacing of the movie. Hulk vs The Army was the climax of the movie, end the movie *there*. Just have a brief epilogue after that of Banner returning to the custody of Gamma Base, only under Ross' authority rather than Talbot, thus making him a coworker with a condition rather than an inhuman prisoner. Bruce, Betty, and Thaddeus are all reconciled with each other, thus having achieved a weird but happy ending where all parties can go into the uncertain future with understanding and the trust that they each have the others' backs.

( And then Nick Nolte gets a sequel bait stinger, because I actually did like him. He just can't get the fourth act, because doing that fourth act was a bad idea. )

 

[BobJM]

Lol I literally just rewatched Hulk after reading this thread last night and had the same thought about the fourth act needing some work but wow this movie is shockingly good after all these years. Nick Nolte’s arc needed resolution so I appreciated having that ending. Betty even alludes to it at the beginning—the idea that emotional trauma will linger unless treated, so she arranged for Bruce to have closure with a final goodbye to his father.

And the comic panel schtick wasn’t at all distracting like I remembered.

Really really enjoyable rewatch.

 

[Herofan]

Well, I’d start by not splitting the screen in a bunch of stupid ways to make it “look like a comic book panel.” You could argue that’s a minuscule thing that doesn’t matter, but I found it genuinely distracting

Made weirder and more distracting by that the film was otherwise (again also aside from Lucas) so aggressively un-comic booky, solemn, subdued.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Instead of Barry Allen, Ezra Miller should have been cast in a Sony Marvel film that would be much easier to ignore.

 

[Babillygunn]

Finally! Someone else here who agrees that Eric Bana SUCKED as Bruce Banner

Wow. I never realized this, but I hated Bana as Banner. I consider Eric Bana to be one of the best actors working today, so I have never allowed myself to levy any of the blame for Hulk at his feet, but he just wasn’t the right fit for what they went for. I agree that he could’ve been a solid Batman, though.

As for Karen Paige I'm very glad we got Deborah Ann Woll in the role instead.

I know that so many people love Woll in the Karen Page role, but to me, she was the most annoying character on the show. I mean, she is CW-Iris West/Chunk Runk/Felicity Smoak-level annoying.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Lol I literally just rewatched Hulk after reading this thread last night and had the same thought about the fourth act needing some work but wow this movie is shockingly good after all these years. Nick Nolte’s arc needed resolution so I appreciated having that ending. Betty even alludes to it at the beginning—the idea that emotional trauma will linger unless treated, so she arranged for Bruce to have closure with a final goodbye to his father.

And the comic panel schtick wasn’t at all distracting like I remembered.

Really really enjoyable rewatch.

I've always loved it from release, really don't get the 'hate for it'. Haven't half got grief for liking it from people in the forums, over the years.