5. James Spader as Ultron
Ultron is one of the most iconic comic book villains of all-time, and he has been battling Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for decades now. When Marvel revealed that the sequel to Joss Whedon’s 2012 hit would be called Avengers: Age of Ultron, excitement was at an all-time high, but the surprise announcement that James Spader would play the villain was met with a resounding, “Who?” by a lot of comic book fans.
Despite having a fantastic résumé, Spader isn’t necessarily someone that’s instantly recognisable to the majority, but this news came at roughly the same time as The Blackist made its debut on television. One episode of the popular series was more than enough to prove to some fans that this was yet another stellar casting decision by Marvel, and look no further than the scene above from the movie’s trailer for confirmation of that.
4. Jamie Foxx as Electro
Hot off a critically acclaimed performance in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, comic book fans could not have been more excited over the thought of Jamie Foxx bringing Electro to life in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Clearly passionate about the project and the role in interviews, Foxx was saying all the right things and looked good – not great – in set photos and officially released images of him as the electrically powered Max Dillon.
Sadly, it would all go horribly wrong when we finally saw the sequel. Gone was the actor who won an Academy Award for his role in Ray, and in his place was a Jamie Foxx channelling his inner Arnold Schwarzenegger from Batman and Robin.
Saddled with horrible dialogue, it’s hard to put too much of the blame on Foxx’s shoulders, but this shows that not all unexpected casting is good!.
3. Robert Redfield as Alexander Pierce
If a couple of years ago you had been asked to write a list of actors you would never expect to see in a comic book movie, Robert Redford would surely have been on there somewhere.
It’s to Marvel’s credit that they’ve built their brand to such a high level that they can attract talent like this and as Alexander Pierce, Redford proved himself the ultimate bureaucratic foe for Captain America.
As the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the secret leader of HYDRA, this Meme inspiring baddie (“Hail Hydra!”) was one of 2014’s best, something which was helped by the weight Redfield brought to the part. Of course, the problem which comes with casting an actor like this is the expectations fans build up in their heads, and there was at least some disappointment when Pierce wasn’t revealed to be a well-known character like the Red Skull.
2. Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Believe it or not, WWE Superstar Triple H was a fan-favourite choice to play Thor back when Marvel were searching for an actor to play the God of Thunder, and we’re sure we don’t need to share a clip from Blade: Trinity to give you an idea of how that would have turned out!
In fact, any muscular actor with long blonde hair could have been called a “fan favourite choice” at the time as people seemed to have no real clue who Marvel should find to play this character. No one really knew who Chris Hemsworth was when he was revealed as Thor, and though he had delivered good performances in Star Trek and A Perfect Getaway, most were baffled by Marvel’s choice to cast that “guy from Home and Away”.
Of course, it didn’t take long for Hemsworth to prove any doubters wrong and it’s now impossible to imagine anyone else as Thor. Look for him to exercise his comedic muscles in the forthcoming Thor: Ragnarok.
1. Ezra Miller as The Flash
Not many comic book fans expected Grant Gustin to make the leap from the small to big screen for the recently announced movie starring The Flash, but the reveal that it would be Ezra Miller playing this version of Barry Allen was met with a very vocal response.
Despite being a fantastic young actor, Miller shares very few similarities with the comic book version of Barry Allen. After all, Gustin was accused of being too young and skinny for the role, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower is younger and skinnier than him.
While he may not the Chris Pine or Bradley Cooper-alike that fans wanted, it would not be fair to dismiss Miller for either of those reasons. With Warner Bros. apparently keen to emphasise diversity, whether or not the openly gay actor will be playing the first openly gay superhero in a comic book movie remains to be seen…
