10 Controversial Casting Decisions That Drove Fans Crazy
The casting of actors as any given characters is always a hot source of debate amongst fans.
Sometimes, casting directors get it so right that fans are immediately on board with their
choices - Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Jack Nicholson as The Joker, and Daniel Day-Lewis
as Abraham Lincoln were all seen as being absolutely perfect, for example - but that's
not always the case.In fact, audiences are very hard to please and convince, which means
that, more often than not, casting decisions are met with controversy.
In this video, we're going to explore just a handful of some of the casting decisions
that, initially at least, made fans go nuts.
Here are ten controversial casting decisions that drove fans crazy.
Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars Prequels
Following Jake Lloyd's disappointing and outright annoying portrayal of Anakin Skywalker as
a child in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the character was recast in
Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
Hayden Christensen was given the role of the character as a young man - but fans hated
the idea from the start.Christensen just wasn't the right guy to portray the character's transition
into one of cinema's most iconic villains - and the result of his casting was a performance
that was panned by fans and critics alike.
He "earned" two separate Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Supporting Actor for his
performances, reinforcing the fact that he was obviously the wrong choice for the role.
Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Several of the previous actors who played the Dark Knight drew controversy with their
casting - not least Michael Keaton, who was initially seen by fans as totally unsuitable
for the role, but went on to totally nail it - but none more so than Ben Affleck, who
was announced in 2013 as the man to take on the role in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn
of Justice.The main problem with Affleck was that he'd already flopped in the role of a
dark superhero years before - as Daredevil in 2003.
Batfans just weren't convinced by him, and took to the internet to vent their anger - even
creating a petition to have him removed from the role.
But, like Keaton, he nailed it - proving to fans that they should probably give actors
more of a chance in future.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The casting of Jesse Eisenberg as Batman's arch-nemesis Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman:
Dawn of Justice made fans pretty furious.
Eisenberg was neither bald, middle-aged, and nor did he have those typical stern and chiseled
facial features that are generally associated with the billionaire businessman.Even when
it was revealed that the version of the character in the movie would be Lex Luthor's son - Lex
Jr. - fans still weren't impressed.
Eisenberg just wasn't seen as villain material.
Ultimately, Eisenberg's portrayal divided opinion, with many fans citing the fact that
he played the character more like The Joker as a major problem, but he'll be reprising
the role in future DCEU movies - without his hair, incidentally - so we'll have to see
how that turns out in due course.
Jared Leto as The Joker in Suicide Squad Following Heath Ledger as The Joker was always
potentially going to be a poisoned chalice for any actor, but when Jared Leto - a notoriously
eccentric weirdo and dedicated method actor - was cast in the role, you would have thought
fans would have at least given him a chance.
That wasn't really the case, however.Leto was announced to make his DCEU debut as the
villain in Suicide Squad back in 2014, just six years after Ledger won his posthumous
oscar for playing the same character, and fans weren't convinced.
Moreover, when the first promotional images of Leto's version were released, the internet
went crazy - and not in a good way.
His portrayal ended up being...
different... to say the least, but a lot of his scenes were cut.
It's only fair that he's given a second chance in a future movie before we make a final judgement
on his suitability, however.
Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan in Green Lantern Whenever Ryan Reynolds portrays a character,
that character generally just comes across as being...
well...
Ryan Reynolds.
That's perfect for a character like Deadpool - Reynolds nailed that guy! - but when he
was cast as DC's Hal Jordan, fans of the Green Lantern were not impressed at all.Reynolds
just isn't Hal Jordan.
Sure, Jordan is quite a reckless guy thanks to his absolute lack of fear towards anything,
but he certainly isn't the cocky clown with the childish sense of humour that Reynolds
portrayed him as - and was always going to portray him as.
In this case, fans were right to be wary of this casting, as Reynolds proved that he wasn't
suitable for the role with his performance - and the movie unsurprisingly performed poorly
at the box office.
Scarlett Johansson as The Major in Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell is an extremely popular Japanese media franchise that has spanned
across various platforms, including Mangas, animated television series and animated movies.
It's a uniquely Japanese tale in many of its fans eyes, so the casting of Scarlett Johansson
as the live action movie's lead has kicked up a fuss.It has been viewed as a prime example
of Hollywood's ugly trend of whitewashing roles, as Johansson is obviously a white American
actress.
Producer Steven Paul believes fans will be satisfied with the movie when it comes out
in 2017, however, saying "I think everybody is going to end up being really happy with
it.
They’re going to be very, very happy with it when they see what we’ve actually done
with it, and I don’t think anybody’s going to be disappointed."
Justin Chatwin as Goku in Dragonball Evolution To many people, Goku is every bit as iconic
as the likes of Batman, Superman and Spider-Man - and can you honestly ever see Hollywood
changing the ethnicity of any of those guys?
No, because it would cause uproar - and that's exactly what happened when Goku was cast as
a white guy.Justin Chatwin was cast as the character who is, generally, unequivocally
Japanese.
This was another example of Hollywood whitewashing that didn't go down well with fans at all.
Others argued that Chatwin was also too old to portray the character, as he would've been
26 at the time of Dragonball Evolution's release.
Add on the fact that the movie totally sucked in general and you have one of the worst castings
of all time.
http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/dragonball04.jpg Finn Jones as Danny Rand in Iron Fist
Controversy over castings - and indeed the apparent trend of whitewashing - aren't just
limited to the world of movies, as the casting of Game of Thrones star Finn Jones as Danny
Rand in Netflix's Iron Fist proves.
Even though the character is white in the comic books, many people believed it would
have been the ideal opportunity to cast an Asian actor in a lead Marvel role.One of the
most critical people about the casting was Marvel writer Marjorie Liu, who tweeted "Iron
Fist is an orientalist-white-man-yellow-fever narrative.
Asian actor would have helped subvert that offensive trope, and reclaim space."
It remains to be seen how this casting will actually turn out, however, as Iron Fist doesn't
begin airing until 2017.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange
The Doctor Strange movie, in general, has caused alot of controversy with its casting.
There was more Hollywood whitewashing and a change of gender for the Ancient One, while
Baron Mordo was cast as a black character who will actually be an amalgamation of numerous
existing characters - but none were more controversial than the casting of the lead himself.One problem
was Benedict Cumberbatch's ubiquity in geek culture - he just seems to be everywhere,
and it was a case of "oh no, not him again" for some fans.
But another issue was a recurrence of the race problem.
Strange is often seen by fans as being racially ambiguous and, given that the leading MCU
Avengers are typically white males - at least those who have been given their own movies
anyway - casting another white leading hero was the last straw for many MCU fans.
Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson in Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon
Back to the small screen now, with an upcoming TV comedy movie that was cast earlier this
year.
The movie is going to be called Elizabeth, Michael & Marlon and is based on an alleged
road trip that was undertaken by Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson and Marlon Brando,
following the tragic events of 9/11.Stockard Channing is playing Taylor and Brian Cox is
Brando, but the controversial casting came in the form of Joseph Fiennes as Jackson.
Fiennes is British and white - and it's that subject of whitewashing rearing its head again.
Jackson was, of course, a black American man, but famously had a condition that lightened
his skin.
Given that this movie will be set in a time after that condition has taken effect, it
seems a little harsh to condemn this casting - but it will be interesting to see how it
turns out, nonetheless.
Thanks for watching our video of ten controversial casting decisions that drove fans crazy.
What did you think when these actors were cast in these roles?
Can you think of any casting decisions ever more controversial than these ones?
Leave a comment and let us know!
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