Babylon 5 Movie through Studio JMS

[moreorless]

If Tom Cruise, arguably the biggest movie star on the planet, is fair game, why stop there?

Sinclair: Harrison Ford
Sheridan: Tom Cruise
Garibaldi: Bruce Willis
Ivanova: Angelina Jolie
Franklin: Will Smith ("You're gonna let your kid die? Aww, hell naw!")
G'Kar: Johnny Depp
Delenn: Natalie Portman
Londo: Tom Hanks

This could work ...

I think your locked into the mindset of previous B5 personally, if your talking a $100 million film then at least one big name actor is certainly not that unrealistic and as has been pointed out Cruise does have a history with Sci fi.

Personally I tend to find films/TV that look to create a self contained world most effective with a lesser known cast who can inhabit the roles but stars are a big part of why a lot of films get made.

[Jan]

Lets play the 'casting game' a little differently.

Take actors from B5 and Crusade and recast them to a different part. Assume that they would look the same as when we last saw them in the B5 universe. Feel free to mix and match genders if you feel that the part could be played effectively. And post why.

So as to not get overwhelming, only one at a time.

I'll start:

David Allen Brooks (Max Eilerson on Crusade) recast as Garibaldi
- because he played Eilerson so well, I think he could really portray Garibaldi with all of his cynicism but also play a vulnerable side of Garibaldi's insecurities and alcoholism sympathetically.


Who's next?

Jan

[DaveNarn]

I'll wade into the shallow-end with Daniel Dae Kim as Zack Allen.

Kim brought a complex undertone to Matheson's smooth surface. He was a good second to Gideon in Crusade and could take on the job as Chef Of Security after Garibaldi was gone - even as a none telepath.

I also toyed with the idea of Kim as Londo, but that would mean bringing his perfomance from 'Lost' and I don't think we are allowed to cross-the-streams

[timk519]

Swap Neroon / John Vickery with a technomage -

Michael Ansara / Elric or Peter Woodward / Galen.


I had the privilege of seeing John Vickery play a roman general at the Ontario Stratford Festival, and it was a real challenge to get the image of Neroon out of my head.

[Looney]

NO ANGELINA JOLIE ! ! !

I would LOVE to Cruise tackle Garibaldi, but I don't think he would do it for a franchise film.

I would love to see Kim as Londo because of the range it would demonstrate. I don't think Sinclair would be enough of a stretch.


Now Jan's recasting game. (I'll do one person at a time, but not one role. )

Mira Furlan - Bester, Sinclair, Ivanova, Londo, Morden, Lyta/Talia or really push the envelope and make her Garibaldi. Lesser roles -Clark, Technomage, Zathras, Captain of any visiting Earthforce vessel, ISN Anchor, and I could go on. Sorry Jan. Just be glad I kept it to one person. I had several typed before I went back and saw your one at a time rule.

[DaveNarn]

Richard Moll who played Max in 'Hunter Prey' as Ta'Lon.

Of course he would be a Narn also.

[DaveNarn]

Tony Todd as Captain Lochley.
I don't know about his brief marriage to Sheridan though

I liked him as Captain Anderson of the Earthforce destroyer Charon in the A Call to Arms movie.

[sarthaz]

Ack, I made a big list and then realized it's one-at-a-time!

Let's start with Teryl Rothery as Delenn

[Dr. Fares]

$200 million with Cruise would I'd imagine be easier to raise than $100 million without a big star, again not that I'm really pushing for him although I could see him playing a Sinclair like character.

Tom Cruise seems to be the guy who is always on the red carpet, and he knows how to play the crowds.

He does sci-fi well, Edge Of Tommorrow and Oblivian for example and he knows how to make an entertaining movie franchise with Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation due out July 31, 2015


He would be a good station commander or maybe a better Garibaldi?

He would most likely need to star, again he wouldn't be my first choice but honestly I could see him playing a character close to Sinclair, especially if the tension round similar potential involvement in the Minbari is played up. Cruise these days isn't so easy to buy as a standard hero but he plays a strung out/desperate well IMHO.

As you say Cruise and sci fi go together a lot, besides those two you have War of the Worlds and Minority Report.

If JMS is rebooting Babylon 5, he needs to have a slightly younger man play the part of Sheridan, I'd think. But the big thing is, he needs somebody to play Sinclair, and then have the movie series eventually (if there's a sequel) transition to Sheridan.

My choice for actors:

David Boreanaz-Sinclair

Chris Pratt-Sheridan

Garibaldi-Antonio Sabato Jr.

Delenn-Scarlett Johanson

Susan Ivanova-Anne Hathaway

Franklin-Shemar Moore

Mollari-Roberto Benigni

Vir-Masi Oka

[Nastastu]

...I could see him playing a Sinclair like character.

I just died a little inside.

[moreorless]

I just died a little inside.

Again it would be far from my first choice but it could potentially be a character similar to previous Cruise roles if it was more focused on the tension and mystery. What I couldn't see Cruise playing is more of a Sheridan role, that is a war leader bringing races/characters together to fight the shadows or a corrupted earth.

If JMS is rebooting Babylon 5, he needs to have a slightly younger man play the part of Sheridan, I'd think. But the big thing is, he needs somebody to play Sinclair, and then have the movie series eventually (if there's a sequel) transition to Sheridan.

My choice for actors:

David Boreanaz-Sinclair

Chris Pratt-Sheridan

Garibaldi-Antonio Sabato Jr.

Delenn-Scarlett Johanson

Susan Ivanova-Anne Hathaway

Franklin-Shemar Moore

Babylon 5, your last best hope for a modelling career?

Anne Hathaway as Ivanova does seem like a potentially good casting although again this does assume were looking at a pretty close retelling of the B5 story where as I can think of a few reasons why this might not be the case.

Most obviously were now potentially talking about a film not a TV series, even if the plan were for a series of films I would suggest that would make it very difficult to have as many characters with a good deal of depth as well and to have a number of different plots running concurrently.

Then as mentioned a few posts ago whilst B5 might be rather more popular than many believe its likely not popular enough with the general public to draw the kind of audience a $100 million film needs. Added to that I would say the popularity it has isn't so totally tied up in the characters , the original Trek really always was about Kirk/Spock/Bones so its natural the remake would revisit them where as B5 was also sold on the wider plot/concepts.

Finally your talking about the same writer/producer remaking his own work not someone else looking to put a spin on anothers work. I could well see JMS taking the view that the characters as they are were too tied up to the original actors and that generally he'd told the story as it was as well as he could. Maybe take a similar more streamlined premise and plug a smaller number of new characters into it?

[Ubik]

Peter Woodward as G'Kar...

Although I often found Galen a bit over the top in terms of acting, I think that's was how the character was envisaged and Woodward delivered accordingly. I think he could totally pull off G'Kar and do something more understated.

[Nastastu]

Peter Woodward as G'Kar...

That had never even crossed my mind but now that you mention it...that just might work.

[Ubik]

That had never even crossed my mind but now that you mention it...that just might work.

Yeah, I mean you can NEVER replace Andreas, but I think Peter would do a good job. Given we're talking hypotheticals anyway. I'd also love to see Peter Jurasik have a crack at it.

[Jan]

Yeah, I mean you can NEVER replace Andreas, but I think Peter would do a good job. Given we're talking hypotheticals anyway. I'd also love to see Peter Jurasik have a crack at it.

I think that would be *amazing*! Only Peter knows the discussions he and Andreas had when deciding how to perform against each other. He could play it as either an homage or completely different. Either one could be great.

Jan