Welcome to Cast Party, the feature that imagines a world with even more live action comic book adaptations than we currently have, and comes up with arguably the best casting suggestions you’re ever going to find for the movies and shows we wish could exist. This week we're looking to the indies, and imagining a movie based on Operation Margarine, the 2013 graphic novel by Katie Skelly.

The title character, Margarine Litre, is a rich girl who runs away after spending time in a mental hospital. Her partner in this escape is Bon-Bon, a tough girl with bad luck in love. The two ride motorcycles through the desert, camp under the stars, eat at diners, and run from a biker gang whose leader has a vendetta against Bon-Bon.

I don't think realism should be a concern for this movie. Like the comic, it should look a lot like the early 1960s, but with an occasional iPhone to let you know it's the future. Also in keeping with the comic, the narrative should have an elliptical quality. Tone should be as important as plot. With that in mind, I'd pick Sophia Coppola to direct. The troubled rich girl protagonist is right in her wheelhouse, and I suspect she'd create some truly beautiful dialogue-free scenes of the girls riding their motorcycles through the desert, set to just the perfect song.

  • Tavi Gevinson as Margarine

    Katie Skelly/Fox
    Katie Skelly/Fox
    loading...

    Gevinson's yet to play a lead role on screen, but she'd be a great match for Coppola, and perfect for the part. She looks exactly like Margarine, for one thing.

  • Rila Fukushima as Bon-Bon

    Katie Skelly/Fox
    Katie Skelly/Fox
    loading...

    Fukushima is making a name for herself playing tough women who can handle themselves in a fight.

     

  • Lisa Edelstein as Margarine's Mom

    Katie Skelly/Fox
    Katie Skelly/Fox
    loading...

    I almost gave this part to Christine Baranski, but that felt too obvious. I've always liked Edelstein, and she has a lot of class.

  • Michael Cera as Richard

    Katie Skelly/Netflix
    Katie Skelly/Netflix
    loading...

    A Very Murray Christmas really won me over to Michael Cera playing dirtbags. I think it's going to be the next phase of his career.

     

  • Aubrey Plaza as the Galaxy Diner Waitress

    Katie Skelly/NBC
    Katie Skelly/NBC
    loading...

    The Waitress barely says anything, but she radiates contempt. Exactly the sort of thing Plaza was born for.

     

  • Dean Ambrose as the Vagrant

    Katie Skelly/WWE
    Katie Skelly/WWE
    loading...

    Ambrose might be a little too handsome to play this creep, but he does kind of have a trash-eating-possum quality, which is just what the role calls for.

     

  • Michael Eklund as Edgar

    Katie Skelly/Lionsgate
    Katie Skelly/Lionsgate
    loading...

    I first noticed Eklund in the Soska Sisters' movies, in which he's played more than one stylish weirdo.

     

  • Christian Kane as Paul

    Katie Skelly/TNT
    Katie Skelly/TNT
    loading...

    Okay, we all know Christian Kane's arms are a lot bigger than that. But he's got great hair for the part, and I just want to see him in more things.

     

  • Cara Delevingne as Billy

    Katie Skelly/Fox
    Katie Skelly/Fox
    loading...

    Delevingne's always fun to watch, and she has an "over it" quality that I think will bring something to the role of Billy. Plus she'll look great with one weird eye.

  • Clara Biznass, Uncle Meg, and Ash Wednesday as the Nuns

    Katie Skelly/AM:Racket
    Katie Skelly/AM:Racket
    loading...

    The members of Hand Job Academy, a queer feminist rap trio, will bring some extra charm to these brief roles. As long as they're here, maybe they can do a song for the closing credits too.

More From ComicsAlliance