Cast Party: Who Should Star in an ‘Ultimates’ Movie?
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 I'm turning my attention to one of Marvel's most interesting current team books, The Ultimates, by Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort.
The Ultimates bridge the gap between The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. They're a team of heroes from Earth, but their concerns are cosmic. Their goal isn't to fight bad guys, but to solve the problems that threaten the entire universe. They even manage to cure Galactus of his hunger for planets, but then they discover that the entirety of time and space may be unraveling, which in turn leads to the reappearance of Anti-Man, who may be an even bigger threat (although he may also be a pretty nice guy at heart).
This is a huge fast-paced time/space-spanning adventure that's smart and high-stakes without being humorless. I'd love to get Justin Lin as director, coming off of Star Trek Beyond. And this is a Marvel Cinematic Universe space movie, so yes, there will be a Thanos cameo.
Denzel Washington as the Blue Marvel
Adam Brashear is an older, more mature superhero, and that's exactly the kind of character Washington embodies at this point in his career.
Rutina Wesley as Spectrum
Wesley radiates strength and confidence. Monica Rambeau radiates those qualities and also literal light and energy.
Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther
I'm sticking with Marvel's choice here, because he's basically a perfect T'Challa.
Brie Larson as Captain Marvel
Okay, Larson is less my dream choice for the role Marvel has given her than Boseman. She's younger and smaller and more femme than the Carol Danvers that lives in my head. But she's a great actress, and at the end of the day I'm really interested to see what she does with the part. If she's going to be in this movie though, she's going to have to get the haircut.
Vivian Lamolli as Ms. America Chavez
Lamolli has plenty of youthful energy, which is absolutely essential to playing America. She also has that look down.
Matthew McConaughey as Anti-Man
Anti-Man is the Blue Marvel's oldest friend, and his worst enemy. We're still not sure he can ever be trusted, and McConaughey is the kind of actor who's great at those dichotomies.
Common as Kevin Brashear
Adam's son has ascended to interdimensional being, and Common has a deep resonant voice that's perfect for that. Plus we can make his bald head glow blue.
Ben Schwartz as Molecule Man
At this point Molecule Man is just a weird guy who lives outside the universe watching TV. Schwartz was born for this sort of thing.
Peter Mensah as Eternity
I want to use as much of Mensah's real face as possible, even though he's playing the entire omniverse. I think he has it in him.
Skyler Samuels as Lisa Halloran
I only wish there was room for America's girlfriend to have a bigger part (in the comic and the movie), but Samuels will be memorable for however long she has on screen.