Comic Book Casting: The BOOSTER GOLD Live-Action Movie

In-House_Ad-1986How did one of the 25th century’s biggest schmucks turn into the 21st century’s greatest heroes? How does one of the biggest super-hero pretenders become a legitimate super-hero?

Those are the questions at the center of DC’s Booster Gold character. Mired sometimes down by pomposity, flamboyance and crossovers, this Dan Jurgens-created gem might seem like an unlikely choice to star in his own movie — but there’s gold inside Booster Gold. And here’s how it could be unearthed.

The Concept:

As I mentioned earlier, the story of Booster Gold — and a movie that would bear his name — is the hero’s journey, but not quite of the Joseph Campbell variety. It’s a story of an overgrown fanboy named Michael Jon Carter buried in a backwater burb of 25th century Gotham City, where both he and his time are living in the distant nostalgic memory of greatness that was the great superheroes of our time. Carter gets a job as a security guard at the Metropolis Space Museum, and uses that gig to abscond with various super-hero relics in order to establish his own career as a would-be super-hero. With various toys from a Legion flight ring to a force field belt used by Brainiac 5, Carter uses one last device — a dusty old time machine — to go back into the hey-day of heroes and have his name be entered entered in the history books beside that of of legends.

As he enters the 21st century, Carter finds that the world he read about in history texts doesn’t quite match up with the reality of the situation. Nevertheless, Carter uses a whole lot of hucksterism and a little bit of heroism to save the President of the United States from an assassination attempt, putting him square in the public eye and well on his way to being a celebrity. But as Booster Gold learns, there’s more to being a hero that putting on a public display. There’s living in the modern times, operating with his fellow heroes, and most importantly — saving the world.

That’s what the Booster Gold story would be in broad strokes — a man who sneaks into the super-hero business and finds the true meaning of being a hero. There’s a a chance to pull a Kubrick-esque commentary on celebrity culture with this super-heroic tale as Booster accumulated endorsement deals and sponsorships faster than a NASCAR racer. He’s far from likeable in the beginning, but that’s not a bad thing. Just as Iron Man transitioned from being a warmonger to a super-hero in his own movie, so would Booster Gold’s path to true heroism.

The Director:

For this movie, you need someone who’s more than just good at shooting a special effects action movie.  You need someone with an ear for dialogue and not afraid to take the piss out of things. For this, I’d nominate writer/director Martin McDonagh of Seven Psychopaths and In Bruges. While he hasn’t done a big budget Hollywood movie, he’s done great movies without that budget. Partnering McDonagh with some experienced producers to help bolster his special effects acumen could pave the way for an excellent and off-beat superhero flick.

The Cast:

Booster Gold / Michael Carter – Jason Segel: Wait, wait!! Put down your pitchforks and hear me out. Not every super-hero actor needs to have six-pack abs. Downey doesn’t, and neither did Reeve. In regards to Segel-as-Booster Gold, Segel has the ability to be an everyman actor in much the same way Tom Hanks does. And Segel’s comedic timing, to play the more humorous moments without veering out of dramatic territory is much needed to tell Booster Gold’s story. The fact that he isn’t a muscly super-hero type could become part of the Booster Gold schtick.

Skeets – Billy West: West is one of animation’s greatest voice actors; heck, I’d argue he’s right up their near Mel Blanc. And putting West into the role of Skeets would be an excellent use of his immense range and give the character a personality no celebrity actor could manage. Plus, West has played Skeets briefly in Justice League Unlimited.

Lorraine Reilly – Felicia Day: While Reilly’s Firehawk persona could possibly be covered in a future movie, for this initial Booster Gold movie outing I’d instead use the character solely as a non-powered civilian for Booster to come in contact with. Maybe she’s a superhero fan like Carter, but with an added hint of strangeness — you could even tie in the fact that her father’s a senator into a latter production reeling in the 1000. Felicia Day is tailor-made for a role like this, and the pairing of Segel and Day looks on paper to be monumental.

Rip Hunter – Sam Rockwell: It was Rip Hunter’s dusty old time machine that brings Booster Gold into our times, so what if Sam Rockwell (as Hunter) came back looking for it? Hunter’s a relative mess in modern DCU continuity, but that gives room for Rockwell and McDonagh to expand on him in their own ways. Hunter could be more than just a modern day Doc Brown  — but that’s a good start.

Vandal Savage – Jean Reno: He’s one of France’s greatest actors, and a riveting performer when he comes on screen. I’d love to see Reno play Vandal Savage, and be this movie’s primary antagonist. While Savage isn’t a primary adversary for Booster Gold in comics, I think the idea of an immortal man being  jealous of a gloryhound superhero fanboy with a time machine very intriguing, and Reno could make it all work impeccably.

 

Comments

  1. I wasn’t reaching for my pitchfork at all, I think Jason Segal imperfect to play Booster Gold. My only complaint is I can’t imagine Booster Gold without Blue Beetle. Yeah, I know they haven’t been together since Ted Kord was killed in th horrible storyline a few years back, but to me, thy are a package deal.

  2. I WOULD WATCH THE HELL OUT OF THIS

  3. Segel isn’t a bad choice. A while back I saw someone do a fan cast for JLI and used Sean William Scott and Paul Rudd as Booster and Beetle. I kinda liked that idea.

  4. Billy west also played Skeet son Batman the Brave and the Bold.

  5. Is this a real rumor? I’m down? I love the cast especially segal and west. Perfect

  6. Booster would work for a number of reasons, I think. First off, while he is very much tied to the greater DCU and is fairly well known to comic book fans he’s much more of a blank slate to non fans. The comparison to Iron Man is a good one as both Tony Stark and Booster are (or were) relatively unknown to comics fans, both characters (thanks to RDJ) are known for quick and snappy dialogue, and finally (as Chris noted) both are characters on a road to redemption.

    I think the idea of using a character like Ted Kord is, as JohnVFerrigno mentioned, a sound one. Not only does it subvert the cliche of a romantic subplot, but it enhances the aspect of friendship that the character has been about since Giffen and DeMatteis wrote him. The trick is to make Ted or the Ted stand in competent in his own right and not a sidekick. Remember Rob Schneider in Stallone’s Judge Dredd? Yeah, don’t do that.

    As for casting, while Segel isn’t my first choice, I think he’s a good one. Booster really is an everyman type character and to muscle him up means walking away from that. Segel is also good with both dialogue and physical comedy. The trick would be to downplay the physical side of it to avoid campiness and instead play the banter up. The Ted/Ted stand in and Skeets are definitely assets for that.

  7. Yes. Yes to everything in this article. Although I doubt Martin McDonagh would ever do a superhero movie, I’d love to watch him take a crack at it.

  8. I wouldn’t have thought of Segel on my own, but, yeah, he’d be a pretty good choice. I like Rockwell for Hunter as well. I think that a Booster film would have a lot of potential (for all the reasons listed above), and definitely be something I’d pay to see . . .

  9. Rockwell as Rip Hunter is fucking amazing casting sir

  10. Great ideas all around. I too would watch the hell out of this! I might save the introduction of Ted Kord for the sequel. Let Booster stand on his own, you’ve already got Rip Hunter in this, there’s your buddy pic right there.

  11. SEGEL!! NoNoNoNo……just give Booster back his own series with the Quantum Leap vibe and all will be well.

  12. Segel as Booster Gold is brilliant. AWESOME.

  13. This show would be some awesome. Just the cameo factor alone (of superheroes) would make it worth while. Is anyone in the TV industry can get this ball rolling?

  14. Segel for Booster Gold is inspired casting.

  15. I was on the fence, but Reno as Savage works for me. He could be pretty damn good, even if he’s not neanderthalish.

  16. Segel and Rockwell are genius casting, and Jean Reno would work well too, but who would play Per Degaton?