Comic Book Casting: Wolverine & The X-Force

Although the Avengers might be outpacing the X-Men in the movie department these days, I’d still argue that the X-side of the Marvel U has significantly more potential than Cap and his buddies. I’m not advocating a Maggot movie here (although…), but if you look at how the X-Men team has expanded over the years you can see the potential. And given the unique circumstances of the X-Men movies at this point, now would be the perfect time to introduce the X-Force.

One thing though — I think it should be Rick Remender and Jerome Opena’s.

Here’s how I’d do it.

The Concept:

Almost everyone here at the iFanboy HQ went gaga when Remender and Opena’s Uncanny X-Force launched in 2010. It combined a deep and respectful understanding of the breadth of X stories from the past, while giving  the series a new reader-friendly direction that succinctly put, showed what happens when heroes kill.

This could be in a way another Wolverine movie, although as an ensemble piece; you could bank on Jackman’s cache as Wolverine but give him more freedom (and less screen time) to introduce these other heroes. I’d take the first story-arc of Uncanny X-Force, “The Apocalypse Solution,” and show Wolverine assembling the team and going after a revived Apocalypse in the form of a pre-teen boy. For the movie I might have a Professor X cameo to show how Wolverine’s hit squad is not working within the bounds, authority or knowledge of the X-Men to build up how that might come crashing them in later. And with showing a kid-version of Apocalypse, you introduce him as a threat without over-exposing him in his full majesty. The X movies could still show an adult Apocalypse down the road, or even show him in a flashback movie from the throwback X-Men: First Class series.

One thing though…. no Deadpool. As much as Remender endeared Wade to fans in the movie, given his solo movie with Ryan Reynolds a go I could easily see him omitted from this and have the remaining members, particularly Fantomex, fill in those gaps.

The Director:

Call me crazy, but my pick is someone who’s never directed a movie before: Sons of Anarchy showrunner Kurt Sutter. After building up steam in The Shield, Sutter has positively killed it on this FX biker drama and in addition to writing a majority of the episodes has directed several of the season finales. In my mind, he’s born and bred like Joss Whedon — a reliable TV show vet who has a unique voice that would translate well to the big screen. Sutter’s already working on a boxing drama for Eminem called Southpaw and was tapped at one time to remake Bruce Lee’s Enter The Dragon, and although neither of those have panned out (yet) it’s just a matter of time before he steps up. Putting him on a X-Men hit squad like X-Force could be an ideal project for him and for Fox, as long as they give him room to work.

The Cast:

Wolverine – Hugh Jackman: No brainer. And for those who say Jackman might be too big to star in a team movie anymore, I think giving him a high paycheck and lower demands for screen presence could be just the thing to have him lead the movie. Plus, I think seeing how Marvel’s The Avengers worked out might convince him too.

Archangel – Ben Foster: Ben Foster has been great in 3:10 To  Yuma and The Mechanic, and he’d be a great choice to play the conflicted Warren Worthington III. Bonus? He played him in the abysmal X-Men: The Last Stand although didn’t get the screen time or script to show off.

Fantomex – Vincent Cassel: French super-spy, wise-talker and (if I had my way) filler for Deadpool’s role in the movie. For this, no one other than French megastar Vincent Cassel could suffice. Some people might know him for Ocean’s Twelve or Black Swan, but for me this choice is based on Mesrine and Dobermann.

Psylocke – Nakashima Mika: Although this character made her debut as a minor character in X-Men: The Last Stand, I’d try to wipe that from my mind and recast the role with Japanese actress Nakashima Mika. Some people might veer towards more popular Asian actresses in America, but none are as genuine or as spirited as I think Mika could be in this role.

Ozymandias – Khaled Nabawy: Another unknown to American audiences, but  that doesn’t mean he isn’t good — great, even. His work in 2009’s The Traveler was excellent, and he’s arguably one of Egypt’s top actors today.

Apocalypse – Jared Gilmore: How can a good looking boy be so potentially evil? It takes more than just a boy off the street, and I’d pick Once Upon A Time Jared Gilmore to make this happen. He plays the plucky innocent well, but his time playing Bobby Draper in Mad Men shows some shades of him having a dark side to share.