10 Actors Cast As The Wrong Characters In Comic Book Movies

Despite where your allegiances lie, you can't deny that Marvel and DC have made some pretty awesome casting choices over the years. From Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man to Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, there have been some terrific actors in major roles in superhero films. With the good, however, there's also been some bad, as several casting decisions have left a lot to be desired. Sometimes, the role was too small for the caliber of performer, while in other instances, the actor was just plain wrong for the part. Either way, many talented individuals have been wasted when they shouldn't have. Taking a look back at the super-powered blockbusters, I've identified 10 actors whom I believe were cast as the wrong characters in superhero films. Naturally, these selections are open for debate, so don't be shy about letting me know what you think in the comments section down below. Got it? Good. Without further ado, let's begin. Scott Eastwood Imagine you're David Ayer for a second. You've been handed the reins to write and direct Suicide Squad. Not only are you given an incredible A-list cast to work with, but you're also presented with Scott Eastwood - the son of Clint Eastwood and one of the hottest rising stars in Hollywood. What do you do? You cast him as GQ, a pointless character whose biggest highlight in the film was wearing a backwards cap. Naturally, when Eastwood was first cast, the tongues were wagging, hoping that he'd be an undercover Dick Grayson/Nightwing or even Slade Wilson/Deathstroke. Those options would've made more sense than casting him as GQ, a role that could've gone to any pro wrestler wanting a break in the industry. It's even sadder to think that he only got the part because Warner Bros. didn't want Shia LaBeouf anywhere near the set. Seeing him as Grayson would've been the best option here. Not only does he have the physique, but he also has the charisma to pull off the role. Maybe GQ dying in the explosion was a massive misdirection and he actually is Nightwing? Now that, would be a genius move on Geoff Johns' part. Lucas Till After watching X-Men: First Class, it was evident that Lucas Till was an excellent choice to portray Alex Summers/Havok. Yet, the subsequent films chose to largely ignore Till and most of his co-stars in favor of recreating the better known X-Men team, aka The Jennifer Lawrence Show. If this was the plan all along, then maybe Till was chosen to play the wrong Summers brother in the first place. He certainly doesn't the lack the smugness - or hair - to be Scott Summers/Cyclops. In fact, his role as Alex is more Cyclops-like than Tye Sheridan's in X-Men: Apocalypse. Out of all the breakout stars from X-Men: First Class, Till is probably the one with the most reason to be aggrieved. What appeared to be a long run in the mutant franchise ended up fizzling faster than Milli Vanilli's career. At least he's MacGyver now. That's gotta be some consolation, right? James Franco Fun fact: James Franco was originally considered for the part of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. As we all know by now though, that role went to Tobey Maguire and Franco ended up as Harry Osborn. Truth be told, Franco did well as Osborn, but what if he had actually ended up as the wall-crawler? It would've made for an interesting contrast in approaches. Thinking back to Emo Peter in Spider-Man 3, however, maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to have Franco in the lead there instead. One thing's for sure: he would've danced better than Maguire. If you still have doubts about Spider-Franco, please take a look at Todd McFarlane's run in The Amazing Spider-Man circa the late eighties/early nineties. Who looks exactly like Peter in those pages? Franco. It's like the man was born to be bitten by a radioactive spider. David Harbour Here's another actor who got the wrong end of the stick in Suicide Squad. David Harbour has been proving his mettle on the small screen for some time now, including breakout performances on The Newsroom and Stranger Things. His reward for his hard work? A role as a government official who had virtually no screen time. It's a bizarre part for someone of his abilities - and rather insulting, if you ask me. It makes you wonder if the filmmakers recognized the sheer amount of talent in their film. Mind you, judging by the all the reports and the final cut, not too many people knew what the hell was going on in that movie. In our opinion, Harbour could've easily portrayed Griggs, the sleazy Belle Reve guard who gets in deep with the Joker and constantly provokes the prisoners. While it's not a massive part, it's still a lot better than what he ended up with. Lauren Cohan The role of Martha 'Why Did You Say That Name?' Wayne is extremely symbolic. However, it's not exactly the sort of acting job that allows for major character development or recurring appearances. You rock up, walk out of the theatre, and you die. That's it. The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan received the coveted role of Bruce's mother in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yet, you can't help but wonder if she wouldn't have made a better Iris West in the forthcoming Justice League film. While Iris and Lois Lane are both hard-hitting reporters, there's a gentler side to Ms. West that could be captured by someone like Cohan. Also, it's easy to see her playfully chastising Barry Allen for constantly being late. Unless there's a major Flashpoint storyline in the DCEU, it's safe to say that we won't be seeing Cohan again. Although, Zack Snyder does love his flashbacks and esoteric moments, so it's highly possible that she may appear as an apparition or in some other form later on. Aaron Stanford Now, this was a super strange casting decision. Pyro is largely a C-grade supervillain, while Aaron Stanford was a rising star at the time. When he first appeared in X2, the 12 Monkeys actor had the perfect look and was the right age to portray a younger Ragin' Cajun, Gambit. Sadly, Stanford received a muddled arc where he was an X-Man and Bobby Drake/Iceman's BFF, then decided to join the Brotherhood of Mutants because he was an angry teenager. His motivations were unclear, but by the time the mess known as X-Men: The Last Stand came around, I don't think anyone really knew what was going on anymore and stopped caring. Still to this day, one has to wonder why Bryan Singer was reluctant to feature Gambit in his original trilogy. I mean, we had Pyro - and honestly, how many of us actually even care about this character? Willem Dafoe The greatest sin in cinema history is that Willem Dafoe hasn't been able to portray the Joker. From the fan artwork to the countless blogs stating why it's a total no-brainer, there's an army of people begging for this to happen, but Warner hasn't pulled the trigger. Instead, they went and cast Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko in Justice League and gave us Juggalo Joker. You need only see Dafoe's performance as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin to understand why he's the logical choice to don the purple suit and lipstick smile. No other actor can convey as much simultaneous menace and delight as Dafoe can, while still delivering a scintillating performance. Also, he's probably the only person in the world who could get anywhere close to pulling off Mark Hamill's version of the character in the animated series. This one hurts because it was probably the last chance for Dafoe to become the Clown Prince of Crime. He's already over sixty, so it's unlikely that he'd even want the role if it came his way. Alas, sometimes, the world just isn't fair. Liv Tyler Had The Incredible Hulk been successful, there's no doubt we'd be seeing more of Liv Tyler in the MCU. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be, so she's become nothing more than a casualty of the Hulk films. What did end up being a misstep perhaps is the failure to cast Tyler as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. When you look at Tyler's poise and consider her graceful performances as Arwen Undómiel in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it isn't hard to see that she'd be the ideal candidate to play the calm-like-a-storm mutant. There will be those who defend Elizabeth Olsen's turn as Wanda, but honestly, she had the same amount of charisma as a half-cooked potato. In fact, she was so bland that I bemoan the fact that Joss Whedon killed off the wrong Maximoff sibling in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Jesse Eisenberg Ah, one of the most hated film castings in recent times: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. It isn't hard to disagree with the negative sentiment and the criticism. He pretty much played Mark Zuckerberg in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and we all paid to see him do it again. If you think about it, Eisenberg is more suited to be Jimmy Olsen. Not only does he have the nerdy stature and jittery demeanor to portray The Daily Planet's photojournalist, but he's got also the look down to a tee. As an actor, Eisenberg is decent enough to play a supporting role, but he's far from a leading man in blockbusters. Heck, if Snyder felt like killing off Eisenberg's Jimmy like he did Michael Cassidy's, that would've been okay as well. No one would miss Eisenberg, because we'd still have Michael Cera, right? Richard Armitage It's possible that Marvel didn't realize how big of a star that Richard Armitage was poised to become after The Hobbit trilogy, hence his almost-invisible role in Captain America: The First Avenger. Mind you, did any of us see it coming in hindsight? Rather than cast him as Red Skull's assassin, Armitage should've been set aside until Captain America: Civil War, to play none other than Helmut Zemo. Take nothing away from Daniel Brühl as an actor - he did the best he could with a poorly written villain - but Armitage could've easily been a closer-to-the-comics version of the character. Who wouldn't want to see a fully-kitted out Zemo battling away with Captain America? Armitage still hasn’t been gobbled up by any of the other comic book properties, so there is time for Marvel to sign him up for another character. Frankly, if I were in their shoes, I would do so before DC swoops in and takes him into their corner. Tell us, are there any other actors who you think were cast as the wrong characters in comic book movies? As always, please let us know in the comments section below.