CAST THIS: Lion-O

OK, so there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot of news to work with this week about upcoming films I could be casting in this column, so I’m going to go with this post, where I gave you the rundown of the leaked script for the THUNDERCATS movie, a project that Warner Bros. currently has shelved in favor of other endeavors.

But with a full script written (and not a half bad one to boot) the project is far from dead, and so I thought this week we could give Warners a little inspiration to kick start the film again by giving them their lead cat, LION-O!

Human-cat hybrids are all the rage these days after AVATAR, and so the prospect of bringing the Thundercats to life seems like something that might actually work, despite its rather bizarre universe. Today we’re looking for someone to play Lion-O, the young lord leader of the Thundercats, who as you can see, is something of a feline badass.

Yes, it’s true that theoretically, the character could be CGI and Na’vi-like, but I think these things look human enough where prosthetics alone could get the job done.

But in either case, we do need an actor, someone buff, confident and with leadership potential. And NOT Taylor Lautner, good lord, I’m going to crack if I see that kid cast in one more lead role. This could be a big part for a newcomer, and lord knows we need more action stars these days.

Last Week: SNAKE PLISSKEN

So ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK is being rebooted, and no one’s terribly happy about that. But we tried to cast the lead last week, and what a surprise!

1. Kurt Russell (50%) 2. Josh Holloway (18%) 3. Tom Jane (6%)

Well, it’s better than the Jason Bourne poll results I guess. I agree with the majority of you that Kurt Russell is still well-able to take up the part again. If you saw him in DEATH PROOF, you’ll know why. Sure he’d have to bust his ass to get in shape most likely, but I think he could definitely get it done and reprise his iconic role.

I do disagree that ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK “shouldn’t” be rebooted. Have you gone back and watched it lately? I really don’t think it ages well. It could really benefit from an actual budget, actual special effects, and a halfway decent script, and if Kurt Russell himself is back on board, I really don’t see a problem with the whole idea. Tear me up for the minority opinion if you want, but honestly, it’s a fundamentally cool concept that I think could benefit from some modernizing. 

Josh Holloway does need a starring role someday, and if Kurt won’t do it, I’d like to see him step up as he’s got the necessary swagger. Tom Jane is alright, but I don’t really see him in this part.

Alright, now, Thundercats HO!