MTV Splash Page “stumbled upon” the great idea of doing a weekly feature where they fantasy-cast the roles of some of the biggest and yet-to-be-cast superhero movies that are currently in the pipeline (truly an original concept).
If you’ve already seen our own Screen Rant features like “Potential villains of Wolverine 2“, “Should The Joker & Two-Face Return for Batman 3?” or any of our excellent Avengers-related features, you already get the idea: it’s fun to pretend that you (the audience) control the movie universe.
Well, for their inaugural post, Splash Page speculates on which actors are best fit to be painted purple in order to play Hal Jordan’s mentor-turned-nemesis, Sinestro, opposite Ryan Reynolds in the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Green Lantern.
And I have to say, it’s a pretty impressive list.
Here are the actors that Splash Page nominated:
Daniel Day-Lewis
Danny Huston (Wolverine, Clash of the Titans)
Jeremy Irons
Guy Pearce
Gary Oldman
You’ll have to head over to the actual Splash Page article if you want to see pics of the actors (do they look the part of Sinestro?) as well as quick blurbs as to why they would be good fits for the role. For our purposes here, let’s recap who Sinestro is, and what he means to mythos of Green Lantern.
For those who don’t know, when Hal Jordan is first awarded his power ring and summoned to Oa, home base of the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro is the most celebrated (and feared) member of the corps. He takes Hal Jordan under his wing and teaches him the ropes. The turning point in their relationship comes when Sinestro is empowered with a yellow ring (weakness of Green Lanterns) and his ambitions for universal martial order finally bubble to the surface, forcing Hal to become the proverbial student who ultimately bests the teacher.
In the years since that initial setup, Hal and Sinestro have gone at it time and again, most recently in acclaimed DC Comics (and DC/WB films) writer Geoff Johns’ now-classic “Sinestro Corps War” storyline. DC Universe’s recent animated feature, Green Lantern: First Flight, also made great use of Sinestro – so good, in fact, that the character’s descent into villainy completely overshadows the origin story of Hal Jordan.
Sinestro is a complicated character, to say the least. The best analogy I can think of would be Denzel Washington’s Detective Alonzo Harris in Training Day: Sinestro is essentially a veteran cop who views the system as broken and the laws as guidelines to be side-stepped, stretched, or even outright broken. He’s also a master manipulator – a tactic he employs until the moment arrives to start kicking ass, in which case Sinestro is as brutal and ruthless as they come.
I say all that to say: It’s going to take a VERY strong actor to truly nail all the subtleties of Sinestro – especially if earlier script reports are true, and Sinestro will actually play more of a “Senator Palpatine role” (a mentor with shades of villainy) for much of this first Green Lantern film. Remember, Denzel Washington earned an Oscar™ for nailing such a complicated role – you think about it like that, suddenly you start wondering if maybe they SHOULDN’T be pushing for a heavyweight like Daniel Day-Lewis to take on the part. I’m just saying, the man WOULD be great…
Daniel Day-Lewis as Sinestro? (Not that it would ever happen)
What do you think: what kind of actor is it going to take to do Sinestro justice? Do you agree with MTV’s picks?
The Green Lantern is set to hit theaters on June 17, 2011 – that’s IF it can straighten out its current budgetary woes and still make it into production on time this fall.
Source: MTV Splash Page
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“50 Cent”!!!!!!!…yes that was a joke. Seriously though, maybe Sam Jackson.
Daniel day Lewis would never agree to it so my next choice would be Hugo Weaving..He would be a great Sinestro and has the chops to nail the role..Plus he’s worked for WB before!!
How on earth Hugo Weaving didn’t make that list goes beyond me…
The guy from The Hangover that wanted to play Green Lantern should get a shot. We know he can play “evil” because of his role in the wedding crashers so give him a shot. It would be interesting too considering he wanted to play the hero. Or I could be way off, lol.
I vote Jeremy Irons.
I think Guy Pearce would make a GREAT Sinestro.
Lists like these bother me. Almost always they’re just a list of big name actors who have played evil villain characters before.
Not really all that inspired.
For that reason alone I think the role should go to Guy Pearce, since he’s never had that kind of role and it would be a refreshing change.
Although, I won’t lie. Jeremy Irons certainly has the look.
Guy Pearce is a very good actor and should be Sinestro. I mean his acting in Memento was flawless and he was the bad guy in a very under rated Count of Monte Cristo.
I agree with R. Squid…. Hugo Weaving would be an awesome Sinestro.
Jason Isaac. Need I say more
I would love to see Rpbert Knepper but compare him to reynolds he’s to small
lol if it was disney making this it would probally be Tim Curry
whoops ment to type Robert
my bad
Sarah Jessica Parker. She’s kind of a guy right? just kidding
I vote Hugo Weaving
@dafadge,
LOL on the Tim Curry
Hugo Weaving sounds good
I say be bring David Niven back to life and give him the role!
From the first picture,I say John Waters.
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Yeah, I also support the Hugo Weaving idea, but Guy Pearce would do nice in the role. Jeremy Irons is also a really good choice.
Hugo “Agent Smith” Weaving was born for this kind of a role.
@ Kofi
What do you think about Weaving?
yeah, if john waters could act he’d look the part.
just give him a red tinted skin.
Lol
as huge as a GL fan i am its hard to put an actor into a truly Amazing character.
so any actor that can capture the essance of Sinestro Visually/&/Vocaly and get the proper ohm of the charecter.
but who ?
a good actor who has some talent and can immers himself with the character.
i say Hugo weaving.
.
and as long as we’r FAN-CASTing
i say Killowog – Ron Perlman
(or, if he is getting sick of creature roles, Brad Garret)
of make kilowog CG and get RON to Voice him at least.
Kofi Outlaw could be good since he seems to love the comics and would want a good Green Lantern film
So far my vote goes for Hugo Weaving. He seems to be brilliant in the diversity of his roles. Besides his “look” would, to me, give Sinestro a nice appeal. I say a big NO to Guy Pearce.
We are talking about an actor with the sophistication, cunning and debonair of Max Von Sydow combined with the physical capabilities of Matt Damon. With Ryan Reynolds being marketed as the main character, we’re looking for an acting compliment that won’t overshadow his performance while still drawing a crowd. We need an actor that has longevity in career to carry the arch-enemy relationship into multiple episodes as well as an actor that could carry the load of the relationship with a story of his own-and bring many fans with him.
Now, the big question is……who?
I would like to say Leonardo DiCaprio-he has shown bits and pieces of potential but just hasn’t pulled it all together to be that one dynamic persona. He’s got characteristics that are similar to Man Von Sydow but isn’t close to being Matt Damon-like.
An actor that scared the sh t out of me recently is Ben Foster-he is Matt Damon in physical capabilities multiplied by 10. I have yet to see the depth of Ben Foster tested through dramatic roles as Hollywood is putting him on the manly-man typecasting tour at the moment. His work in Alpha Dog was beyond spectacular.
Clive Owen? Is it me or is Clive Owen always looking TOO relaxed, as if the bong is always within reach. He’s close, but not quite.
Although I do not have any one choice, I will break out my betting dollars that choice ends up being Cillian Murphy. His characters come off as soft, hard, educated, witty, sinister, diabolical. Cillian Murphy also has the physical build that can endure a daily regiment playing the role of Sinestro.
Whoever is chosen, I’m just ecstatic that Green Lantern is finally coming, and I will pray daily that there will be enough interest and investment into this story to become a successful franchise.
I was going to go with Jeremy Irons until someone mentioned Hugo Weaving. He would be PERFECT for the part. I can see him in the makeup already!
Oh, and another big NO to Guy Pearce….
Daniel Day Lewis only does artsy projects
Wolverine was the crappiest big summer movie of the year, they already have one actor from that steaming pile, two would be one too many
Jeremy Irons would be perfect, though even better would be building a time machine and plucking 1970 Leonard Nimoy to do it
Gary Oldman would’nt do it either
Guy pierce, ok if jeremy Irons says no. Actually Guy pierce would prob make a better Hal Jordan than Ryan Reyonlds
Timothy Dalton. Villainous, sophisticated AND manages to look good with a moustache.
HANDS DOWN….HUGO WEAVING
I was thinking Guy Pearce but looking at that picture at the top LOL maybe John Waters