With Apocalypse Now going over schedule by more than two years, it’s more than unlikely that a remake will be greenlit any time soon, and maybe it shouldn’t be, as the Vietnam War movie is arguably the greatest war movie ever made.
However, if a remake was ever put into production, there are a few actors who could reach the heights of Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando’s intensity, but there are a couple who would come extremely close...
Photojournalist - Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson has a lot of villainous and heroic roles, and as Dennis Hopper sits somewhere in the middle, clearly suffering from Stockholm syndrome as he’s just a photographer caught in the middle of Kurtz’ maniacal plot, Harrelson would be perfect.
Not only that but just like Dennis Hopper, Harrelson has a kind of laid back but somehow has a giddy attitude at the same time. There is no better actor other than Harrelson to re-enact Hopper’s frenetic energy that was captured in the original.
Jay ‘Chef’ Hicks - Shia LaBeouf
Frederick Forrest doesn’t get enough credit for his role of Jay Hicks, as the character is horrified by his surroundings and is on edge at all times, leading him to go absolutely crazy.
Shia LaBeouf is the greatest candidate to fill Forrest’s boots, as not only can the actor pull off crazy better than any other actor working right now, but he’s already checked the mustache box.
Lance Johnson - Alden Ehrenreich
Alden Ehrenreich gets a ton of unnecessary heat for Solo: A Star Wars Story, as that movie’s many problems don’t land on the actor’s head and he is actually one of the things the movie got right. Because of his role in the box office bomb, it’s easy to forget that he’s actually a great actor.
As Lance plays a surfer from LA who doesn’t look like he’s ever used a weapon in his life, Ehrenreich would be perfect as the character who goes from innocent surfer dude to trigger happy lunatic.
Tyrone ‘Clean’ Miller - John Boyega
Being played brilliantly by a 14-year-old Laurence Fishbourne, Clean’s death is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the movie, and though John Boyega might be a little older than 14, he would be great as the South Bronx born character.
Clean is overly cocky, which Boyega has been many times both on-screen and off-screen, and he has shown how capable he is with accents after leading Kathryn Bigelow’s drama, Detroit.
Kilgore - Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt has a canon of funny performances, and though Kilgore isn’t outright hilarious, he has arguably the most famous and audacious line in any movie ever made. “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” has been embedded in pop culture, and as everybody remembers Kilgore for that one line, the only actor who can deliver it just as great as Robert Duvall is Pitt.
And as Kilgore spends most of his screen time with his shirt off, we’ve recently seen that Brad Pitt is still as shredded as ever in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Colonel Lucas - Daniel Kaluuya
Admittedly, there isn’t much meat on this role, even if it is a role that was originally occupied by Harrison Ford, but as it was shot when Ford was relatively unknown, he never put his own stamp on it. Colonel Lucas’ only existence is to explain Captain Willard’s objective at the beginning of the movie.
It’s a very serious and stoic scene, and as the role was taken up by a newcomer in Hollywood who went on to do amazing things, Daniel Kaluuya would be great to continue the role, as he’s fairly new on the scene and is great at giving serious monologues.
Captain Willard - Andrew Garfield
Having many dramatic roles that happen to be his best movies, Andrew Garfield has proved time after time that he is better suited to dramatic movies and war epics than he is to huge franchises. This shows in his resume and the significant amount of celebrated directors he has worked with.
Garfield has worked with David Fincher in The Social Network, Mel Gibson with Hacksaw Ridge, and even Martin Scorsese in Silence. Garfield would be perfect for Willard as he is almost innocent looking, just like Martin Sheen, but he’s able to be act ruthlessly too.
Chief Phillips - John David Washington
In what is another death that’s emotionally exhausting for the audience, Chief Phillips is the most level headed guy on the ship and is always at odds with Willard, constantly clashing with him over authority.
In the right hands, Chief Phillips could be a standout character in a remake, and there’s no better man for the job than John David Washington, as he clearly has an authoritative voice, and it’d be great to see him act against Garfield.
Colonel Kurtz - Michael Keaton
This might initially seem like a strange choice, as Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando, weighed 300lbs at the time of the shooting, but that isn’t how the character was written. Brando showed up to set like that when Coppola expected him to be much more slender, just like how you’d imagine a colonel to look, which is one of the movie’s interesting behind the scenes facts.
Keaton would be more like the original vision, and he has made a name for himself as a sadistic villain in recent years with Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Founder.