Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard is one of the most challenging roles to cast for any series to date. Since the first action roleplaying game was released in 2007, BioWare's Mass Effect has risen to become one of the most prominent franchises in science fiction. And at the center of this genre-defining epic space opera is Commander Shepard, the player’s character in every Mass Effect game. While it’s unclear when the series will be released, the Mass Effect adaptation is being developed by Amazon Studios and will be streamed on Amazon Prime.
The critically-acclaimed performances of both Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, who respectively play Shepard, have been crucial to Mass Effect’s rise as a definitive sci-fi role-playing franchise. Although Shepard was originally conceived as either male or female (despite the first animation of the Shepard being female), the character has no definitive gender nor race. In Mass Effect, the player’s most crucial choices are categorized into two paths: the Paragon and the Renegade, which respectively represent the paths of the traditional hero and the antihero. Any actor who plays Shepard must be able to walk both. It would be an understatement to say that audience expectations for a Mass Effect series are high, especially when it comes to fleshing out its beloved character.
Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard, in the live-action adaptation, will be under the scrutiny of an entire generation that grew up playing Mass Effect. There’s also the fact that live-action adaptations of video games are rarely successful, save for certain franchises like Mortal Kombat or Doom. That being said, Mass Effect’s story offers much potential for a compelling long-term narrative, which is why the movie adaptation was scrapped to make way for a Mass Effect series. From interacting with the galactic civilizations that inhabit the Milky Way to unraveling the very origins of the Reapers that threaten these civilizations, Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard is sure to have their hands full. There’s no doubt that Commander Shepard will be a challenging character for any actor to embody onscreen. Here are some of the actors who could conceivably breathe life into one of science fiction’s most beloved protagonists.
Zazie Beetz
Most popularly known as Domino from Deadpool 2, German-American actor Zazie Beetz has both the looks and the action movie experience to pull off being Commander Shepard in a live-action adaptation. Moreover, Beetz’s role as Stagecoach Mary in the Black neo-western movie The Harder They Fall shows that she already knows how to handle a rifle in close quarters, which will come in handy when Shepard needs to get her hands dirty. Zazie Beetz also appears in Joker, Atlanta, Applesauce, and Still Here. Apart from having the looks and the moves to embody Commander Shepard, Beetz also has the versatility to convincingly be at the center of Mass Effect’s convoluted storylines – especially if Amazon Prime’s Shepard will walk the path of the Renegade.
Lupita Nyong’o
Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong’o is perhaps most famous for winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in director Steve McQueen’s multiple Oscar-winning period drama 12 Years A Slave. More importantly, Nyong’o also played the role of Wakandan spy and War Dog Nakia in Marvel’s Black Panther, which is the most compelling case for Nyong’o to also play Commander Shepard. Whether Amazon Prime’s Commander Shepard will be more of an Adept, Soldier, or Infiltrator – some of the character classes in the Mass Effect games – Nyong’o can easily pull it off. Lupita Nyong’o also appears in Us, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Queen of Katwe. Nyong’o will be reprising her role as Nakia in the upcoming film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which will be released in 2022.
Emma Watson
British actor Emma Watson rose to fame for her role as the brilliant child wizard Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise. Emma Watson has since starred in various films, including Noah, Beauty and the Beast, Regression, Colonia, and Little Women. Apart from being a versatile actress, Watson is also known for her work as an activist, particularly as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and as a representative for Time’s Up UK. Watson also has experience working in a G7 advisory body for foreign policies concerning women’s rights. Combined, Watson’s acting pedigree and her extensive experience working with elite political circles could make her the perfect Paragon version of Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard.
Jonathan Majors
American actor Jonathan Majors first gained prominence for his role in the independent film The Last Black Man In San Francisco. Majors is most famous today for playing He Who Remains, also known as Kang The Conqueror, for Marvel’s Loki series. However, Majors’ role as Nat Love in Netflix’s The Harder They Fall makes the strongest case for why the actor can embody the gun-totting Commander Shepard. Although Majors certainly has the looks to play Shepard as a Paragon convincingly, Nat Love’s conflicted characterization shows that Majors also has what it takes to be a Renegade. Jonathan Majors also appears in movies such as Hostiles, White Boy Rick, Captive State, Out Of Blue, and Gully.
Dennis Trillo
Although Filipino actor Dennis Trillo is the least famous actor on this list, he might be the most versatile. Trillo starred in Philippine television’s first-ever gay series, My Husband’s Lover. He was a cross-dressing spy in the period war drama Aishite Imasu 1941: Mahal Kita. In Felix Manalo, Trillo played the role of a charismatic religious leader. Dennis Trillo gained global notoriety when he was lauded by the Venice Film Festival jury for his role as a prisoner-turned-hitman in On the Job: The Missing 8 – now streaming on HBO Max. Casting Trillo as Commander Shepard would undoubtedly be risky, as the actor is relatively unknown in the western world. At the same time, a fresh face, backed by amazing talent, might be exactly what’s needed to accomplish the nearly impossible task of giving life to Commander Shepard in a live-action Mass Effect television series.