Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Fantasy Casting: Next Gen

John: Hey, Chris, I was just asking Frakes what he thought of Trek.

Frakes: I loved it.  Had a great time.

Chris:  Of course, all you have to worry about now is Zach Efron playing you in the Next Generation prequel.

John: ...

Chris: Go ahead.  Blog it.

I'm rewriting all morning.  Fantasy-cast away in the comments, with DS9 also allowed.

101 comments:

  1. Don't care about the bridge crew but William Shatner would make a splendid Guinan.

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  2. Whoa, I had this exact same thought just now. Weird.

    Anyhoo, my picks

    Worf: Vin Diesel
    Wesley: Michael Cera
    Tasha Yar: Katie Sackhoff

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  3. I'm totally rooting for Idris Elba as Sisko.

    -Rob D.

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  4. David Birkin for Picard! He did a great job in "Rascals." :-)

    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083605/

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  5. Patrick Stewart does have an actor son, Daniel - saw him in "A Winter's Tale" recently at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre...

    He strongly resembles his dad, but is probably much taller.

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  6. My twitter friends have come up with some excellent choices, including Jean Reno as Picard.

    My own suggestion:

    Reginald Barclay played by Brian Posehn.

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  7. Also, we started changing up the races of the roles and hit upon an interesting love triangle:

    Worf: Vin Diesel
    Troi: Rosario Dawson
    Riker: Chiwetel Ejiofor

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  8. This shirt seems appropriate...

    http://www.unshelved.com/images/store/tee-GoodDay-large.gif

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  9. Anonymous8:53 AM

    Cameo idea: Randall from Clerks, as a nobody ensign, enjoying his cushy government job, until... "Great. Lost in the Delta Quadrant, and I'm not even supposed to be here today."

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  10. Zomg. I hadn't gone any further than Jennifer Garner as Number One and Chapel inside my head...

    It's breaking my brain a little that TNG was over 20 years ago. Damien Lewis as Picard would be... interesting. Especially if Stana Katic was Crusher. And hey, don't knock Zac Effron. He did play baby Simon Tam in "Firefly". But If they ever get around to Voyager, Natalie Morales would rock B'Elanna Torres hardcore. I'm having a hard time picturing anyone but Avery Brooks as Sisko, tho. He's just... how the hell do you recast the Sisko???? *flails* Maybe Chiwetel Ejiofor could do it? But could he pull off a New Orleans accent? Would he shave his head? *ponders*

    Okay, I am now picturing the tag of "In The Pale Moonlight" with Ejiofor. Or, you know, "Waltz". OH HOLY GOD THAT WOULD EB AWESOME. Especially if somebody who could really bring it was Gul Dukat.

    (erm... you can probably tell that out of all the post TOS series, DS9 is far and away my fave.)

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  11. Daniel Solis:

    love Katie Sakoff as Tasha!

    Michael Cera as Wesley would be great too, if they skipped the whole "Acting Ensign" bit and just made him a prodigy, like Chekov, and made it a plot point that he ended up assigned to the same ship as his mother, doctor Crusher (played by Julianne Moore)

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  12. Felicia Day as Dr. Crusher

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  13. Megan Fox as Troi.

    Because she's hot, that's why.

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  14. Alan Scott11:17 AM

    I'll second Daniel Solis's suggestion of Jean Reno for Picard. I definitely want the role to go to an actual Frenchman (or barring that, someone who can do a good french accent.)

    And, on a similar note, Dev Patel as Data. For a robot that looks like someone named Noonien Soong, Brent Spiner is really white.

    James Franco for Riker and Aldis Hodge for LaForge. Still haven't decided on the others yet.

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  15. You know, Avery Brooks is still one of the coolest people alive. No matter how old he gets, he could still be Sisko.

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  16. I posted that before seeing the Ejiofor as Sisko suggestion.

    My god, the wonderful cool things that it brought to my imagination.

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  17. Kelly Macdonald for Major Kira.

    Katharine Isabelle for Dax #1

    You could do Noel Clarke for Laforge as well.

    My main problem is that many of the actors i'd switch out are just as old as the current actors, so it's hard going for 'young and awesome'.

    But i will 100% get behind The Man (a/k/a jean reno) as picard. Make his code name for various missions 'the cleaner' or 'victor' and my fanservicegasims would rock the greatlakes with glee.


    Though if you open up gender swaps (a la BSG) the field gets alot bigger.

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  18. Aaron Douglas as Riker.

    Also, Mark Sheppard needs to be some kind of admiral.

    Though if you open up gender swaps (a la BSG) the field gets alot bigger.I kind of like the idea of Olivia Williams playing Picard.

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  19. Gina Bellman = Troi. :-D

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  20. It would be interesting to have Patrick Stewart's Picard meet a female version of himself. Same parents, same BIRTHDAY - the chromosomes just worked out differently this time.

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  21. MIcha - I was thinking of something like Gina Torres for Riker or Parker Posey for Data/Lohr.

    Though my brain just decided that Ben Browder should be somebody.

    Bill Dow for Lt. Barkley.

    Not trying to typecast, but sometimes it works.

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  22. Picard: Ralph Fiennes

    Riker: Nathan Fillion

    Troi: Carla Gugino

    Yar: Charlize Theron

    Worf: Jaimon Hounsou

    Crusher: Carrie Anne Moss

    Data: CGI/Puppet with the voice of Alan Tudyk

    Geordi: Harold Perrineau Jr.

    Wesley: Shia LeBeouf

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  23. Oh, I like Jaimon Hounsou as Worf! I was thinking of his as Sisko for a moment, but he could give Worf just a hundred little onion peel layers of awesome.

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  24. The problem is the only person I can buy Ben Browder as is Tom Paris.

    Oooh! Oooh! Can Samuel L. Jackson play Sisko? Please?! Because you know everyone else will be all "Will Smith!" and-- No. Just no.

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  25. cgeye2:29 PM

    Jean Reno FTW as Picasd.

    Make the Frenchie French, goddammit.

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  26. DS9

    Sisko: Idris Elba for the win

    Kira: Bridget Moynahan

    Dax: Paz Vega

    Odo: Multiple actors, varying genders and ages. maybe even a dog.

    Quark: Armin Shimerman

    O'Brien: Richard Coyle

    Bashir: Kal Penn

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  27. Anonymous3:46 PM

    All these and no suggestion of Morena Baccaran as Troi, with Marina Sirtis as her mum? For shame.

    And if we're staying with a redhead for Beverly Crusher, you can't go far wrong with Christina Hendricks (man she'd make that one-piece uniform really work!)

    Chief O'Brien would HAVE to be Ardal O'Hanlon, Dougal from Father Ted.

    And Richard O'Brien for Q!

    How about we go a slightly different Wire actor for Sisko - either Clark Peters or Michael K Williams.

    Oh - by the way, Jean Reno is not a Frenchman - he's Morroccan, born in Casablanca.

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  28. Anonymous4:54 PM

    Wil Wheaton as Picard would be poetic justice :)
    Tahmoh Penikett as Riker
    Callum Keith Rennie as Q
    Jason Momoa as Worf
    Dichen Lachman as Troi
    Aldis Hodge as LaForge
    Jensen Ackles as Data
    Kelli Williams as Crusher
    And because the laws of Sci-Fi [not the network previously knows as Sci-Fi] today Ben Browder has to play some part

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  29. Anonymous5:04 PM

    Kevin Smith as a Silent Bob version of Morn sitting in Quarks Bar.

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  30. Look, it's this simple: after Leverage, the entire cast just goes onto do Star Trek: The Alternate Generation.

    Beth as Tasha, baby!!

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  31. Actually, I kind of like Wil Wheaton as Riker.

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  32. Anonymous8:47 PM

    Larry David as Picard
    Ice Cube as Worf
    Seth Rogen as Riker
    Steve Carrell as Data
    Chris Tucker as Geordi
    Lisa Edelstein as Troi
    Shia LeBouf as Wesley
    Stephen Colbert as Q

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  33. If you don't mind shifting gender/race then it'd go as follows(I'm ignoring some of the existing relationships to:

    Jean Reno as Picard.

    Michelle Forbes as a chain smoking Riker(with a pixie haircut, granted).

    Steve Buscemi as Data. Less autistic and more damaged head-case android who's on speed(Data always annoyed me and a meth freak onboard a space ship sounds like more fun).

    Caroline Dharvis(she won me over in Wonderfalls) or Jason Schwartzman as Wesley(make them less precocious and more cocky out of the academy type).

    Change Troi's sex to male and give it to Brian Cox so we can have a dickish therapist.

    Geordie is cast as a man whose disability is from PTSD in an engagement against the Klingons or the Romulans or the Borg or whoever you want to claim did it. He's the only one on the crew besides Troi who has killed a man with his bare hands. Played by whoever can hack it.

    Worf isn't in this. I hate Worf.

    The doctor is changed to a corpman and is played by Katee Sackhoff.

    Also, there will be crew chiefs and marines with more than throwaway lines in it. At least five red shirts will survive. And the guns will be guns, not phasers.

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  34. jeezy creezy no! it is my sincerest hope that the next brain wizard that decides to "re-boot" or "re-imagine" something, rather than doing the hard work of developing an actual original thought, should suffer an embolism and spend the rest of their days hooked up to tubes and machines. the trek franchise offers limitless possibilities for adventure, discovery and imagination. look, it is this easy...

    a three film saga examining the universe from a different point of view. the klingon operas. part one kayles, the first klingon hero, founder of the empire his story told in song, the pride and honour of klingons, politics, battle and victory, love and legacy. cue the frickin' strings. join the adventure on early birds of prey, watch the epic battles as the grand houses battle bat'leth to bat'leth in glorious combat.

    movie 2: first contact with the human p'tok. redeem the captain archer era trek and view the federation's formative incursions from the klingon point of view.

    movie 3: the fall and re-birth of the empire in a post ds9 universe playing out the struggles between house duras and the house of mog, show us the fate of alexander and the extended family of kurn and worf.

    at least that extends the franchise into new areas, opens up new characters and situations to explore. we already have a perfectly serviceable kirk, picard, riker and sisko. let's boldly go where we've never gone before instead of exhuming the remains of old ideas for another run through the money machine. stop encouraging cultural cannibalism.

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  35. The Twelfth Doctor: Chiwetel Ejiofor (I've been pushing for this one since the casting process for Nine, actually.)

    The Master: James Nesbitt (who would also be a good choice for a Doctor, as well, but he'd make a wonderfully vicious Master.)

    The new companion: Denis Lawson as a horror movie icon in the twilight of his career, who decides to travel with the Doctor in the hopes that he can get dropped off about thirty years in his own future, after his "mysterious disappearance" has made him a cult figure.

    Hey, you have your fantasy casts and I have mine. :)

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  36. (No Wesley in my version -- Nero prevented his birth)

    Dr. Crusher: Keri Russell

    Counselor Troi: Morena Baccarin

    LaForge: Romany Malco

    Worf: Laz Alonso

    Yar: Katie Sackhoff (this was a brilliant idea)

    Data: Jason Segel

    Riker: Ron Livingston

    Picard: Ewan McGregor

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  37. DS9's a lot harder...

    Quark: Armin Shimerman

    Nog: Jonah Hill

    Chief O'Brien: Dominic West

    Keiko O'Brien: Kelly Hu

    Jadzia Dax: Rachel McAdams

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  38. I think I'm gonna let Winterman do all my casting from now on.

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  39. really on about 're-imaging' or 're-book' in films and movies?

    4srs?

    THis is an industry BUILT on re-interpeting other peoples work: dracula, nosferatu, sherlock holmes, the invisible man, jules verne's thing about going to the moon.

    Let's face it, the visual medium was BORN out of 'rebooting' old franchises.

    Also, wonderfalls was so awesome it killed me a little starting it to know it didn't get a fair shake and a second season.

    Also, Ben Broder as Tom Paris is 100% win. Thank you.

    andif we're gonna make dr. crusher redhead how about Raelee Hill.

    Wayne Pygram for Odo

    Though part of me would love to see Patrick Warburton as data.

    Also - Stephen Colbert as Q - PERFECT.

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  40. Keiko O'Brien: Kelly Hu Um, for a remake, you want someone substantially younger than the original....(meow!)

    If you must, go with Keiko Agena or someone that age...

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  41. can't think of the whole cast but two off the wall suggestions...

    Neil Patrick Harris as Picard

    Morena Baccarin as Troi

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  42. Christopher Eccelstion as Picard
    Nathan Fillion as Riker
    Morena Baccarin as Troi
    David Tennet as Data

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  43. I'm totally rooting for Idris Elba as Sisko.Funny, now I'd like to see Idris Elba as Sisqo.

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  44. Picard: Stanley from The Office

    Riker: Adrian Lester (aka, Mickey Stone from Hustle)

    Troi: Maya Rudolph

    Worf: Tony Todd

    Crusher: CCH Pounder

    Data: Michael Jai White

    Geordi: Patton Oswalt

    Wesley: Dule Hill

    Barclay: Jaleel White

    Chief O'Brien: Kenan Thompson

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  45. Mixing my love of Trek & CSI:

    Picard: William Petersen
    Riker: George Eads
    Geordi: Gary Dourdan

    and I also agree with Tony Todd as Worf and Idris Elba as Sisko oh, and somebody suggested Ian McShane as Gul Ducat.

    And my wife just suggested Grace Jones as Worf!

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  46. On a whim, I found myself juggling the ethnicities of many characters, just to see what would happen.

    Ashwariya Rai as Deanna Troi.

    And why not, in keeping with a Bollywood theme, Hrithik Roshan as Riker. :) Or if more than one Bollywood actor overkill, replace Roshan with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

    Jack Black as Geordi La Forge. Why not?

    Daniel Craig as Picard.

    Neil Patrick Harris as Data.

    Lucy Liu as Beverly Crusher.

    Dame Judi Dench as Guinan.

    Sir Ian McKellan as Q.

    Ray Stevenson as Worf.

    Gina Torres as Tasha Yar.

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  47. Lucy Liu as Beverly Crusher. Hard as nails Lucy Liu? Or bubbly perky Lucy Liu?

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  48. Alan Scott6:17 AM

    Oh, and John, don't think you can bring up this topic without providing your own fantasy casting list.

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  49. "Hard as nails Lucy Liu? Or bubbly perky Lucy Liu?"

    Ah, but that's the joy of it! She can be both. :)

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  50. Anonymous6:31 AM

    Worf: Tony ToddYou know Tony Todd played Worf's brother Kurn, yeah? And that he's only 2 years younger than Michael Dorn? If you're going to cast a guy in his mid-fifties it might as well be Dorn . . .

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  51. Yes, I know he played Kurn. It's my recasting, and I want the Candyman to be Worf...

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  52. CindyD9:22 AM

    If we're doing this Leverage into Star Trek alternate dimension, I think it would be interesting to have Chris Kane play Worf. A tiny Klingon, LOL

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  53. William Shatner as Samuel T. Cogley.
    Candice Bergen as Areel Shaw.

    J. August Richards as Sisko.
    Dule Hill as LaForge.
    Justin Long as Data.
    Kristen Bell as Tasha Yar.
    Juliet Landau as Troi.
    Neil Patrick Harris as Bashir.
    Mark Ryan as Miles O'Brien.
    Lauren Tom as Keiko O'Brien.

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  54. Lauren Tom as Keiko O'Brien. I think Lauren's flattered. But I think it's OK to think of someone who's in their 30s (and better yet, in their 20s).

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  55. I don't know about the rest of the TNG cast, but I've decided I want Jason Stratham to play Picard. Because the notion that every other episode he would rip off the top of his uniform and elaborately kick the ass of some random alien species fills me with great amusement.

    Then he could casually walk to the captain's chair, throw Troi a "come see me in my cabin" look while putting on a fresh uniform.

    Plus he's bald and about as French as Patrick Stewart. He's perfect.

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  56. I won't play this game for the simple reason that a TNG prequel would have to be more like "Wolverine" than "Star Trek," since the TNG cast didn't come together until the first episode.

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  57. PSA, there's a Star Trek novel you would love, if you haven't read it--John M. Ford's "The Final Conflict" is told entirely from the point of view of a Klingon crew, with a Klingon captain as the hero, and the original cast only appearing in cameos. So original & threatening to the Star Trek empire that they rewrote the rules of Star Trek novels to prevent it from being done again.

    http://www.amazon.com/Final-Reflection-Star-Trek-No/dp/0671743546/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242680040&sr=1-3

    Thinking specifically about the *writing* possibilities of a ST:TNG reboot, I was always disappointed that Peter David's superb novel "Q-Squared" wasn't considered for a Next Generation movie--it's one of the best NexGen episodes/movies never made--epic, emotional, the fate of the universe at stake, and even draws on one of the original series episodes ("The Squire of something-or-other".)

    My choice for a Picard reboot: Michael Rosenbaum--Picard shouldn't be played by Reno, only because I can too easily see Jean Reno beating people up, and that's just not the essence of Picard. Rosenbaum brings a crafty, subtle intelligence that could work.

    Data: Like Glenn's choice, but I'd pick the *other* guy from the Mac/PC commercials: John Hodgman.

    Q would not be recast, but would have to be John de Lancie. He is Q, now and forever.

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  58. John Hodgman as Data? No. John Hodgman as Picard? You bet. I'd pay good money for that.

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  59. Dave T12:33 PM

    Michael Clarke Duncan as Worf.

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  60. You know - if you need a cameo - Brent Spiner staying as Data makes sense for a prequel - same model after all. And if you have to do the CGI aging thing, he IS an android.

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  61. I want this. (Fan made trailer, Green Lantern, starring Nathan Fillion.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hTiRnqnvDs

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