These are Our Heroes
In light of Ben Affleck’s recent announcement that he is walking away from his role as Batman, I like many others began pondering “Who’s next?”. After about ten minutes of filtering through “potentials” depending on which direction they choose to go, I came to another thought. Will it even matter? I immediately paused myself wondering why I had that outlook. It came to me, regardless of how prestigious the next star would be I would still be comparing them to the people that defined the role prior. This really got me into thought. Have we been giving the later casted actors unfair shots, holding them to previous standards without just accepting their work for what it was? Have we set them up for failure, with impossible feats to accomplish? I believe to get where you are going you have to know where you have been, but in many case you also need to let go of the past.
It’s felt that taking on a role of a Super Hero can be a career defining moment. It can be that major break-out opportunity for some, and for others it can become the role they are always associated with. We have heard actors in the past say they turned down starring as some of our favorite heroes due to not wanting that to be what they were immediately associated with. Some actors have also acknowledged that as probably being one of the greatest mistakes of their careers. However, in recent years that has actually become a more distant concern. Especially since we are seeing actors taking on different Super Hero roles and we think nothing of it. Hell, we have even had the same actor play different roles for the same brand and thought nothing of it. This is something I believe plays more into the ability of the actor themselves. How well did they sell that particular character, and how well was an impression left? As bad as the Green Lantern was, Ryan Reynolds did a solid job as the character, and when we think of Deadpool we don’t pair it with the former role. Even Michael B. Jordan gave us such drastic contrasts in his performances that we don’t think of him as the Human Torch, even when that role and Black Panther are only three years apart. As seen with both, there are second chances to play such well renowned characters, and at times their onscreen performances can completely wash away whatever they did before.
Ryan and Michael are two examples of when things are a perfect fit and characters are brought to life by their performances. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case when it comes to these roles though. There have been plenty of other actors to define a Super Hero character on the silver screen, while some just left us wanting more. When it comes to the Batman role, Keaton, Bale, and West immediately come to mind. While Kilmer and Clooney are two we may rather not remember, and Affleck unfortunately may be just looked at as “in passing”. This same thing happens to Andrew Garfield, even though I personally feel he doesn’t deserve it. For me as a child of the 90’s who grew up on the variation “The Amazing Spiderman”, I thought Garfield was that clever, witty, charismatic Spiderman that I knew as a child. This wasn’t something I saw in Toby McGuire feeling he was a more emotional, and nerdy Web Slinger. I think Holland is doing a great job as a younger Spiderman though, so there is still hope in my eyes. The heroes aren’t the only ones who suffer from this either, Super Villains struggle with this as well. Both the Joker and Lex Luthor have been played by various actors, leaving kind of a looming shadow of expectations over their successors. We love Jack Nicholson, the late Heath Ledger, and Gene Hackman, and grimace when we think of Jared Leto and Jesse Eisenberg. This just seems to be how things have played out. The actors come and go, and are often pitted against one another for role supremacy. There is also that limbo area where actors don’t define a character, but also didn’t do any injustices to it either. Actors like Ed Norton, Kevin Spacey, Henry Cavill, and Terrence Howard are a few that definitely fall into this area. Not to seem like we are taking jabs at him, but Ben falls into this category as well seeing as he didn’t define Batman or The Daredevil when he played them.
There is one other aspect to these roles too. More than those who are good or bad at the characters, may be the cases where there are the actors that have been etched in our minds as these characters. Simply put, they ARE these Super Heroes. This has happened a couple of times, and honestly it’s the part I’m most concerned about. Recasting Wolverine is going to be task to say the least. Hugh Jackman has been the longest current running Super Hero character in their role, and has done a legendary job playing Wolverine. The same thing can be said about Robert Downey Jr and Ironman. Felt to be the perfect casting selection from his natural look, to his persona, he is Tony Stark. People feel like at times Downey is just being himself on screen and literally can’t picture anyone else worthy of wearing the red and gold. Ryan Reynolds has actually done the same thing with Deadpool. For a man who was at times likened to Chevy Chase and felt to be the perfect fit for a Fletch reboot, he has truly created a perfect pairing with his work as Wade Wilson. This is probably what many of us are going to struggle with when they opt to move on past the role. Even as I think of this, I really just want the portrayals to stop there, but I know they won’t. My greatest concern will be, reception to these future actors. I know there will be things they are subjected to that will be challenging to overcome, and I am torn with that.
Taking on a Super Hero role can be many things. For some it has been a stepping stone into showing their acting versatility, and for others it has been the chance they had been waiting their entire lives. We have seen these castings be just the reinvigoration to certain careers that was needed, and also be just another role. Like the legendary Christopher Reeve this could be the role that becomes a lifelong achievement that others only hope to attain. Or, like Eric Bana it can be something you are glad no one brings up anymore. It is a challenging dynamic, juggling expectations of fans of work that has been so vividly portrayed in comics and animation for years, as well as the work in movies before you. Beyond that it can also be unfair with expectations that can never be achieved, that are no fault of your own. So, maybe it may be time for many of us to take that into consideration when looking at the work being done. It may be wrong for us to use a work as a standard to meet for the expectation of the next. As we wait to see the updates on the next Batman, there is light at the end of the tunnel as far as recasts go. The role of The Joker appears to be in good hands. Joaquin Phoenix has a resume that is impressive to say the least. And, from the glimpse we have already been given things are looking promising, I say we just look to appreciate it for what it is, and enjoy the work as we get it.
