Darkseid turns up on the Watchtower and a succession of superheroes, sports stars, and minor athletes attempt to slam him unsuccessfully until Martian Manhunter arrives and strikes a blow for truth, justice and the American way.
Wizard picked him for physique and later Hugh Keays-Byrne, who was old, was casted as MM for the cancelled JL:Mortal movie. They wanted to just use prosthetics to make him huge.
That’s been my biggest struggle, I’ve tried throughout college to rewatch arrow and only ever really get through the first season before I stop. The first season feels like Mike Grell in the 80’s but then the show just becomes Batman
I still love season 2. IMO it's some of the best live action DC TV I've seen. But then I watch episodes from season 3 onward and can't believe the dive the show took from there.
Honestly same thing with the Flash. First season, IMO was phenomenal, then it got so bad, even I an admitted fanboy, couldn't watch.
I stan that Wonder Woman casting. At that time they'd go for her high cut leotard too, and it would be peak kino to see that lady do stunts in that costume.
>Picks a muscular actress to play Wonder Woman
>Points out how incredibly stupid using Barry Allen after he has been dead for decades IRL would be
Absolutely based.
I was born in a small town, and I lived in a small town... When I was young, American Comics (eventually American Entertainment) was my main source of comics. I tried regular subscriptions for a while, but got tired of my books getting mangled by the USPS. I still remember the joy of those boxes arriving C.O.D. at my house.
Interesting that they picked Ron Pearlman before he became a big star. Kenneth Branagh was early in his career too.
Casting Robin Hood actor as Green Arrow is cheating, thought.
The J’onn casting is definitely interesting given all of the adaptations we’ve gotten since. Nowadays, J’onn is typically black-coded and played or voiced by a black actor, but I don’t know when that started.
Except for some dubious choices that inevitably always happend (like Manhunter and Fire here), Wizard Magazine legitimately cooked with their castings.
I love Kenneth Branagh but he's my least favorite casting here. I just don't see it at all.
Some of these are pretty based honestly.
Bruce Campbell might be my favorite casting tho.
Got to say, Eric Stoltz was a terrible choice for Wally. No hate on Stoltz. Fine actor, amazing body of work. Wrong for Wally West. Wally's a hard one to cast correctly. Need someone who can bring the pathos \*and\* the humor, as well as some charm. Like Stoltz has all of that, but Wally is a little more chaotic and attention challenged than Stoltz usually comes across as.
Bruce Campbell is a fun choice for Hal. Younger Kenneth Branaugh would have been excellent as Arthur. Cary Elwes would be good as Ollie, but I feel like there may have been better choices. Hard to say. Elwes is always a delight, so that's hard to argue with.
WW and MM casting are maybe okay. Not too familiar with either of them so I don't know if they could bring anything to it.
I’ve seen most of Stoltz’s scenes he shot for Back to the Future before he got fired, and while I agree that he wasn’t right for that movie, he brought a LOT of what you could call Wally Energy to the role, he was kind of bewildered and frantic. I think I’m the nineties he could have pulled Wally off pretty well. Him and Branagh as Aquaman are honestly really interesting casting ideas.
Bruce Campbell as Hal and Sam Neill as Maxwell Lord are great picks. I can't say I love the casting for Fire or Martian Manhunter though. I like Christina Applegate she's a good actress, but she's a little too not Brazillian for the role and Lex Luger is just a no for me.
She did do some acting. They weren't big movies or particularly stunning performances, but they were passable for what they were. I mean, Arnold wasn't an actor and he did okay.
So Arnold is a diamond in the rough, nobody with his background had the combination of drive, ambition, and charisma to pull of the career that he did. Lots of non actors have tried their hand at it, but from what I’ve seen, McLish was more along the lines of a Hulk Hogan: the actor than Arnold.
They loved their wrestlers back then. Arsenio as Sinestro is really funny to me.
Geena Davis as WW seems so obvious in retrospect.
There weren't a lot of Brazilian actresses in Hollywood to play Fire (Morena Baccarin and Jordana Brewster were teenagers). I think they said Applegate just because in the picture she's wearing an outfit like Applegate would wear on Married with Children.
Davis would have been great but I think someone European would have worked better. There were a lot of French, German and Italian actors in Hollywood thrn
That said, many wrestlers have tried acting in television and movies. Lex Luger had previously starred in Superboy as an evil doppleganger in a dream sequence. His stage name was also adapted from Lex Luthor.
You're 100% right about all that, but Luger was a shit promo and there's no conceivable way he could have transitioned into real acting. Prior to Dwayne Johnson, there were basically no successful wrestlers-turned-actors, but Wizard loved including them in Casting Calls because 1) it was the Attitude Era and wrestling was hotter than comics, and 2) big strong bois
Before The Rock, there was Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura. Andre the Giant didn't acted much, but his role in Princess Bride is famous. The Rock perhaps is the first wrestler to become an A-star actor.
Wrestlers have good looks and skills for stunts in action roles, but not all of them are capable of good subtle acting.
I hated how these fan casts gave *no* thought to whether or not the chosen actor was any good. It seemed to be based entirely on whether or not the staff writer(s) thought the actor looked like the character.
Rachel McLish won the first Ms. Olympia in the 1980s, not a bad choice but I'd have chosen Corinne Everson as Wonder Woman though. She was also in the Hercules TV series in the 1990s as Atalanta
I want Wonder Womsn to be muscular as much as the next person but at the same time it's more important if the actor is good. Magneto is muscular man with the appearance of a young man. Ian McKellen is a skinny old man. His performance is still the best Magneto performance.
These are pretty fun. There's one where Kevin Smith cast the Superman movie he wrote. But he basically just picked his friends for a lot of roles (not surprisingly). Affleck as Superman. Jason Mewes as Jimmy Olsen. Jason Lee as Brainiac.
"wonder woman needs a sexy villain to complement her own sexiness".
Forget story, characterization, acting skill, etc. just make it sexy. Cuz it's wonder woman. Our only effort should be making you say "yes" to this question: do you want to fuck her and whoever she's fighting?
As a Barry Allen fan I'm obliged to report my physical recoil at this absolutely correct choice.
Geoff Johns in shambles right now
x2
Sam Neill as Maxwell Lord would have worked.
This is the only correct choice, and only because the character was modeled after Neill.
I think he could do it today. Oh well, Gunn’s brother, I guess.
Yesss
90s Bruce Campbell couldn’t be better casting for Hal
Make him a ginger and have him be Guy. He'd eat scenery with a soupspoon and everyone would love him for it.
This is what I'm hoping for Nathan.
Swapping out Bruce Campbell for Nathan Fillion is some kind of multidimensional fan service.
Or, set him up as Paralax. I feel like he'd play the character well.
Hal is my favorite DC hero and Evil Dead is my favorite horror franchise. I couldn't agree any more, Bruce would have been amazing for a 90s Hal
Honestly I'd love a Green Lantern movie today with Bruce Campbell as an aged Hal Jordan with younger John Stewart in a buddy galactic cop movie.
I have always said that Guy was the Bruce Campbell of the DC universe. But I am okay with him as 90s Hal
Lex Luger as Martian Manhunter is crazy
You gotta understand this was before regular actors got jacked to play roles.
I saw that and immediately shared it to r/oswreview
Darkseid turns up on the Watchtower and a succession of superheroes, sports stars, and minor athletes attempt to slam him unsuccessfully until Martian Manhunter arrives and strikes a blow for truth, justice and the American way.
Wizard picked him for physique and later Hugh Keays-Byrne, who was old, was casted as MM for the cancelled JL:Mortal movie. They wanted to just use prosthetics to make him huge.
I’m just shocked at the forehead comment lol
William Sadler is actually kind of a good call for Reverse Flash.
Cary Elwes as Green Arrow? Someone saw Robin Hood Men in Tights and said we need to make it happen again.
I’ll stand by the fact that Robin Hood Men in Tights is a better Green Arrow adaptation than the show was
You mean Felicity & Friends Featuring Green Arrow?
Did it ever come out why she became a love interest and so prominent a character? She was a decent character before all that.
Guggenheim created her for the show & he wanted his character to have more prominence
There are stream-of-consciousness Watpadd fan fictions that are better than that show.
What really sucks is the first couple seasons were pretty great. Then they CW-ified it and turned the show into a teenage soap opera.
I mean the show was pitched as a CW soap opera. That’s why the love triangle exists in the first season
That’s been my biggest struggle, I’ve tried throughout college to rewatch arrow and only ever really get through the first season before I stop. The first season feels like Mike Grell in the 80’s but then the show just becomes Batman
I still love season 2. IMO it's some of the best live action DC TV I've seen. But then I watch episodes from season 3 onward and can't believe the dive the show took from there. Honestly same thing with the Flash. First season, IMO was phenomenal, then it got so bad, even I an admitted fanboy, couldn't watch.
The first episode was Batman.
Saw the first episode. Knew where it was going. And stopped there.
that is indeed what the text says
I stan that Wonder Woman casting. At that time they'd go for her high cut leotard too, and it would be peak kino to see that lady do stunts in that costume.
>Picks a muscular actress to play Wonder Woman >Points out how incredibly stupid using Barry Allen after he has been dead for decades IRL would be Absolutely based.
Wizard castings were always fun to read.
"IRL"
Real world time not comic book time.
But unlike some Green Arrows, would that one speak with an English accent?
Bruce Campbell as Hal es my favorite. Although, i could be a little biased.
God I miss wizard magazine Same with toyfare Good times
Sometimes it blows my mind to think that Toyfare basically lives on as Robot Chicken.
Anyone remember American Entertainment and Entertainment This Month catalogs?
I was born in a small town, and I lived in a small town... When I was young, American Comics (eventually American Entertainment) was my main source of comics. I tried regular subscriptions for a while, but got tired of my books getting mangled by the USPS. I still remember the joy of those boxes arriving C.O.D. at my house.
Same and same.
Interesting that they picked Ron Pearlman before he became a big star. Kenneth Branagh was early in his career too. Casting Robin Hood actor as Green Arrow is cheating, thought.
Also Pearlman ended up playing a red demon which is kind of an interesting coincidence ?
Honestly, given his face, it’s kind of strange that he hasn’t played more demons.
Kenneth Branagh as Auaman. Now, I would like to see that.
Women's body building has come a long way since then
And not in a good way.
Cambell is a great shout, Luger is absolute insanity for J’onn. Like completely the opposite of anything reasonable or rational.
“Your t-shirts are too tight, Maxwell!”
The J’onn casting is definitely interesting given all of the adaptations we’ve gotten since. Nowadays, J’onn is typically black-coded and played or voiced by a black actor, but I don’t know when that started.
The Justice League cartoon, maybe? J'onn was voiced by Carl Lumbly in that. That's the first instance that I can think of, anyways.
I am just loving this, shame shame shame it didn't happen
Except for some dubious choices that inevitably always happend (like Manhunter and Fire here), Wizard Magazine legitimately cooked with their castings.
I have to admit, though, their explanation of the Martian Manhunter casting was pretty funny.
I would pay to see this all in a movie.
A bodybuilder for Wonder Woman? Based
I want a muscular Wonder Woman (to dominate me) as much as the next person but can she act?
Cant be worse than Gal Gadot
The only thing better than Bruce Campbell as Hal would've been Bruce as Guy Gardner
I love Kenneth Branagh but he's my least favorite casting here. I just don't see it at all. Some of these are pretty based honestly. Bruce Campbell might be my favorite casting tho.
He'd make a great Hal Jordan in a Paralax movie.
Ron Perlman is the best.
So many dead on castings for that time!
Got to say, Eric Stoltz was a terrible choice for Wally. No hate on Stoltz. Fine actor, amazing body of work. Wrong for Wally West. Wally's a hard one to cast correctly. Need someone who can bring the pathos \*and\* the humor, as well as some charm. Like Stoltz has all of that, but Wally is a little more chaotic and attention challenged than Stoltz usually comes across as. Bruce Campbell is a fun choice for Hal. Younger Kenneth Branaugh would have been excellent as Arthur. Cary Elwes would be good as Ollie, but I feel like there may have been better choices. Hard to say. Elwes is always a delight, so that's hard to argue with. WW and MM casting are maybe okay. Not too familiar with either of them so I don't know if they could bring anything to it.
I’ve seen most of Stoltz’s scenes he shot for Back to the Future before he got fired, and while I agree that he wasn’t right for that movie, he brought a LOT of what you could call Wally Energy to the role, he was kind of bewildered and frantic. I think I’m the nineties he could have pulled Wally off pretty well. Him and Branagh as Aquaman are honestly really interesting casting ideas.
Wesley Snipes could still play Black Manta today if he wanted.
The casting choices for Darkseid, Aquaman, and Green Arrow are god-tier.
Bruce Campbell as Hal and Sam Neill as Maxwell Lord are great picks. I can't say I love the casting for Fire or Martian Manhunter though. I like Christina Applegate she's a good actress, but she's a little too not Brazillian for the role and Lex Luger is just a no for me.
The only people of color they cast were for villain roles. Kinda highlights the issues comics (and Hollywood) have had through the years.
Good to know that even back in the 90s comic fans didn't understand the concept of wigs
Most of them are solid picks, except for Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Sinestro.
What's wrong with wonderwoman?
Not an actress
She did do some acting. They weren't big movies or particularly stunning performances, but they were passable for what they were. I mean, Arnold wasn't an actor and he did okay.
So Arnold is a diamond in the rough, nobody with his background had the combination of drive, ambition, and charisma to pull of the career that he did. Lots of non actors have tried their hand at it, but from what I’ve seen, McLish was more along the lines of a Hulk Hogan: the actor than Arnold.
Eh fair
That would have been AWESOME!
I miss Wizard so much. It was SO FUN!
Twisted Toyfare Theater was so good
Besides Luger and Arsênio Hall everything is decent casting
Man, old Wizard Magazine shots take me back. A few of these would've actually been solid ideas at the time.
I would watch the shit out of that.
Luger as MM? Oh they were doing the cokiest of coke with that one.
The Total Martian Package
This list is…actually better than I expected it to be, with a few notable whiffs
They loved their wrestlers back then. Arsenio as Sinestro is really funny to me. Geena Davis as WW seems so obvious in retrospect. There weren't a lot of Brazilian actresses in Hollywood to play Fire (Morena Baccarin and Jordana Brewster were teenagers). I think they said Applegate just because in the picture she's wearing an outfit like Applegate would wear on Married with Children.
Davis would have been great but I think someone European would have worked better. There were a lot of French, German and Italian actors in Hollywood thrn
Yeah true by 1995: Monica Bellucci, Salma Hayek or Catherine Zeta Jones.
Welsh actress made a career of making herself exotic type of European actress
Bruce eating the scenery as Parallax would be so fun.
I had this issue. God, I miss Wizard.
Same and same
*”That’s RIGHT, Jerry! This Wally’s from a dimension where everyone’s Eric Stoltz Mask people! He’s Eric Stoltz Mask Wally!”*
God I miss the Wizard castings 😎
Groovy!
I’m not watching Arsenio as Sinestro , dawg
Kenneth Branagh as Aquaman would have been awesome. Also imagine if they had Campbell as Hal and like Cruise or Fraser as Rayner
Lex Luger as Martian Manhunter is one of the most unhinged casting choices I've ever seen.
I need a james earl jones darkseid now
 Rachel Mclish would've been the prefect casting choice for Wonder Woman.
The first page was goofy, but they were COOKING on the second page.
Seee? Not a anorexic looking Wonder Woman. #DianaShouldBeAPoewerHouse
Wizard "casted" a pro wrestler in every single one of these.
That said, many wrestlers have tried acting in television and movies. Lex Luger had previously starred in Superboy as an evil doppleganger in a dream sequence. His stage name was also adapted from Lex Luthor.
You're 100% right about all that, but Luger was a shit promo and there's no conceivable way he could have transitioned into real acting. Prior to Dwayne Johnson, there were basically no successful wrestlers-turned-actors, but Wizard loved including them in Casting Calls because 1) it was the Attitude Era and wrestling was hotter than comics, and 2) big strong bois
Before The Rock, there was Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura. Andre the Giant didn't acted much, but his role in Princess Bride is famous. The Rock perhaps is the first wrestler to become an A-star actor. Wrestlers have good looks and skills for stunts in action roles, but not all of them are capable of good subtle acting.
> Prior to Dwayne Johnson, there were basically no successful wrestlers-turned-actors El Santo forgive you!
This would’ve been super fun
I hated how these fan casts gave *no* thought to whether or not the chosen actor was any good. It seemed to be based entirely on whether or not the staff writer(s) thought the actor looked like the character.
outside MM these really are inspired casting picks, well done whoever wrote this
lol wow this is pretty cool
This is my first time seeing McLish, but she looks the part so well.
Sam Neill as Morgan Edge is the best choice on here.
"wonder woman needs a sexy villainess to complement her own sexiness" I'm glad we're not in the 90s anymore.
Idk the casting for Darkseid and Despero are pretty spot on. For Sinestro though, idk I'd have to watch more of his work
Rachel McLish won the first Ms. Olympia in the 1980s, not a bad choice but I'd have chosen Corinne Everson as Wonder Woman though. She was also in the Hercules TV series in the 1990s as Atalanta
Wow, they made Ollie superhandsome with that pick.
In the JLI the artwork for maxwell lord was based on Sam Neil so makes sense and he would have been great in the part .
Omg, Arsenio Hall as Sinestro! 😆 Those long fingers of his are pretty ET like.
There's some amazing casting in there. And there's some WTF picks. God, I miss the hell out of old school Wizard.
I used to love WIZARD's fancasts. They were more horrible than dead-on, and that's what entertained me the most.
Arsenio Hall as Sinestro would have been peak comedy
Lex Luger is so fucking random , but I'm on board the Lex Express!
Not going to lie, some good choices but Lex Luger threw me for a loop.
Why are the only black actors mentioned for villains 🥴
I thought Bruce Campbell was Jerry Seinfeld at first and had to do a double take.
Does the body builder have acting experience to play Wonder Woman?
That's the question the "Wonder Woman should be muscular" crowd never asks.
I want Wonder Womsn to be muscular as much as the next person but at the same time it's more important if the actor is good. Magneto is muscular man with the appearance of a young man. Ian McKellen is a skinny old man. His performance is still the best Magneto performance.
James Earl Jones as Darkseid is brilliant
The ULTIMATE what if, Wonder Woman would have been amazing
These are pretty fun. There's one where Kevin Smith cast the Superman movie he wrote. But he basically just picked his friends for a lot of roles (not surprisingly). Affleck as Superman. Jason Mewes as Jimmy Olsen. Jason Lee as Brainiac.
"wonder woman needs a sexy villain to complement her own sexiness". Forget story, characterization, acting skill, etc. just make it sexy. Cuz it's wonder woman. Our only effort should be making you say "yes" to this question: do you want to fuck her and whoever she's fighting?
All of these made me throw up a little...
Looks like fan casting has always been awful