Comic Book Casting Call: The Exiles

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inferiorego

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Edited By inferiorego  Staff
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Welcome to Comic Book Casting Call, a new feature here at CV where we take a look at some of our favorite stories and books from the comic book world and figure out who to cast as the main characters, if a movie was being made about them. In the inaugural edition of this feature, we're going to take a look at one of my favorite Marvel series of all time: EXILES.

In 2001, Marvel put out a book with one of the most interesting concepts they've ever tackled. The 100 issue series was called EXILES, written by Judd Winick, with art by Mike McKone. In EXILES, characters from different universes in Marvel's vast universe collection and placed them onto a team with one goal: travel to different universes and fix what's wrong, so each team member can make it back to their own world.

EXILES was one part Quantum Leap and one part Sliders. It was everything fans loved about Marvel and science-fiction, wrapped up into one amazing series where anything could happen, even the death of main characters.The first trade, Down the Rabbit Hole, covers issues #1-4 of the series, and believe it or not, the first two issues, titled "Down the Rabbit Whole/Sins of the Father" would be the prefect story to make into a feature length film.

In these two issues, we're introduced to the Exiles: Magnus, Mimic, Morph, Nocturne, Thunderbird, and Blink. The mysterious Timebroker explains the situation their in, where they have to dimension-hop in order to fix these worlds. They end up going to a beaten down world where their Tallus (an object on Blink's arm which gives them clues to what they have to accomplish) tells them they have to find "the one who will lead us. Find your greatest teacher." The team, primarily made of X-Men members, knows they have to find Charles Xavier. They quickly find him and realize he's not a good guy on this world, and the Exiles must stop Xavier and his X-Men.

Here, we'll be casting whoever we want, regardless of "star power" or who should be "top billing" or even how much these actors and actresses may or may not cost.

Magnus Lehnsherr - Keanu Reeves

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The child of Magneto and Rogue has all the powers of his father but much more powerful. All that power doesn't come without its drawbacks though. He also gained a second mutation, which turns anyone he touches into metal, which kills them. To play a somber character like this, you need someone who can play it cool, Keanu Reeves. Say what you want about Reeves, but he plays a character who is out of their element incredibly well. He does great in a serious role as a character with a twinge of humor, and that's what Magnus is. He's a bit more stoic and straight-laced than some of his counterparts, and while Reeves may a bit old to play the comic book counterpart, that's fine. The team is a bit young to begin with, so putting in more of a "father figure" would round them out better on screen, especially if that character is Magnus, who already acts like he's in his 40s.

Mimic - Alexander Ludwig

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This version of Mimic is a lot like the 616 version. He can mimic up to five powers of any mutant he comes across and he's a bit cocky and arrogant. Unlike his 616 counterpart, though, he stayed with the X-Men and became a hero. He needs to be played by someone young who can tap into his cockiness and that's why we picked Alexander Ludwig. Most folks will know him as Cato, the antagonist in The Hunger Games. He can play a member of a team and show leadership qualities, which is a lot like Mimic. Ludwig has the look and the acting chops to pull of this complex character.

Morph - Doug Jones

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Morph may look identical to his Age of Apocalypse counterpart, but it's not him. This character is truly the comic relief of the group, but he's still comes in handy in battle. Without a doubt, this version of Morph has a really bizarre look to him, and there's one actor that always fits into those weird roles, Doug Jones. He's no stranger to playing comic book roles. He played Abe Sapien in both Hellboy films and the Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four sequel. As for the comedy side of the character, Jones did have a bit part on the television show Comedy Bang! Bang!, so he does have some skill as there as well.

Nocturne - Chloe Moretz

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Nocturne is the daughter of X-Men legend, Nightcrawler and uncontrollable mystic, Scarlet Witch, but you could probably tell from the look alone, right? She's young and cool and is the heart of the team. She's incredibly agile and acrobatic, like her father. She can also possess people for up to 12 hours and can fire "hex-bolts" at people. To play Nocturne, we picked Chloe Moretz, which most people will know as Hit-Girl from Kick Ass. She's been fantastic in everything she's been in recently, even if the film is a bit of a flop. She also really has the same type of face as Nocturne. Moretz would really round out this cast very well.

Thunderbird - Eddie Spears

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Thunderbird was probably the toughest character to cast, mainly because of his size. Would this be a character that would have to be completely computer generated the whole film? We decided to go with a larger actor for this role who may not be the same size as Thunderbird, but would still measure up. Who should play this once tortured servant of Apocalypse? Hell on Wheels star Eddie Spears. It's hard to find someone that tall, muscular, and talented, let alone Native American, but Spears really fits the bill for Thunderbird, except for the bulky part, but that's fine because Spears could really nail this character.

Blink - Danai Gurira

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This film needs a strong, female lead? Why not Danai Gurira? Most of you know her as Michonne from AMC's The Walking Dead. She's tough and doesn't take guff from no one. While Blink is a bit softer of the leader, since she's not chopping off people's heads with a katana, she's still an extremely strong leader for the Exiles and a person the other members look towards for guidance. Aside from that, Gurira has the look. She already has short hair and is muscular while still looking slender. Sure, we could have taken the easy route and just said Bingbing Fan should play Blink, since she's doing so in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, but where's the fun in that?

Timebroker - Patton Oswalt

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Timebroker is a construct of the Exiles collective subconsciousness. He's the "person" that sends the Exiles on their quests. He's a lot like a dungeon master. There's no better person to play this part than actor/comedian Patton Oswalt. First, he's a nerdy guy, so it's nice for fans to see someone in their films that is also passionate about the work. Also, the Timebroker isn't a comedic character, but we think Oswalt could easily pull off this character, who is straight to the point, explanatory, and pretty serious.

Charles Xavier - Ed Harris

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Xavier has a ton of mutants working for him, but we wanted to focus only on Xavier, rather than the cast of mutants behind him. This is a very different Charles Xavier than we're used to. He's evil, determined, and terrorizing. When we think of an evil character like this, no one would be better to play him than Ed Harris. He's a world class actor and looks about the same age as Xavier is in the comic. Harris can play a darker character

There you have it. That's how we'd cast an Exiles film, based off the first story in the book. Do you guys have characters from future stories in the Exiles world you'd like to cast? Let us know in the comment section below!

Mat "Inferiorego" Elfring is a monster. He hosts an Internet culture podcast and whines on his Twitter account about being locked out of his house.

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deactivated-579fe0ae58107

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I'll have to put Exiles on my reading list!

I don't know that I would spend money to see Keanu Reeves in anything any more though...

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Jonny_Anonymous

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Ha @inferiorego your casting for Thunderbird was who I wanted for Warpath also I've never read EXiles and that's pretty weird since it has X-Men and dimension hopping and those are two of my favourite films.

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inferiorego

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#3 inferiorego  Staff

Ha @inferiorego your casting for Thunderbird was who I wanted for Warpath also I've never read EXiles and that's pretty weird since it has X-Men and dimension hopping and those are two of my favourite films.

We're really on the same page then!

EXILES is the book that got me reinterested in Marvel comics, about 10 years ago.

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judasnixon

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I love fan casting. Are you doing a new comic each week?

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MadeinBangladesh

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Wow awesome cast!

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Maddpanda531

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I haven't even read the article yet and I already love it. Great idea for a feature!

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SoA

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idk about keanu , but since i read all of exiles , its not a issue (as long as the film /series doesn't take the walking dead route)

and danai is a bit old to play blink . now i have to re-read everything , having the timebroker played by patton oswald is awesome .

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@jonny_anonymous said:

Ha @inferiorego your casting for Thunderbird was who I wanted for Warpath also I've never read EXiles and that's pretty weird since it has X-Men and dimension hopping and those are two of my favourite films.

We're really on the same page then!

EXILES is the book that got me reinterested in Marvel comics, about 10 years ago.

I should get to reading it then also I really like your Doug Jones as Morph casting. BTW did you read the last run of Xtreme X-Men? I Heard it was kinda like Exiles.

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inferiorego

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#9 inferiorego  Staff

I love fan casting. Are you doing a new comic each week?

Depends. It takes a while to write. I'm thinking it may have to be monthly, much like how Wizard Magazine did it monthly, back in the day.

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judasnixon

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@inferiorego: I've done one for Sage, NEXTwave, and Superior Foes of Spiderman so far.

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switch the roles for danai and chloe and get younger players for magnus and morph (these are people in their 20s). jamie bell would be a good magnus dont know about morph. need someone fun and funny,, maybe an unknown

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iceslick

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#12  Edited By iceslick

@inferiorego: Wow, great casting choice Mat! You really do your research and I don't even know some of them. But they still look good nonetheless. I'm glad you still would recast Blink anyways despite of Days of Future Past. I have no problem with who she is cast as in that movie though, I just want her skin to be PINK! It would have looks more awesome in my opinion. I think it would be tough to have Danai for that movie though because she's on the Walking Dead and would probably cause schedule problems. Sorry if I'm putting my post on a what-if real life situation. lol

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inferiorego

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#13 inferiorego  Staff

@inferiorego said:

@jonny_anonymous said:

Ha @inferiorego your casting for Thunderbird was who I wanted for Warpath also I've never read EXiles and that's pretty weird since it has X-Men and dimension hopping and those are two of my favourite films.

We're really on the same page then!

EXILES is the book that got me reinterested in Marvel comics, about 10 years ago.

I should get to reading it then also I really like your Doug Jones as Morph casting. BTW did you read the last run of Xtreme X-Men? I Heard it was kinda like Exiles.

I read parts of it. It was pretty good.

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inferiorego

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#14 inferiorego  Staff

@inferiorego: I've done one for Sage, NEXTwave, and Superior Foes of Spiderman so far.

Years ago, I think I did a couple for CV, in my early staff days for Y: The Last Man and X-Men.

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kidchipotle

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Great casting call. I've always had eXiles on my "to read list" but the description of the first arc made me really want to read this. I might have to bump it up on my list…

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mak13131313

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I would definitely see this movie. Great casting!

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LCazT1996

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That'd be a brilliant movie.

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gjohnston786

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I like this article. Reminds me of what wizard used to do back in the day.

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Thatlyn Yoaeg'ill'rymmin

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I want the Exiles BACK T_T

The True Exiles, not the Fake "New Exiles" or the "New" simple Exiles of Parker [a waaaay better than the "new exiles", anyway]

...they don't need to be the "original" Exiles, nor the same hero or story... but... I want back the vibe, the feel, the emotion of a trully great and funny team of true original heroes!

They was Powerfull, really "Avengers-Level"

They was FUNNY

They was NEW, ORIGINAL but also Very Familiar to old readers...

They have real problem, emotional problem, great power and great responability, action, drama, thrill!!!

And their adventures... unique! News! Shocking!

So, Marvel... why not a "Exiles NOW" series? EXILES NOW please!!!

So Sad... T_T

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2cool4fun

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I don't know that I would spend money to see Keanu Reeves in anything any more though...

Why, he's awesome.

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ArtisticNeedham

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AWESOME idea for a Comic Vine article. great choices too. So many Exile characters to cast also.

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ectoborge

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Can you do this again but for a Teen Titans/Young Justice Movie?

Thanks ;)

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jcj145

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I really liked this article! Hope this becomes something to look forward to each week!

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Darkmount1

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I think Exiles would work better as an animated series, there's more you can do visually as well as characteristically.

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inferiorego

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#25  Edited By inferiorego  Staff

Can you do this again but for a Teen Titans/Young Justice Movie?

Thanks ;)

Ok....

Robin - Eddie Murphy

Kid Flash - Eddie Murphy

Superboy - Eddie Muphy

Beast Boy - Eddie Murphy

Artemis - Eddie Murphy

Red Arrow - Eddie Murphy

Blue Beetle - Eddie Murphy

Lagoon Boy - Eddie Murphy

Miss Martian - Eddie Murphy

Static - Eddie Murphy

Hey, it worked for Nutty Professor!

For sure though, I'll put it on my list.

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Mister_Sensational

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@inferiorego

First let me say THANK YOU! for adding this feature to CV, I always loved the "Casting Call" portion of Wizard Magazine and it is great to see it here on this site especially considering how now-a-days ANY character/team/concept from a comic company either presently being published or published in times past can be made into a feature film. Interesting choice going with The Exiles for the first one, I'll have to re-read my Exiles trades to really see how much I agree with your choice of actors. I look forward to future segments of this.

And just out of curiosity, who would you get to play Sabretooth?

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deactivated-5fbfd5d291164

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Awesome idea!

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Fallen_Crippled

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Great casting! Gurira as Blink is one I would have never thought of, but it fits perfectly!

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We seriously need a casting call for Fables.

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Love this feature. Do Ultimate Spider-man!

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IrishX

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Worst idea for an article I've ever seen on CV. Fan casting is beyond pointless and is a major joke. Bunch of hypocrites. Yeah, let's act like looks don't matter but then do fan casting based on exactly that.

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#32  Edited By Jonny_Anonymous

@irishx said:

Worst idea for an article I've ever seen on CV. Fan casting is beyond pointless and is a major joke. Bunch of hypocrites. Yeah, let's act like looks don't matter but then do fan casting based on exactly that.

yea, how dare people have fun. SHAME ON YOU PEOPLE!

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IrishX

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@jonny_anonymous: This is a quote from K4 on the Jordan casting...

"I've yet to see how Human Torch being black actually changes who he is instead of just the color of his skin. How does this alter his actual character (as in "the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual") instead of just THAT'S NOT HOW HE LOOKS IN THE COMICS?"

This is what takes away the fun of fan casting. It's the people who want to be politically correct and sh*t on those who want the characters from the comics to actually look like the character in a movie. Normally I would enjoy a fan casting but no longer. It's just a big joke to me now.

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SupremeHyperion

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This is something me and a few friends were talking about the other day and would in my mind make for an amazing movie.

Liked all the castings other than Blink and Morph.

This is one of the Marvel books that I think would make for a great Animated series, you could do so much and introduce new comic fans to so much of the Marvel Universe. (One can dream)

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Jonny_Anonymous

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@irishx said:

@jonny_anonymous: This is a quote from K4 on the Jordan casting...

"I've yet to see how Human Torch being black actually changes who he is instead of just the color of his skin. How does this alter his actual character (as in "the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual") instead of just THAT'S NOT HOW HE LOOKS IN THE COMICS?"

This is what takes away the fun of fan casting. It's the people who want to be politically correct and sh*t on those who want the characters from the comics to actually look like the character in a movie. Normally I would enjoy a fan casting but no longer. It's just a big joke to me now.

So your posting a comment that Katz posted as a reason why you should ignore an article by Inferiorego? How does that make sense? Also the aim of the game is to pick actors you think could be good at playing the characters not what ones looks the most like them. This isn't a look alike contest.

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IrishX

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@jonny_anonymous: "This isn't a look alike contest."

I know right. What the hell was I thinking when I saw those pictures of actors and actresses next to the picture of the comic character.

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Jonny_Anonymous

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@irishx: You'll notice a few of them look nothing like the character they are playing but are still actors that can do a good job.

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multiverse

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The nice thing about Exiles to me was that it was already diverse without having to worry about changing the race or gender of a character. That said, why no pick for Magneto?