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If They Made a Baldur's Gate Movie: Redux, The Definitive Casting

BaldursCatBaldursCat Member Posts: 432
in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
Alright, alright, before you roll your eyes at me and sigh, this perennial discussion seems to have resurfaced over in 'Teh Meme' thread again, with some pretty good suggestions too, so rather than clog that thread up with OT stuff let's gather them all here. (Or of course we could summon Xzar to perform thread necromancy on about a dozen other similar threads!

I'll fire the opening salvo and throw George Clooney as a suggestion for casting as Keldorn Firecam, and the no-brainer of Joe Manganiello as Anomen.

Have at it!
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Comments

  • DazzuDazzu Member Posts: 950
    This thread again? Well, I like opening cans of worms so I'll just say... whatever. Video game movies CAN work if done smartly.
  • mforwwmforww Member Posts: 78
    edited November 2013
    XerxesV said:


    "You'd. Be a fool to think I'd trust you. Now. Step aside. Or I'll stab your lackeys in the face with a soldering iron."

    Oh. My. God. That would be perfect. I literally laughed out loud hahaha

    How about an athlete-attempts-to-act scenario with Kobe Bryant as Valygar?



  • marcerormarceror Member Posts: 577
    mforww said:

    XerxesV said:


    "You'd. Be a fool to think I'd trust you. Now. Step aside. Or I'll stab your lackeys in the face with a soldering iron."

    Oh. My. God. That would be perfect. I literally laughed out loud hahaha

    How about an athlete-attempts-to-act scenario with Kobe Bryant as Valygar?

    Yeah, because clearly Christopher Walken and Kobe Bryant would just jump at the chance to star in a movie fashioned after an aging computer game. And if there's any doubt as to the eventual quality, they can just watch the 2 Dungeons and Dragons movies out there to be instantly assured. They're as good as hired! :P
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    I'll go out on a limb here - David Warner to play Jon Irenicus? :-)
  • rufus_hobartrufus_hobart Member Posts: 490
    said it before, i'll say it again. Rusty Crowe as Minsc. that is all.
  • SharShar Member Posts: 158
    marceror said:

    mforww said:

    XerxesV said:


    "You'd. Be a fool to think I'd trust you. Now. Step aside. Or I'll stab your lackeys in the face with a soldering iron."

    Oh. My. God. That would be perfect. I literally laughed out loud hahaha

    How about an athlete-attempts-to-act scenario with Kobe Bryant as Valygar?

    Yeah, because clearly Christopher Walken and Kobe Bryant would just jump at the chance to star in a movie fashioned after an aging computer game. And if there's any doubt as to the eventual quality, they can just watch the 2 Dungeons and Dragons movies out there to be instantly assured. They're as good as hired! :P
    ^ That.

    Though to be honest I would prefer Game of Thrones style of series for BG saga rather than just a movie.
  • Smoke_JaguarSmoke_Jaguar Member Posts: 24
    AstroBryGuy said:

    I'll go out on a limb here - David Warner to play Jon Irenicus? :-)

    CG Irenicus with Warner doing the voice.
  • enneractenneract Member Posts: 187
    rufus_hobart said:

    said it before, i'll say it again. Rusty Crowe as Minsc. that is all.

    Nah, Adam Baldwin.
  • SartainSartain Member Posts: 18
    Considering Vin Diesel is actually a D&D player, I'm sure he'd love the opportunity though. But honestly, I think he'd work better as Minsc than as Sarevok. Definitely on board with Mark Strong as Irenicus, mostly because Mark Strong is awesome in all his roles :)
  • DazzuDazzu Member Posts: 950
    Everyone's first instinct is to talk cast... why?

    There's a LOT more to work out before one starts casting anything. It needs a script, a plan... uh... and other things!

    So how would it work? Certainly we cant cram all of BG into 1.5 or even 3.5 hours. That's why I think each part could be a trilogy. So Baldurs Gate could be a trilogy leading up to the defeat of Mulahey, part two leading up to BG City itself. And part 3 the big climax. MAYBE a Part four if we want Tales of the Sword Coast thrown in there.
  • GoodSteveGoodSteve Member Posts: 607
    edited November 2013
    Dazzu said:

    Everyone's first instinct is to talk cast... why?

    There's a LOT more to work out before one starts casting anything. It needs a script, a plan... uh... and other things!

    So how would it work? Certainly we cant cram all of BG into 1.5 or even 3.5 hours. That's why I think each part could be a trilogy. So Baldurs Gate could be a trilogy leading up to the defeat of Mulahey, part two leading up to BG City itself. And part 3 the big climax. MAYBE a Part four if we want Tales of the Sword Coast thrown in there.

    I think it might be a bit much to spread the first game into 3 movies. While fun to play, it would be quite boring to watch Charname run around the Sword Coast finding a Halflings Short Sword or returning a cursed ring to a mind-addled little gnome (you'll wertle wertle too!). Really the movie should just involve the main questline and probably focus on a smaller group, say 3-4 characters if you want to have any decent character development at all. I think you could make a 2-2.5 hour long movie that would tell the story of BG1 fairly effectively. Barring that, I think like a 10 episode mini series would be the best bet. You could include more characters and have them fleshed out and even have an episode that revolved solely around Sarevok to truly get an idea of what he is like and his motivations. If the big bad is fully fleshed out it will make the audience more invested in seeing what happens to him.

    That casting pic looks fairly good but sadly many of those actors are much older now than their pictures and sadly not great choices for the characters any more since some of them are much older than they should be. A good exmample is Gary Oldman as Edwin... Edwin's really not that old but Gary Oldman went and turned into an old man (ZING!). Same with Ray Stevenson as Minsc. Minsc is on a journey to manhood and Ray Stevenson is 49... (which is sad 'cause I think he'd be a good choice if this movie came out 29 years ago :p)

    Some more recent actors that I think would be good for some of the parts are:

    Jason Momoa as Sarevok
    image
    He's 6'3" and heavily muscled and much younger than Vin Diesel. All you'd need to do is shave his head.

    Liam Neeson as Gorion
    image
    I mean this one is obvious. He's made for these elderly mentor roles. Especially ones where he dies.

    Tom Hiddleston as Xan
    image
    Great actor and with some prosthetic ears I think he looks spot on.

    Post edited by GoodSteve on
  • LordRumfishLordRumfish Member Posts: 937
    edited November 2013
    As I said in the Baldur's Gate Meme Thread (now in archives), give him some good makeup/CGI work and there's no better actor for Xan than Alan Rickman.

    EDIT: I did say that Edward Norton would make a good substitute if you just can't get Alan Rickman.
  • AkihikoAkihiko Member Posts: 213
    I thought to myself "Let's face it, Alan Rickman can make it work for ANY role." ...And then I heard in my head, in his voice, "Minsc and Boo stand ready!" I made myself chuckle.
  • GoodSteveGoodSteve Member Posts: 607
    LordRumfish said:

    As I said in the Baldur's Gate Meme Thread (now in archives), give him some good makeup/CGI work and there's no better actor for Xan than Alan Rickman.

    EDIT: I did say that Edward Norton would make a good substitute if you just can't get Alan Rickman.

    While those are both good suggestions since they are both good actors in their own right I think they're both a little old to be playing a member of the fair folk.
  • LordRumfishLordRumfish Member Posts: 937
    ::shrug:: I admit your point @GoodSteve but if the sky is the limit for the budget, we can CGI 'em to look like their younger selves. Or use really good makeup and prosthetics.
  • GoodSteveGoodSteve Member Posts: 607
    Yeah maybe. I kinda hope that the movie would be pretty CGI light, 'cause BG1 has kind of a gritty tone to it that would be better emulated with practical effects. I'm also very wary of using CGI makeup or effects on real life actors... it typically doesm't work out so great.

    image


  • LordRumfishLordRumfish Member Posts: 937
    Yeah, the example that came to my mind was Tron: Legacy. They did ok, but it was kinda weird. If it seems impossible to handle with makeup and camera work, then perhaps a different actor should be used. I just can't shake the feeling that Alan Rickman is the best choice.
  • SartainSartain Member Posts: 18
    A much more interesting excersize would be to try and fit unusual actor choices into the BG cast roles. Like say, which characters would Jeff Bridges, Jean Reno and Steve Buscemi portray in BG? :)
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    also... NOT a movie. An epic trilogy of absurdly high-budget 10 part miniseries (one for each game: bg, soa and tob) aired on HBO. Plus I'm allowed final say in all casting/plot decisions and I reserve the right to conscript any actor I want against their will if I feel they fit the part well (Jason Isaacs better hide)
  • SCARY_WIZARDSCARY_WIZARD Member Posts: 1,438
    How about Dwayne Johnson? I think he could be a good Minsc, because he's pretty funny.
    And Jon Lovitz could be, uh...Quayle. He's already proven he's good at portraying angry and ranty short dudes, with The Critic.
    Maybe Charlie Day for Tiax. Or Volothamp Geddarn.
    And, and, like, Dolph Lundgren could totally be Keldorn. There'd need to be a scene where he removes his armor and gets a wound treated.
    Uhh, who am I missing... Deron McBee needs to be in it. So does Marc Singer. Nothing with swords is complete without Marc Singer!
    Buttercheese said:


    One of my personal picks:
    I don't know if AnnaSophia Robb has the acting talent to pull off a convincing Aerie (I only saw one movie with her) but she certainly has the looks.
    image

    Oh, ye GODS! :3!

    Uhh, anyways...yes. I agree with Karl Urban as Anomen Delryn. He was an awesome Caesar on Xena, so we know he can be a really good delusional fellow. Olivia Wilde is looking at me like I'm a sandwich. :( ... :D ... :(
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    edited November 2013
    Edit: Accidental post.
  • ButtercheeseButtercheese Member Posts: 3,766
    GoodSteve said:

    A good exmample is Gary Oldman as Edwin... Edwin's really not that old but Gary Oldman went and turned into an old man (ZING!).

    Ahahaha, Zing indeed x'D
    Poor Edwina.
    And so yes for your other three suggestions, Liam Neeson is best mentor. I could also see him as Keldorn. He may not have the looks for it but I bet he can play him well.


    @Everyone:
    On the theme of the studio: Obviously New Line Cinema (Lord of the Rings) or HBO (Game of Thrones).
    But then again, I think it would be much cooler to have the movie be an animation. I would rather see it in handdrawn though than in CGI.
    The Dragon Age movie was just way to disapointing (in every way).

    Soooo, do you think that the original voiceactors should all reprise thier roles or would you switch out some?
  • GemHoundGemHound Member Posts: 801
    edited November 2013
    booinyoureyes said:

    Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, Jon Irenicus:
    image

    Nope. This guy screams Saemon Havarian by appearance, but I could not see him as Irenicus just by the way he is. Mark Strong would fit it better.
  • ButtercheeseButtercheese Member Posts: 3,766
    edited November 2013
    How about Jack Gleeson as Saemon Havarian. Just because he can play completely dispisable douchebags so very very well. (I know he is to young but still. He would *own* that role).
    image
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    SCARY_WIZARD said:


    Maybe Charlie Day for Tiax. O\

    wow... that may just work
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