There are a lot of reasons a superhero movie may not live up to its expectations.
But usually it boils down to some pretty hefty "what were they thinking?" choices for actors.
As today we just got our new Spider-Man, let’s take a look at the Top 10 worst casting decisions for superhero films!
10. Brandon Routh as Superman
With Routh in Superman Returns, it seems as if he accidentally lost his personality,
He’s arguably the blandest and emptiest of all movie superheroes.He has a super jaw, but none of the strength of character that the man of steel should have.
Apparently director Bryan Singer fought for him, but even the greatest make mistakes.
9. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze
Victor Fries is a scientist that goes mad after the loss of his wife. Sorry, but the Terminator doesn’t scream "grief-stricken scholar" to us.
Let’s be honest, Arnold is Arnold in every movie he’s in. Most times that works, but in this case it was too hard for the audience to see his character as a tragic villain, even an over-the-top-with-extra-cheese one.
Whoever thought up this casting choice should be put on ice.
8. Topher Grace as Venom
While a passable Eddie Brock, Topher Grace was simply not tough enough to play one of the most badass villains of all time: Venom.
Spidey-fans had waited decades to see Venom on the big screen and they got Grace’s head popping out of a rubber black suit. Ouch. Back to the basement, Forman.
7. Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face
Tommy Lee Jones would have made a fantastic Two-Face.
Unfortunately, Joel Schumacher decided to butcher the gamut of Batman villains (see Mr. Freeze above) and turned Harvey Dent into the Joker 2.0.
With all of his jumping around, whooping, and hollering, it’s amazing he found the time to do any coin flips.
6. Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider
What were they thinking?! Johnny Blaze was a young daredevil who made a deal with Mephisto (a.k.a. the Devil) in order to save his father’s life. This would give him supernatural powers and despite never finding a huge amount of success in the world of comic books – titles featuring the character are frequently cancelled due to poor sales – he’s still a favourite of many, many fans.
So, why in the hell (no pun intended) would you cast the middle-aged Nicolas Cage?!
8 Superheroes Totally Ruined by Japan Top 10 Incredibly Impractical Female Superhero Costumes5. Ben Affleck as Daredevil
Ben Affleck is not a horrible actor, just a horrible Daredevil.
He played the character without any sense of depth, which is especially troublesome since he delivered the exact same performance as Daredevil’s alter-ego, Matt Murdock.
I suppose it’s good to know that if Affleck ever actually became a superhero, it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure out his secret identity.
4. George Clooney as Batman
Clooney’s performance suggested that it’s cooler to be Bruce Wayne than Batman.
This was understandable from his perspective, as apparently the costume was so heavy, he could barely move and often had to be wheeled in and out of scenes.
We don’t think he’ll be donning any more capes anytime soon, and that’s okay with us.
3. Jessica Alba as The Invisible Woman
Alba is funny, gorgeous, and instantly likeable. That said, she was far too young to play the mother of the world’s most famous superhero family.
Susan Storm (The Invisible Woman) is supposed to be verging on minivan-mom-hood, while Alba, in the role, looked like she was on her way to her high school graduation.
2. Halle Berry as Catwoman
Halle Berry accepting the role of the Catwoman has to be one of the biggest career mysteries in Hollywood.
The actress had just won an Oscar and decided to run that momentum straight off a building and into the ground. But don’t worry. It was revived by a herd of cats.
1. Ryan Reynolds as The Green Lantern
Ryan Reynolds brings a lot of handsome snark to his roles so there’s no doubt he’d make a great superhero, like the Flash or Deadpool.
Green Lantern, however, is a seriously conflicted pilot who gets the chance to help defend the Earth from colossal threats. Reynold’s portrayal of Hal Jordan makes him come off as a wiseacre better suited for an SNL sketch.
Can we get Nathan Fillion for the reboot?