350 - Hollywood: The Studio Gambit (Patreon)

350 - Old Roles, New Faces

The casting call spread beyond newcomers. Johnny Depp's agent asked Zack Snyder whether there was a small DC part worth a meeting. Depp did not need a franchise to make himself known; he liked the possibility of stepping into one for a scene or two. Other established actors made similar inquiries. The schedule growing on Judy's desk had become the most interesting one in town.

Fans conducted their own casting campaign online. Hugh Jackman's name received more support than any other for Wolverine, despite Fox's existing films. When a reporter asked him about Marvel's new version, he said no invitation had reached him.

The Russos answered carefully. Their plan for the Marvel continuity would not make Wolverine its central character, and any appearance still depended on the agreements being discussed with Fox. If the contracts and the part worked, they would be glad to speak to Jackman about a smaller role. That was enough to keep the forums busy without promising a film Marvel could not yet shoot.

A week after Jason Momoa's audition, DC released its Aquaman camera tests. Jason held the trident in a rougher version of Arthur Curry's costume. Some readers missed the fair-haired king from the comics. Others saw a man who looked capable of holding a contested throne. Either way, the photograph was difficult to ignore.

Patrick Wilson appeared beside him as Orm, armored and composed, with the bearing of a brother who already considered the crown his. James Wan knew how Wilson worked under pressure and wanted him for that contrast. Anne Hathaway won the part of Mera after a crowded round of readings. Her test photograph balanced warmth with the threat that she could use the blade in her hand. The response to the three images was strong enough that Judy moved the next set of publicity work forward.

Ethan knew Hathaway's casting closed off another possibility he remembered from a different timeline. If Nolan's Batman films reached Catwoman, they would find someone else. That decision belonged to a later meeting, not to this launch.

The Green Lantern team had a harder lead to settle. Ryan Reynolds wanted Hal Jordan, but James and Zack had looked at his commitments to Transformers, The Hangover, and Sharknado and worried that their dates would collide. Ryan auditioned. His calendar, not the reading, kept him off the first shortlist.

He called Ethan on a Saturday afternoon.

Ethan was with Nicole, Charlize, Gal, Ashley, and Mary-Kate. They had shut out the rest of the house for a few private hours. On the wall screen was a recording Judy had sent him of herself and Alexandra, both adults and masked; Judy had meant it for him, not for anyone who might walk in. Ethan muted it when the phone rang and saw Ryan's name.

"This had better be important," he said.

"Should I call tomorrow?"

"You're already here. Talk."

"Hal Jordan. James liked my reading, but they're worried about my schedule. I can move the other work. The Hangover won't take months, Sharknado is shorter, and the next Transformers isn't starting tomorrow. Can you ask them to look again?"

Nicole leaned against Ethan's shoulder. He shifted the phone away from her and tried to keep his answer professional.

"I won't order James to cast you because you called me at home. Give Carol your available dates. If the schedule works, you get the same consideration as everyone else."

"That's all I'm asking."

"You could have asked on Monday."

"I was worried you'd decide before Monday."

Ethan could not fault him for that. He ended the call, set the phone face down, and returned to the adults who had made their opinion of interruptions plain.

By evening, Ryan's question was still in his mind. In the future Ethan remembered, a Green Lantern film with Ryan had failed badly. Its Hal gave up too easily, its villains had little force, and the effects had swallowed the character instead of serving him. Repeating the casting did not require repeating that film.

Their new script spent much of its time on Oa with the Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro was the immediate threat, a figure Hal would have to understand before he could confront. Parallax was held for a later story. There was no conventional Earthbound romance to carry the middle of the first movie. The ensemble, and Hal's choices within it, had to do that work.

James reviewed the dates Ryan sent over. After shifting one rehearsal window, he had room. The team offered Ryan the part, subject to the contract and training schedule, and DC released his camera test. Ethan heard the old question rise again: could one actor be Hal Jordan for DC and, someday, Wade Wilson for Marvel? These were separate film groups. It would be a problem only if the films themselves made it one.

That left the Flash. James sent Ethan five finalists for Barry Allen. Ethan read their pages, watched the tests, and returned to one face: Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

"This one," he told Judy. "Joseph Gordon-Levitt is our Barry Allen. Work out the offer with his team."

Judy took the file. Outside her office, the casting calls had not stopped. Inside, the two studios were beginning to look like the worlds Ethan had promised from the stage.