Batman: The Animated Series Fancasting!

I'm back to writing after a brief hiatus brought on by a wild sinus infection. While hallucinating on a (really rather spicy) combination of steroids, antibiotics, decongestants, and allergy medicine, I was visited by a wandering spirit. The spirit raised my head from my pillow, looked into my eyes, and said, "If you don't roll over every now and then you'll get bedsores, dipshit." I wonder what cryptic lessons that message holds, even now in my lucid state. 

To pass the time, I started watching an old favorite, which I've admittedly not re-watched since I was too young to remember it, Batman: The Animated Series. While watching, I had the idea to fancast the episodes as I finish them. It seemed like a great deal of fun to me, and an opportunity to get a little writing in in my free time, so I've opted to capitalize on the idea. Here are the ground rules. This fancast is going to exist within the Pattinson-verse, and as such any casting decisions already made for The Batman will stand. It was a really well-cast film, I have zero complaints. I usually tend to gravitate toward big names, that is because I'm an uncultured dumb-dumb, so try to bear with me. Finally, I'm going to be casting each episode as if it were a movie, so I'm going to assume at least enough screen time to secure my choices is available. 

Today, I'm going to start with Episode 1, which on HBO Max is The Cat and the Claw, which is a two-part episode revolving around Batman's first interactions with Catwoman, as well as introducing a character original to the show Red Claw. Thankfully, the big casting decisions have already been made for me. We already know Batman and Catwoman, as well as Alfred and Commissioner Gordon. I feel like my job in this case is going to be casting the secondary characters that support the episode, and round out the cast. 

First on the chopping block is going to be Selena Kyle's live-in assistant and secretary (and definitely nothing else) Maven. In the episode, Maven is presented as a very stereotypical secretary fitting for this aesthetic. I think I'm going to keep that energy in my casting choice. I think the chief concern with this choice is going to be finding someone capable of playing across from Zoë Kravitz and match her vibe. I want someone who can be the Alfred to her Bruce, especially if I can find someone who feels to Kravitz what Andy Serkis feels to Robpat Battinbat. Serkis is a far cry from the typical Alfred we have come to expect with Batman adaptations, feeling like a more stout and formidable Pennyworth. For that reason, I think I'd like to find someone who can provide both a matronly nature, but a formidable presence for Maven. She's also portrayed as being of an age with Catwoman in the series, so I'm going to try and keep that. 

I think, given the above criteria and the potential she's shown with her work in the MCU, Florence Pugh is a prime choice for this role. Black Widow and Hawkeye gave me enough faith in both Pugh's ability to command attention, as well as act subtly depending upon the demands of the part. 

Next up, let's go for a really small character, and henchman to our next character, Mr. Stern. Stern appears in the episode as the head of Mulitgon, a real estate development company with designs on converting land near Gotham, which could serve as a wildcat sanctuary, into a gentrified dystopic theme park. Wildly enough, I think the minor themes of The Batman regarding privilege and oversight could really step into the forefront when adapting this story, and Stern is one of the key components in that equation. We need someone who is obviously subservient to our big-bad, but who also can provide solid mini-boss energy. I'm thinking of someone with a punchable face, but who can really dial up the charm if need be. 

So, given these criteria I am of two minds on my casting choice. On one hand, I'd love to go with a younger-looking actor who can provide a sense of naivety to the character. Perhaps even a sense that without the external influence of the big-bad, he may not have gone astray. In that case, my first thought was Colin Hanks. He plays young, he has a striking resemblance to the character as portrayed in the show, and he is competent as hell at the craft. I think he'd be perfect for the role, but I actually think I want him for another role in a future episode. 

If I'm not using Colin Hanks, I think I want to skew a little older on the character. I'm thinking I'll go for someone who is a proven talent at portraying a symbol of gentrification, as well as portraying a character who just emits raw slimeball energy. There's only one talent I can think of that ticks all of my boxes for this iteration of the character, based purely on his performance in Ant Man and The Wasp, and that actor is Walton Goggins. Goggins is a gifted actor and, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, has arguably the most punchable face in the industry. 

Lastly, I want to cast the villain for the movie. I'm not sure of the optics on having the villain turn out to be not only a woman of pretty vague ethnicity and descent the whole time in 2022, but I want to stay at least somewhat consistent with the source material. 

Red Claw is a violent and brutal terrorist and martial artist, who was portrayed as both a competent leader and real badass in the series. I think it would be a huge mistake not to capitalize on that aspect of the character in our casting. So in summary, I'm looking for a proven badass, preferably one who has done some on-screen fighting, and who has an accent. 

I think there is an obvious answer to the casting here. It's not often that I sit down to write one of these with a clear picture of who would fill a spot before I start frantically Googling for actors with the right vibe, but in this case, I think the correct answer has been sitting in front of us since June of 2017. Frankly, the only downsides I can imagine to casting Gal Gadot in the role of Red Claw is that her accent is slightly easier to place than the vague Eastern European accent Kate Mulgrew gave in the source material, and starring here would likely spell doom for her current Wonder Woman franchise. The thing about that is that DC and Warner brothers seem to be playing pretty fast and loose with continuity and whether or not they intend to pursue sequels at this point, so it could be that after 1984 the Wonder Woman franchise may already be dead in the water. 

Gadot is capable of being imposing, has shown an aptitude for combat choreography, and unless I'm misremembering, could be the first actor to punch two distinct Batsman on screen. She's even proven that she's capable of performing as something akin to a villain vis-à-vis Red Notice, so I'm interested in whether or not she could portray someone truly coldblooded and vicious. 

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