I think it is time to bring back The Wild Wild West, the show that was “steampunk” decades before the word even existed. It would be a crime against humanity to let that Barry Sonnenfeld disaster be the last word on the subject, in my opinion.
West will be calm, cool and collected, small to medium build.
Gordon will be slightly older, slightly more animated in character.
Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless will not be a joke and/or an amputee.
Who would you cast?
My opinion:
Chris Evans as West. he’s a bit too tall, maybe.
Karl Urban as Gordon. Don’t know about his ability to play people in disguise, but I think he needs to be in more TV shows.
Michael B Jordan as Loveless. He doesn’t have to be short to be driven like Michael Dunn’s Loveless. Being a super genius African American in the post civil war days might be even more of a motivation to be a villain.
Well, the original Dr. Loveless was a dwarf, and I’d think that Peter Dinklage has the acting chops and gravitas to pull off being a dwarf and a really menacing evil villain without being a joke.
As for West?.. Don’t know… but it has to be someonewith a little bit of panache- kind of an American James Bond in the Wild West ; I’d say Chris Pine maybe, but he’s a bit on the old side now, I think.
Maybe Zac Efron for West? No idea for Artemus Gordon though… maybe someone like Mark Ruffalo?
I chose Ruffalo for Gordon and Dinklage for Loveless, but I went with Matt Damon for West.
I think he’s too old; the original West was fairly young (Conrad was 30) when the series started, while Gordon was older (Ross Martin was 45).
Plus, West is supposed to be a pretty handsome, suave ladies’ man. So to me, that points at a late-20s/early 30s handsome actor, preferably American.
And Matt Damon’s already done his time as a spy… my fear would be that people would be expecting Jason Bourne in the Old West if he were cast.
I wouldn’t object to there being a Jane or Jamie West, as long as it wasn’t done as parody or mockery.
Since you bring it up, how about a distaff Dr. Loveless? I adore Meredith Eaton and think she’d add a sexual tension angle to the West/Loveless dynamic. If, as you said, NOT played for laffs.
I like her as “Matty Webber” on MacGyver-she could definitely do it.
^ Would we need a male version of Antoinette? Maybe someone also soft on West? Wouldn’t that be [del]weird[/del] neat?
Wilmer Valderrama might make a decent West–he’s about the right physique and has been looking rather buff on “NCIS”–and maybe having a Latino in the 1870s Secret Service wouldn’t be any stranger than Will Smith as West.
Gordon? I’ll get back to ya. Maybe.
Liam Hemsworth as West, Daniel Radcliffe as Gordon, and no idea for Dr. Loveless.
Ooh, I like Wilmer for West. I’ll back Just Asking Questions’ suggestion of Karl Urban for Gorden. I’d pay to see this, but then, I’d pay to see Karl Urban in most anything.
What about Warwick Davis as Dr. Loveless? He is not quite so identified with his roles as Dinklage is with GoT.
As long as she has to wear pants as tight as Conrad’s, I would be fine with this.
I think Karl Urban would be perfect as Artemis Gordon.
Looking at little people actors for Megalito Loveless, I’d say; Rick Howland or maybe Brad Williams. Most of the other ‘big names’ are either too old or too dead.
I detest reboots. I don’t want to see the classic show fucked around with for the sake of being au courant, and I hope this project is stillborn.
There were female villains on the original show, BTW, so there’s no need to feminize Miguelito. Agnes “Endora” Moorehead made a great “bad guy”; if they’re going to bring back a character, it ought to be hers.
Other actors substituted for Ross Martin when he was hospitalized, so if they want to have a woman SS agent, she could stand in for Gordon. Just don’t cut the nuts off of either Artie or Jim.
I would love to see the show remade, and done well. I think Zac Efron would make an excellent James West, and Peter Dinklage would make an excellent Dr. Loveless. (My recollection is that Loveless was only in the occasional episode, not the constant villain. It seems like Professor Moriarty was similar in the original Holmes stories – a driven man of genius to not only threaten our hero when things are slow otherwise, but someone having the potential to actually come out on top of any conflict. It would be important to not be a constant battle because if our hero beats him 22 times a year in a broadcast season, or even ten times a year in a cable network season – he will become something like Hamilton Burger from Perry Mason, an opponent not worthy of the hero.) Of course, things have changed since the original and every episode does not have to stand alone, West could combat several one-off threats to the nation for a few episodes and then have a three episode arc toward the middle or end of the season (but not a season spanning cliffhanger!!). Hell, Loveless can even sort of be successful for a portion of the arc and even once he is eventually defeated he might perhaps be effective enough to change something fundamental about the manner of proceeding (e.g.: perhaps a fulltime cast member will die, or the train will be ruined, or an established protocol will be changed), so that Loveless, when he does enter the show is genuinely dreaded by the audience because he did actually score partial victories and does not have to rely upon reputation and/or intensity to make the episode.
Typing that reminded me of who might be the best Loveless possible, the guy who played Adelai Niska on FIREFLY: Michael Fairman - IMDb As long as Nathan Fillian does not play West, he can almost just recreate his role from THAT show. He can certainly convey ruthless and driven madman; instead of “Shan Yu”, he can quote Carl Von Clausewitz Carl von Clausewitz - Wikipedia His character from FIREFLY was already somewhat Steam Punk, and rather than a space station he could have his own plush train car travelling headquarters as well as many business buildings which are all fronts for evil enterprises.
As for Artemis Gordon, we need to find someone like Vincent D’Onofrio – but born around 1980 or so, someone enough older to be wiser but still something of a contemporary. Actually, Chris Pratt might be an excellent agent Gordon. Not as physical or rash as West, but close enough to believably want to double date with West and whatever babes they rescue that week after the danger has been resolved. Gordon should have more street smarts and rely on being clever more than being a science nerd (as Kevin Kline played him in the movie); using disguises, ambushes, confidence schemes, etc. to rescue West when he goes into a situation without proper intel or preparation and counts on his personality, looks, and a killer right cross to be successful. In fact, it would be nice to see Pratt be the wiser older brother rather than the lovable goofball for a change and with good writing, he must have the range to pull it off. He would have to down play his own physicality, and play the character the way Seth Rogan would most of the time. He would be badass enough to be useful in a brawl, but clever enough to avoid one in most cases. Like all second banana’s, he will have to improvise a plan – a clever ruse to rescue West once the bad guys seize him, tie him up, and rip off his shirt (as will happen in most episodes). Not exactly Spock to Efron’s Kirk – but informed by that dynamic (with less logic and more scamming cons). Perhaps Rusty to Danny Ocean is a better comparison; someone good enough to succeed on his own, but at his best when teamed up with his best friend. (And by-the-way, none of this is what I came into this thread to mention – just shit that occurred to me as I was getting to my point, which is: )
I loved hearing Kevin Smith talk about working on a Superman movie long ago and meeting Jon Peters. He mentions the Barry Sonnenfeld movie, but hearing him talk about working with Warner Brothers in general, and Jon Peters in particular was funnier than the whole Will Smith, Kevin Kline movie in my opinion:
the rest of the story….Previously, I would have agreed with you.
However, I believe the Magnum PI reboot has been done quite well, and I think the COBRA KAI series based upon the KARATE KID movies is much better than the source material. A reboot can be done well, but up until recently they never were. Even now I could only come up with two examples, but I believe in the right hands this could be very good. In fact, it might be the perfect concept to remake. I would also like to see someone solve a problem with any technology that is not a smart phone or insanely powerful computer.
What most people seem to overlook is that most things are bad. Most movies and TV shows are bad. So, of course, most reboots and remakes will follow suit. That shouldn’t delegitimize the concept of a remake. It just reemphasizes that quality is rare.
I kind of wonder about someone like a Nathan Fillion as Gordon, or if we’re going for a bit younger, more handsome and ‘badass’ Gordon, how about Channing Tatum?
Both of them are better actors than they’re generally given credit for, we know that Fillion can pull off that exact sort of wits-centric character that Gordon was, along with charm and physicality when necessary. Same with Tatum, except that he’s more physical and heart-throbish. But his character in “Logan Lucky” wasn’t an action hero at all, and he managed to portray smart and subtle in that role a lot better than I ever expected him to. (in case you’re wondering, “Logan Lucky” is essentially a redneck “Oceans 11” with Tatum playing the Danny Ocean(George Clooney) role)