Usually to play the role of the villain or guy behind the scenes or the mentor. It’s a fairly rote formula actually. Keep in mind i haven’t seen all these films. So if a role is a bit off…
Jeff Bridges
William Hurt
Michael Douglas
Robert Redford
Ben Kingsley
Mickey Rourke
Anthony Hopkins
Kevin Costner
Kurt Russell
Michael Keaton
Jeff Goldblum
Eliot Gould did the Oceans movies. They may as well be super-hero movies.
Glenn Close made an appearance
So who is left?
I don’t see Eastwood doing it. Chris Walken i can see. Nicholson? (I know hes done it already) Geena Davis…James Brolin. Is Sam Watterson still around? Dustin Hoffman…
Sub-question: I find it hard to believe no one has asked Spielberg to direct one. The guy who produced Amazing Stories certainly can’t think he’s above it. That’s not a slam on him, it just seems like something he’d be good at and interested in.
SO…if you could give him any property that hasn’t been done yet, what would it be? Has to be bright and iconic and probably optimistic…so I’d give him Justice Society. I think that’s the only unproduced property left that seems like a good fit for him. or its marvel equiv, but groups like The Invaders arn’t near as well known. Not that Justice Society is exactly that well known.
Thinking about living Oscar winners who haven’t, and who probably won’t:
Daniel Day-Lewis
Meryl Streep (though she’s done some less-than-serious roles, and I could see her taking on a role if it intrigued her)
Sean Penn
Al Pacino
Helen Mirren was in RED, which, while not a superhero film per se, was based on a comic book series.
Judi Dench hasn’t done a superhero film, but she’s been in a bunch of Bond films, as well as “Chronicles of Riddick,” so I could picture her doing one.
I’m surprised Robert de Niro hasn’t done a superhero movie (I’m not counting Rocky and Bullwinkle as a superhero movie). He’s got the Oscar credibility. And let’s face facts, he’s taken roles a lot worse than supervillian (now I’m counting Rocky and Bullwinkle).
Pacino – along with Dustin Hoffman, who got mentioned upthread – arguably counts thanks to DICK TRACY. (Hell, everybody was in that one: Warren Beatty, of course; but also James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Dick Van Dyke, Kathy Bates…)
I have a hard time seeing him do anything other than say his Brazil character. Swing in, wink and away he goes. Let me think about it. What shady, older head of agency roles haven’t been filled?
Guess he could play the rebooted Uncle Ben. He wasn’t in Homecoming was he?
Could be Alpha Flight’s nemesis Jerry Jaxon but really that’s just a retooled Iron Monger kind of.
Chris Cooper
John Goodman
Steve Buscemi
William H Macy
Don Johnson (actually Boy and His Dog…aaaa forget it)
I’m sure a great way to revive the career of the much-maligned Mr. Busey is cast him in a role where he’s, well, Busey-like, and then during a pcp-addled tear through town he falls into a dumpster and re-emerges as:
SUPER REALLY FRAZZLED MOUTH-FROTHING BANZAI JUGGERNAUT OF HEP C CONGRATULATORY GOODNESS.
