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Some casting announcements make fans rush to the theater, while others trigger instant side-eye. Join us as we look at the movie roles that sent anticipation through the roof and the ones that sparked backlash before cameras even rolled. From comic book villains to beloved book heroes, these choices had audiences buzzing for all the wrong or right reasons.
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00:00It's good to see me, isn't it?
00:02Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:04And today, we're counting down our picks for the casting decisions
00:07that had us ready to open our wallets or roll our eyes.
00:11This was just a sad invention.
00:16It wasn't real.
00:19Number 5. Killed.
00:21Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.
00:23Batman vs. Superman, Dawn of Justice.
00:26Ah, ahoy, ahoy. I did not know you were here.
00:28Man on the marquee.
00:30Don't believe it? My father named the company after himself.
00:32He was the Lex in front of the court. How you doing?
00:33When the DCEU's Batman, Wonder Woman, and Lex Luthor were revealed to the public,
00:38reactions were swift and merciless.
00:41Most were not happy.
00:43Batman vs. Superman ultimately surprised critics
00:46with the relative effectiveness of Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot.
00:49See through that babe in the woods act.
00:52You don't know me, but I've known a few women like you.
00:59Oh, I don't think you've ever known a woman like me.
01:02Eisenberg's turn as Luthor, however, was spared that redemption arc.
01:05What's your wish list?
01:09Uh, access to the wreck of the crashed Kryptonian ship?
01:16Done.
01:16His unhinged interpretation was negatively likened to Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight.
01:22Such excess and revisionism contributed to the movie falling way below box office projections.
01:27Lack of faith that its stars could pull things off may have also been the reason people stayed away.
01:32Welcome. Analysis reveals ship operating at 37% efficiency.
01:40Would you like to assume command?
01:43Yes, I would.
01:45Yes, I would.
01:47Number 5. Created.
01:49Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.
01:51The Hunger Games.
01:52I volunteer! I volunteer!
01:56I volunteer as tribute.
01:57In 2012, Hollywood was really hitting the YA literature market hard.
02:03This could be a mixed bag, especially where casting was concerned.
02:06Thank you for your consideration.
02:10Future Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence drew a particularly mixed response.
02:14Few doubted her skill, but fans of The Hunger Games were quick to point out that she did not have
02:19Katniss's olive complexion,
02:20as described in Suzanne Collins' books.
02:22But, the rising star's casting brought more attention to the already highly anticipated film.
02:28Your medicine.
02:30You're not going alone.
02:31You need it, and you can't walk.
02:33Katniss, you're not going to risk your life for me. I'm not going to let you.
02:36You would do it for me.
02:38Wouldn't you?
02:41Why are you doing this?
02:49Despite misgivings, the charismatic and moving Lawrence was the right choice for the role.
02:54I couldn't imagine life without him.
03:02And what about you, Peter?
03:05You saved my life.
03:07We saved each other.
03:08Number 4.
03:10Killed.
03:10Ben Platt as Evan Hansen.
03:12Dear Evan Hansen.
03:13Can anybody see?
03:16Is anybody waving?
03:19Back at me.
03:20Most of the time, when a Broadway musical makes it to Hollywood,
03:23movie stars are cast over the original performers.
03:27So Dear Evan Hansen casting Tony winner Ben Platt in the film version of the show
03:30that made him a huge star was met with confusion.
03:33All you gotta do is just believe you can be who you wanna be.
03:40Sincerely.
03:41My sister's hot.
03:42What the hell?
03:43How could the 27-year-old actor be convincing as a teenager in close-ups?
03:47The fact that Platt's father, mega-producer Mark Platt,
03:51produced both the Broadway version and the movie led to allegations of nepotism.
03:55I love you.
04:01I love you.
04:06Audiences found that a lot of things didn't translate well to the screen.
04:09It was a perfect storm of bad publicity that made the weaknesses in this film adaptation feel even weaker.
04:15There's nothing wrong with needing help, honey.
04:17I know that there is, and I know that I'm a burden.
04:19I'm the worst thing that ever happened to you, and I just ruined your life, okay?
04:22No, you are the best thing.
04:25You're the best thing that's ever happened to me.
04:28Number 4.
04:29Created.
04:30Ariana Grande as Galinda.
04:32Wicked.
04:33Are people born wicked?
04:35Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?
04:37Casting movie musicals can be tricky business.
04:40Do you hire someone who has the theater chops?
04:43Or do you hire someone who has experience generating an audience?
04:58Ariana Grande has both, with a higher vocal range that made her an ideal choice for the role of Galinda
05:04in Wicked.
05:05It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed.
05:08So it's very true to be, very, very popular like me.
05:16But Grande herself understood fans' skepticism.
05:19If anything, she was inspired to counter the naysayers by rejecting studio efforts to rework the classic soundtrack to her
05:26modern pop style.
05:27The combination of Grande's dedication and her undeniable megastar status earned the trust of Wicked, and added to the movie's
05:34mystique.
05:34The movie went on to make over $700 million, and Grande was widely awarded for her work.
05:40If we work in tandem, there's no fight we cannot win.
05:48Just you and I defying gravity.
05:55Number 3.
05:56Killed.
05:57Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone.
05:59Nina.
06:00When I first started singing, which as you know, I didn't want to do, but I had to so that
06:06I can make money.
06:08Back then I only sang about love because I didn't have it as a child.
06:12As she was one of the most talented, haunted, and misunderstood women in popular music, a biopic about Nina Simone
06:18should sell itself.
06:19My baby just cares for me.
06:26My baby don't care for me.
06:30Cards and racists.
06:33However, Zoe Saldana's casting was a major stumbling block.
06:36Simone's own daughter was a vehement opponent of the casting.
06:40As early as 2012, articles about the makeup techniques to darken her skin and widen her nose were getting the
06:46movie heaps of attention.
06:47What a spell on you.
07:04It was just the wrong kind of attention.
07:07Nina would not be released until 2016.
07:09If the long gap between filming and release didn't kill its chances to find its audience, Saldana's misguided casting surely
07:16did.
07:17Stop this crap.
07:18I told you, get me a stage.
07:20I will do the rest.
07:21Number 3.
07:23Created.
07:23Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana.
07:26Spencer.
07:26I think that's my father's coat he's wearing.
07:30We used to live just over that hill.
07:33My father used to give the farmer his old clothes.
07:35Even for those who had followed Kristen Stewart's career after Bella Swan, the announcement that she was taking on the
07:40role of Diana, Princess of Wales, was a great big, huh?
07:44Stewart wasn't just an American.
07:46She was also known for roles that were more grounded and realistic than what we might assume from a fictionalized
07:51story about the British royal family.
07:53You see, they're pulling my wings and my legs off, one by one, making notes on how I react.
08:02Because she rarely does make a fuss this one, doesn't she?
08:07Not like Anne Boleyn, who offered her head to the tweezers with such grace.
08:13Whatever questions or concerns people had, they were silenced once Spencer came out.
08:19Stewart's Oscar-nominated performance was a triumph.
08:21People who worked for and loved the real Diana called Stewart's the most accurate portrayal they had ever seen.
08:28I missed your souffle.
08:30You've only been wasted on me anyway.
08:33Number 2.
08:35Killed.
08:35Jared Leto as the Joker.
08:37Suicide Squad.
08:38You don't want no beef?
08:40You don't want no beef?
08:40You don't like me?
08:41Fine, don't waste my time then.
08:43This is your lady.
08:45Look, are you enjoying yourself?
08:49No.
08:50Oh, that's your lady, Joker.
08:52That's right.
08:53It wasn't just the casting announcement that had fans on edge.
08:56The run-up to the release of Suicide Squad was rife with click-baity stories about the bizarre lengths Jared
09:02Leto was going to to disturb his co-stars.
09:04Headlines about him gifting co-stars Margot Robbie and Viola Davis' disgusting items as a sort of in-character prank
09:11were constant.
09:12This looks neat.
09:14While the movie did very well at the box office,
09:17all the hubbub about Leto's Joker was overshadowed by his relatively small role and the film's many other problems.
09:24Nonetheless, the unhinged villain's depiction as a gangster, and Leto's strange take on that, were met with massive backlash.
09:31This bird is baked.
09:35Okay, honey.
09:37It's me and you.
09:38Let's do it.
09:48Despite or perhaps because he was over-marketed,
09:52Mr. J's limited screen time further sullied Suicide Squad's status.
09:56Let's go home.
10:04Well, I understand 00s have a very short life expectancy.
10:08So your mistake will be short-lived.
10:10After the 2002 release of Die Another Day,
10:13Pierce Brosnan hung up his 007 jersey,
10:16and the search for a new James Bond began.
10:18When Daniel Craig was announced,
10:20it inspired an internet movement to boycott his first outing as Bond and have him removed from the role.
10:25Now, I'd have normally gone with Only Child, but, um...
10:29You see, by the way you ignored the quip about your parents,
10:32I'm gonna have to go with Orphan.
10:34Their biggest complaint?
10:35James Bond could never be blonde.
10:37Some more level-headed critics were also less than impressed with the choice,
10:41suggesting he didn't have the same charisma as his more debonair predecessors.
10:45I'm gonna need the other five million to buy back in.
10:49I can't do that, James.
10:52Look, I made a mistake.
10:55I was impatient.
10:56Maybe I was arrogant, but I can beat you.
10:58Nevertheless, Casino Royale was a success,
11:01and Craig's Bond plumbed new emotional depths for the character in the acclaimed series that followed.
11:06Like you said,
11:09you do what I do for too long,
11:11and there won't be any soul left to salvage.
11:14I'm leaving with what little I have left.
11:21The people behind this live-action adaptation of a beloved Japanese anime franchise
11:26were obviously looking for a way to translate its success to the English-speaking world.
11:41Unfortunately, their solution was to cast Scarlett Johansson as protagonist Mira Killian.
11:46The decision to cast a white actress in the role was met with a resounding thud,
11:51followed by outrage.
11:52Doubly unfortunate was that many people's first exposure to the story
11:55might have been because of this controversy.
11:57Where's Kusei?
11:59Why does he want to kill Ulei?
12:00I don't know anything.
12:04Enough!
12:05Enough!
12:08We need him alive.
12:11What's worse was the twist that Killian was an android
12:14carrying the consciousness of Motoko Kusanagi,
12:17who was Japanese.
12:18The backlash and the many other factors behind Ghost in the Shell's poor reviews
12:22factored into a major box office disappointment.
12:25You remind me over her.
12:28I'm sorry.
12:34How do I remind you of her?
12:39The way you look at me.
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12:58Number 1.
13:00Created.
13:01Heath Ledger as the Joker.
13:02The Dark Knight.
13:04Look, listen.
13:05I know why you choose to have your little group therapy sessions in broad daylight.
13:13I know why you're afraid to go out at night.
13:18The Batman.
13:20Hindsight is 20-20.
13:22When Heath Ledger was announced as the new Joker in Christopher Nolan's critical and financial
13:26smash The Dark Knight, fans were not happy.
13:29He was considered too young and, frankly, too pretty.
13:32Given Ledger's resume up to that point, there was a widespread belief among Batman fans that
13:36he was the wrong choice.
13:38We know how that turned out, don't we?
13:40Me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it.
13:46He turns to me and he says, why so serious?
13:52Ultimately, it seems like the controversy surrounding the casting decision only added to the pre-release
13:57hype.
13:58Ledger's take on the Joker has gone down as one of the greatest acting performances of our
14:02time.
14:03His posthumous Oscar win rounded out the definitive example of apparent miscasting, turning
14:08out to be the perfect pick.
14:10What did you do?
14:11I took Gotham's White Knight and I brought him down to our level.
14:19It wasn't hard.
14:20See, madness, as you know, is like gravity.
14:25All it takes is a little push.
14:30What are some other casting announcements that inspired hype or hate?
14:34Tell us in the comments below.
14:38What are some other casting announcements that I've seen in the past?
14:39What are some other casting announcements that I've seen in the past?
14:39What are some other casting announcements that I've seen in the past?
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