Who Would You Cast As the Science Fiction

Earlier this week, I asked for casting ideas for a comedy equivalent of the Expendables franchise. Now let;s try another genre. If there;s any kind of movie that exploded in the ;80s and ;90s as significantly as action flicks, it;s science fiction. Sure, there;s some overlap with a number of titles, including a few titles each led by Expendables stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren and newcomer Harrison Ford. But not all sci-fi movies have action, and also there are a good amount of subgenres to look at within the sci-fi group. There are outer space movies, alien-visitor movies, alien-invasion movies, time-travel movies and future-set movies to choose from. And there are definitely actors and actresses who are best known for this branch of cinema. The difficulty, or maybe it;s the redundancy, is that sci-fi movies are already often ensemble based, unlike the ;80s and ;90s action movies, which centered around a single hero. That;s why an action-movie all-stars concept makes more sense. Nevertheless, I;ve selected my casting choices for a proposed sci-fi equivalent of the Expendables series below with specific parallels to the main players appearing through The Expendables 3. Let;s call them the Unbelievables. William Shatner - In the Stallone role, because he;s the type that can;t let go of the past. Kurt Russell - The Schwarzenegger part. He wouldn;t do The Expendables, but maybe he;s softer on his sci-fi memories. At least for an initial cameo. Harrison Ford - He;s his own parallel. If anybody;s going to show up in both action and sci-fi Expendables movies, it;s got to be him. Jeff Goldblum - Strange in a different way than Mel Gibson, he;d make a terrific villain. Peter Weller - In the Lundgren part, because he was a pretty big deal in the ;80s before falling into obscurity for awhile. Joe Morton - Coming in for the Wesley Snipes slot, not because he;s black but because he deserves recognition for his notable sci-fi roles. Michael J. Fox - He can be the Bruce Willis character and get paid a bunch to do very little. Jeremy Davies - Like Jason Statham, he;s come up through the 2000s, maybe not as famously, but if we count Lost, he;s one of the most notable sci-fi guys of last decade. Tom Cruise - Because there has to be a short actor to take the place of Jet Li, even if he;s too famous for it. Just pretend he;s not too famous. Rutger Hauer - For one of the villains, a la Jean-Claude Van Damme, he;s the foreigner who isn;t as big a deal as he was in the ;80s. Shane Carruth - Because like Randy Couture, his expertise in his genre is a whole other thing from the movie stars in the bunch. Tommy ;Tiny; Lister - He;s a big guy and a former athlete and often quite funny in comedies, just like Terry Crews. Scott Bakula - There has to be a notable sci-fi TV star to take the Kelsey Grammer role. I guess it could be David Duchovny. Sam Worthington - Like Kellan Lutz, he;s the new blood, and maybe even easily confused for the Expendables late addition. Who would you cast in a sci-fi equivalent ofThe Expendables? Here are some responses received so far via Twitter: @thefilmcynic Anyone from a James Cameron movie made in the ;80s (Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, etc.). — Matthew Monagle (@LabSplice) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic Sigourney Weaver. Definitely. — Felix Peña III (@FelixTheIII) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic Sigourney Weaver. — Faith King (@FaithAnneKing) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic a wacky crew of Shelley Duvall, Chris Tucker, Stephen Baldwin, Gilbert Gottfried and the obligatory Michelle Rodriguez — quinoa phoenix (@treytylor) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic Gort, HAL 9000, Twiki, WALL-E, Starscream, C-3PO and R2-D2 — Garrett Martin (@grmartin) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic I started assembling a list in my head and realized I was just remaking Galaxy Guest. — Daniel Carlson (@danielwcarlson) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic People who can speak clearly. Expendables cast sounds like they;re speaking with a mouth full of novocaine-coated marbles. — Mark Sweeney (@MarkSweeney) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic Patrick Stewart, Sigourney Weaver, Nimoy, Karl Urban, Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Andy Serkis, this list is everywhere — Boro Y Boi (@ayobobun) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis, Karl Urban, Katee Sackhoff, Misha Collins, Lena Headey, Ming-Na Wen. I could go on. — Keith Adams (@BigBrother1988) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ripley, Spock, The Predator, Godzilla, Robocop, Dana Scully, and Marty McFly — Justin S. Robinson (@TheJSRobinson) August 14, 2014 @thefilmcynic Shatner, Stewart, Weaver, Schwarzenegger, Ford, Reeves, Nimoy — JD Goldman (@BreakingPOORLY) August 15, 2014 Join in the next discussion: and