Casting a movie is no small task—you’re choosing actors who’ll bring the story to life and, in some cases, become the face of an entire multi-billion dollar franchise. This process is full of thorough auditions, interviews, and tough decisions, and yet, even with all that effort, audiences don’t always agree with the choices.
Here are ten iconic film roles that were horribly miscast, according to the fans.
1. Johnny Depp — The Lone Ranger
Johnny Depp has been cast in quite a few great movies, but they can’t all be winners. In The Lone Ranger, Depp portrayed Tonto, the ranger’s Native American sidekick, which, as you can guess, didn’t sit well with the fans of the comics or regular moviegoers. In an attempt to defend the controversial casting choice, Depp has Native American blood in him and considers his portrayal to be a positive rather than a negative. Regardless of what the actor believes in, it’s clear that Depp was never right for the role.
2. Ryan Reynolds — Green Lantern
Everyone loves Ryan Reynolds. That’s just an obvious fact. Even his romcoms are considered to be some of the best out there, and that’s not to even mention his accomplishments as an action star. But it all looks bleak whenever the Green Lantern movie enters the conversation. Fans actually think that another Canadian should have played the Green Lantern in the live-action adaptation, and no, it’s not Ryan Gosling. We’re talking about the Broawncoat captain himself —Nathan Fillion.
3. Hayden Christensen — Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Picking on Star Wars prequels is a low-hanging fruit but it tastes oh so good! Hayden Christensen’s performance is also one of those easy pickings. Who could have done it better? Probably any other semi-decent actor, but what’s done is done. At least Christensen was brought back as Anakin in Ahsoka. It’s still funny to think that this whiny guy with no aura grew up to be Darth Vader.
4. Tom Cruise — Jack Reacher
Tom Cruise is a man who likes to wear many hats: sometimes he’s an eccentric weirdo; other times—an adrenaline junkie, a father, a husband, and of course, a great movie star. But there’s one thing about Cruise that not everyone knows—he is pretty short. So imagine what the Jack Reacher fans went through when they found out their favorite badass hero, who should look more like Chris Hemsworth, was going to be played by the short king himself.
5. Jared Leto as The Joker
Heath Ledger’s Joker was legendary, and his untimely death made it even more unforgettable. So, someone had to bite the bullet and play the Joker again—and honestly, we’re glad it was Jared Leto. He is already easy to dislike, so it kind of worked out. Plus, his take paved the way for Joker and Joaquin Phoenix’s brilliant spin on the character.
6. Tom Holland — Uncharted
Ever since the rumors of the Uncharted movie started spreading, the fans almost unanimously chose Nathan Fillion to be cast in that role. But alas, Hollywood never called, and Filion really wanted the role. He even financed his own YouTube short film, which everyone loved. Instead, we got Tom Holland, who’s perfect as Peter Parker but really sucked as Nathan Drake.
7. Scarlett Johansson — Ghost in the Shell
Scarlett Johansson wasn’t the only problem with Ghost in the Shell‘s casting, but she was the most prominent one. When Hollywood turned the iconic cyberpunk anime into live-action, they caught heat for “whitewashing” by casting Johansson as a character who’s Asian in the original. People are split on how offensive it really was since the whole point of the story is about a soul (“ghost”) inside a cybernetic body (“the shell”), but the fans were disappointed, and the controversy overshadowed the movie’s release.
8. Jesse Eisenberg — Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The idea of casting Eisenberg as a younger version of Lex Luthor wasn’t entirely bad. It had sort of a “Silicon Valley tech bro” vibe to it, but then again, so did The Social Network, and Jesse Eisenberg already nailed that role. It’s too bad his Lex was all kinds of terrible, especially the down-spiraling.
9. George Clooney — Batman & Robin
Plenty of actors have donned the Caped Crusader suit over the years, with some nailing it and others—not so much. But if there is one thing most fans agree on, it’s that George Clooney’s Batman takes the cake as the worst of the bunch. On paper, he seemed like a solid pick, but his smooth, leading-man vibe just didn’t fit Bruce Wayne.
10. Robert Pattinson — The Twilight Saga
People hate the Twilight movies for a lot of valid reasons, and it’s mostly about how awkward Kristen Stewart was. But there aren’t too many complaints about how god-awful Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Edward was. Bella is supposed to be this awkward teen, but Edward has been around for way longer, which means he should be quite the smooth talker, but instead, he’s this goofy and miserable sparkly bloodsucker who’s even more awkward than the teen he’s stalking.
