[Top 5 Wednesday] My Fan-Cast Favorites

It's time for this week's Top Five Wednesday! This has been created by gingerreadslainey and it also has a Goodreads group. I am hoping to do these posts (or other weekly Wednesday posts) more often as long as I am interested in the current prompt! This week's prompt is my personal picks for some fan casting of some character's I've read! This is something that took some thinking but I am really excited to talk about my choices. Some of these choices are things I have had in my mind for a while, which unfortunately means the actors or actresses may be too old to play the characters. However, because this is obviously all make-believe I am going to stick to the ones I am most passionate about even if they're outdated.

Shannon Purser as Doreen Green a.k.a. Squirrel Girl.

Doreen Green (Squirrel Girl) is a Marvel superhero who has squirrel like abilities and a squirrel tale. She is super bubbly and all around a character who''s main focus is helping people. I know there is going to be a live action Squirrel Girl television show and the woman playing Doreen is Milana Vayntrub, who I don't doubt will be great. However, my personal favorite fan cast of Doreen is Shannon Purser, who played Barb in the Netflix Original television show Stranger Things. I love Shannon as Doreen for a few reasons. One being her look because she looks exactly like the Squirrel Girl I always pictured. My vision squirrel girl is a curvier woman. She's curvy and has wide hips like Shannon Purser does. She also is a great actress and I think would have so much fun playing such a sweet character like Doreen. Milana is absolutely gorgeous and from what I hear is a great actress from the show This Is Us, but she's also a skinnier woman, and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way that the casting team chose someone who didn't represent Doreen's body type. I know I'll love the show, but a part of me will be sad not to see Shannon on my screen.

Bradley James as Chaol Westfall from Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass is a young adult fantasy series by Sarah J. Maas that has six books in the series so far (out of seven). It is about an assassin named Celaena who is visited by the prince of Adarlan who wants Celanea to participate in his father's competition to find the best champion. That is where Cealana meets Chaol Westfall.  When I picture Chaol Westfall I actually picture Bradley. I am a huge fan of the television show Merlin and so I have been a fan of his for a while. I think he would play a good Chaol, he looks the part, is a good actor, and has played a similar character when he played King Arthur. Chaol prioritizes his duty as Captain of the Royal Guard very high and he takes it seriously. Which can make him a bit of a  grouchy character, but there are moments in Throne of Glass (and especially Crown of Midnight) that you see his character open up a little more. He shows his softer more vulnerable sides. He still takes his duty to keep the Royal family, especially Dorian, safe, but he also becomes less of a hard ass to Celaena. I think Bradley James would be really great at this role. Bradley James unfortunately is about ten years older than Chaol in the first book, so the likelihood of him getting the role are pretty slim, but I still cannot help picture him while I read the books.

Ksenia Solo as Zuzana from Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is a fantasy trilogy about Karou, an artist who draws these fantastical creatures who she also makes up stories about. Her classmates are always asking her about these fictional characters but turns out they're not fictional but instead they are Karou's family. Zuzana is Karou's best friend.  I don't think I can think of a better actress that embodies what Zuzana both looks and acts like. Zuzana is a small petite girl with dark hair, a dark wardrobe, and an attitude. Ksenia is best known for her character Kenzie on the television show Lost Girl, who definitely has Zuzana's style. Ksenia is 29 years old and Zuzana is around seventeen years old when the books start, so Ksenia is a bit old to be playing Zuzana. Which is really unfortunate because I think she'd be perfect for the role.

Joey King as Zita from Zita the Spacegirl

Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke is a graphic novel series about a girl named Zita who's best friend is abucted by an alien doomsday cult and she immediately jumps to his rescue to find herself on a strange new planet. Zita is smart, brave, feisty, and determined. I absolutely love her character and I cannot recommend this trilogy enough to readers 5+ because it is so much fun. Joey King is older now (she's 18!) but when she was in Ramona and Beezus she was about ten years old. It's ten year old Joey that I picture when I picture someone playing Zita. I will add an extra picture of how Zita is drawn in the comics, but I think Joey fits the character so well even with her hair being a bit on the lighter side.

 

 Vanessa Marano as Jude in I'll Give You the Sun

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson is a book that takes place in two different time lines and each time line is told in a different perspective. The past being Noah, and the present being Jude. It deals with grief, loss, being a creator and artist, LGBTQ+, finding yourself, and learning how to both own up to your mistakes and how to forgive. Jude reminds me a lot of Vanessa's character in Switched at Birth, Bay. They're both artists who are a bit dramatic and they go through some pretty heavy stuff for teenagers. I think Vanessa could play Jude's character so well because of how she portrays Bay. I have read I'll Give You the Sun twice now, and both times I pictured Vanessa as Jude. So much so that I don't remember how the author describes Jude because to me she'll always be Vanessa Marano.  Vanessa is only 24 so I think she could easily play a sixteen/seventeen year old character.

Thanks for reading! 

What are some of your fan-casts? I'd love to know. Do you agree/disagree with any of mine?