Random Thoughts: Voice Casting Villains

No new episode of TMNT this week? No problem! Follow us as Bryan and I fall even deeper down the sewer hole that is fan voice casting. In this edition of Random Thoughts, we tackle some villains! And not just any villains, but none other than the Shredder and your two favorite henchmen, Beebop and Rocksteady. Bryan has also cooked up a special treat for you all that we’ll share at the end of his section! Take it away Bryan:

Shredder /Oroku Saki – Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins, Inception, Godzilla)

I know this seems tremendously cliche but there is no arguing that the minute we all saw the introduction of Ra’s Al Guhl we went “Holy cow that is Oroku Saki incarnate”… just me? Alright… but I don’t think it’d be a stretch to see this guy in some armor.  His icy deliveries would be especially appropriate for the vengeful Saki, blinded by rage he speaks almost ominously rather than to any one subject as he carries on his mission to destroy Yoshi and his sons.

Bebop – Common (Terminator Salvation, Suicide Squad)

Rocksteady – Sean William Scott (American Pie, Goon)

No longer the big dumb oafs from 30 years ago, these two are a legitimate threat in the comics now.  And thank god because theres no room for filler in such a well crafted book series.  These two are smart (relatively) at the very least smart enough to be lethal.  Common was on my brain because I had envisioned him taking up the mantle of Green Lantern with all this DC movie universe ramp up, and he would be the sleek blend of too-cool-for-school and conniving; whilst Scott would arguably be the dopier member of the duo… however have you seen Goon?  Yeah, I’ll wait……… you done watching?  Yeah he’d bed a brutal Rocksteady right?  Head down, power through, wreak havoc and deal with the warpath consequences later.

Oh, and for kicks and giggles let’s pretend that the whole thing gets scored by Mitch Murder:

Side bar: Before I toss this over to Dan who I am sure has a much different take on the situation than mine, when we were originally conversing about this concept he had brought up the name Charlie Cox (Daredevil) and I don’t know why but I misinterpreted what he was saying and envisioned Charlie Day… from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and then this came to be….

It’s Always Sunny in the Sewer SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY

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Looks like Bryan finally stepped out of his nostalgia-tinted glasses for his villain casting! I personally would love to see Common and Sean William Scott work together on Beebop and Rocksteady. That would be a really interesting combo. But are those my choices for the Terrible Two? Of course not! Let’s get to it!

Shredder – Mark Hamill

Don’t tell me you’ve never thought this. Mark Hamill might be best known as Luke Skywalker to your average person, but to us animation fans he’s the best villain voice actor there is. And even though he’s brought life to such classic villains like The Joker and Fire Lord Ozai, I just don’t know what his Oroku Saki would sound like. That prospect is just thrilling to me.

Beebop – Big E

Rocksteady – D-Von Dudley

I don’t often say what I’m about to say, but Michael Bay got something right. Or whoever is in charge of casting for the current TMNT film franchise. I think casting a wrestler as one of these marauding mutants was a great idea. I’m not trying to take anything away from Sheamus by not casting him here. I think he’s great. He can be fierce and funny, and he’s certainly athletic. I just don’t hear Rocksteady with an Irish brogue. And honestly, a lot of wrestlers could have fit here. They’re larger than life personalities, and who is larger than Beebop and Rocksteady?

The IDW B&R are so different from the other iterations of the characters, that I would want to separate them even more. This version of Beebop and Rocksteady are vicious and there’s a certain intellect in the eyes of these characters that is absent from the original cartoon version. They are creative with their destruction and they enjoy it. That mix of creativity and destruction is exactly what I’m looking for, and Big E and D-Von have that in spades. Have you seen a tables match? Have you seen the matches these two have had against each other with their respective partners? There’s a place in their mind that just understands the impulses that rule Beebop and Rocksteady, and each have a personality to bring new life to these characters. Check out some of their promos, and now picture them taunting the Turtles instead. You’ll see what I mean.

There it is folks! Our choices for Shredder, Beebop, and Rocksteady. When we started this series, we had focused it on Mutants in Manhattan and had intended to limit it to characters that had been confirmed for the game. But would any of you be surprised if I told you we just kept going? As we worked on these articles, Bryan and I found ourselves thinking about how crazy it would be if there was a full animated adaptation of the IDW series; maybe an ongoing series like we currently have, or maybe a series of movies like DC has been doing with it’s New 52. That thought took root, and suddenly we were talking about classic characters like Baxter Stockman and Karai, all the way to newer characters like Koya and Bludgeon! So stay tuned, because our Villain series is far from over! And as always, let us know your picks in the comments!