Dreamcasting Some of My Favorite Classics

So I’m watching the Oscars, and there are a lot of actors there, and there have been several moments when I’ve looked up and said, “Hey, [insert actor name], they would make a great [insert classic literary character]!” So these are a few of my favorite classics that I think could use a new film adaptation, and the cast I would pick if I was making them (and had the budget).

Twelfth Night

The live Central Park performance in 2009 starring Anne Hathaway and Audra McDonald was pretty close to a dream cast, and I’ll forever love the 1996 movie with Helena Bonham Carter, but it could use a fresh update. Maybe with a steampunk setting? No, nevermind, that’s a terrible idea. 1920s? Eh, we’ll work on it. But here’s the cast:

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 26: Actress Tessa Thompson arrives at the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 26, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

HOLLYWOOD, CA – DECEMBER 14: Actor Oscar Isaac attends the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at the Dolby Theatre on December 14, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Viola: Tessa Thompson

Duke Orsino: Oscar Isaac

Olivia: Priyanka Chopra

Sebastian: Michael B. Jordan

Antonio: Chris Evans

Sir Toby Belch: Ken Jeong

Maria: Awkwafina, and make this role bigger because she’s hilarious

Aguecheek, Malvolio, and Fabian (doesn’t matter which is which): Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Kumail Nanjiani

Clown: Let’s go really out there and cast Tilda Swinton. How awesome would that be???

Pride & Prejudice

It’s totally time for a new one, right? Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, while I love it for its own kind of fun, hardly counts. Here’s who should star:

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 05: Saoirse Ronan arrives at the 90th Annual Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 5, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)

Elizabeth Bennet: Saoirse Ronan

Mr. Darcy: Charles Melton

Jane Bennet: Margot Robbie

Mr. Bingley: John Boyega

Lady Catherine: Michelle Yeoh

A Christmas Carol

So here’s what I’m thinking with this one: it’s been done soooooo much, as traditional adaptations, cartoons, and Hallmark/Lifetime movies, with almost every “twist” you can imagine. It’s hard to top the Bill Murray classic Scrooged, so let’s pull a Ghostbusters and do an all-female cast.

Scrooge: Sandra Bullock

Marley: Nicole Kidman