Blake's 7 remake dream cast

[vilakins]

Since some people have done this and I'd love to see a quality remake, here are my dream cast for a new Blake's 7 made by someone who isn't B7E. The basic characters and universe would be the same, but with better and stunning (in the good way) SFX. Oh and the Liberator has to remain the Liberator; it's the most beautiful spaceship I know.

This took me a while what with being out a lot, thinking up people, and finding photos of them.

Blake - Adrian Lester (Mickey Brick in Hustle), or Philip or Robert Glenister (LoM and Hustle respectively). An older Blake would be interesting.

Vila - Martin Freeman from The Office, the HHGTTG film, and Blake's Junction 7, (as good as anyone not Michael Keating could be) or Alan Tudyk from Firefly (he does likeable and an English accent very well).

Jenna - executrix mentioned Claudia Black (Farscape and SG1) and that would be awesome. Tara Summers (Katie Lloyd in Boston Legal) would also be wonderful, having, like Claudia Black, a strong and intelligent face. No one would take either of those for granted.

Avon - Dylan Moran from Black Books (if he can do English) or Mark Heap from Green Wing (he already did Avon in Blake's Junction 7)

Gan - Adam Baldwin, Christopher Judge, or Jason Momoa would be great, or hey, let's make Gan a woman and have Magda Szubanski (Furlow in Farscape)! Any of those would make Gan awesome and dangerous and not to be killed off.

Cally - Hmm, that's a difficult onet. Virginia Hey (Zhaan in Farscape) perhaps? Or Tamsin Greig from Black Books and Green Wing--I'm sure she could do alien.

Tarrant - You can't go past Stephen Mangan from Green Wing. And look, here he is with a possible Cally!

Dayna - Freema Agyeman from Doctor Who? I can't think of many who'd be young enough for her, but if she was older in the remake, Nina Sosanya (Teachers and one DW episode) would be wonderful.

Soolin - Tara Summers if she didn't get the part of Jenna? Or Emilie de Ravin (Claire in Lost) who has a Soolinish look, or what about Tania Raymonde (Alex in Lost) who isn't blonde but has another interesting and strong face.

Servalan - Michelle Gomez, also of Green Wing (thanks to toft_froggy) wins hands down due to her character in that series, though I think Morena Baccarin (Inara in Firefly) would be very good.

Travis - Lani Tupu (Crais in Farscape) or yes, Temuera Morrison (Once were Warriors) for some really good suppressed--or not--violence.

Comments

[hafren.livejournal.com]

I hardly know any modern young actors' names. Sophie Okonedu would be good for Dayna but wasted on the part. (Though her Nancy in an otherwise very flawed Oliver Twist nearly made me like a very irritating character). I'd like to see Keira Knightley do Jenna or Cally like Elizabeth Swann.

Weirdly enough I could sort of see the late Heath Ledger as Vila and Rob Brydon as Avon - he does a mean line in sinister and sardonic.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

but wasted on the part

Okonedo probably wouldn't do it anyway, but in my dream remake, the rolses of Gan and the females would not be underwritten or ignored, and neither would Boucher be able to reduce Vila to a drunken idiot in his episodes. :-)

[vandonovan.livejournal.com]

I like the guy in the picture with Mark Heap. I think he might pull off a convincing, slightly older Avon.

XD

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

You know, you could be right! ;-)

[azdak.livejournal.com]

LOL! I only followed the link when I read this comment, so it really made me laugh.

[filius-lupi.livejournal.com]

If it's a *dream* cast, surely they don't need to be currently young/alive... how about the young Dirk Bogarde for Travis? :-P

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

In that case, I'll have the originals then!

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

She's perhaps a little old for the role now, but how about Sigourney Weaver as Servalan? She has the physical presence, and showed in "Working Girl" that she's good at playing power-hungry bitches.

The obvious corollary is what would be your nightmare cast? :) Or is that the one which you fear you are going to get from B7E anyway?

[azdak.livejournal.com]

Truth to tell, Morena Baccarin would be my nightmare casting for Servalan - she's beautiful, certainly, but I can't help feeling that Servalan would benefit from being played by someone who can actually act. Jacqui Pearce gave a one dimensional character unexpected depths, and turned her into an icon - Morena Baccarin would take an icon and iron her completely flat, a pretty face with nothing moving underneath (sorry, vilakins!)

For (some of) the rest, I suggest George Clooney as Blake, Orlando Bloom as Avon, Keira Knightley as Cally and Adrian Lester as Travis. And Steve Punt as the voices of the computer (I would, however, pay good money to see Sandy Toksvig as Jenna).

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Servalan would benefit from being played by someone who can actually act

I'd level the same charge against Orlando Bloom, sorry. Avon needs someone who can convey his complexity and character arc.

I'm not sure who Steve Punt and Sandy Toksvig are, and Google tells me why: I'm not English.

[azdak.livejournal.com]

That's why Orlando Bloom would be my nightmare casting!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh, those were nightmare castings! Sorry; they make sense now, at least the ones I know.

[azdak.livejournal.com]

at least the ones I know

Because we listen to the radio over the internet, I forget that Radio 4 isn't universal. Steve Punt is a very funny man, but he has a rather nasal voice; and Sandi Toksvig is a small blonde dynamo, somewhere in her 40s and not exactly svelte, and with enormous authority - she would absolutely kick ass as Jenna, as long as you weren't expecting someone sexy (Gasp! A non-sexy woman with a major part in TV series! Unthinkable!)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

That's why I'd like to see Magda Szubanski in the series. She's very talented and would be awesome as any of the woman or a female Gan.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Also, Tamsin Greig isn't beautiful (but very interesting) and I couldn't find a pic of Tara Summers that showed her wonderful nose properly. I adore big noses and intelligence and they so often seem to go together.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

Sandi Toksvig is 50 this year (she mentioned it in the newspaper column today)

[azdak.livejournal.com]

50? Then I wish her all the best for her half century!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Sigourney Weaver would be great, and there's no reason Servalan can't be older.

Yeah, pretty much, though I'm sure I could think of a lot worse.

[quarryquest.livejournal.com]

I agree with Moreena for Servalan (I have been saying that all along after seeing her do Adria) and I would suggest JR Bourne (Martouf from Stargate) for Tarrant. **IF** he could do the accent he has the grin.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, he does!

[san-valentine.livejournal.com]

I really can't see Dylan Moran as Avon. He has the cynical, abrupt and charming-when-he-wants aspects, but Avon also needs to be neat, contained and authoritive. Moran can rein back his chaotic side (and when was Avon ever chaotic ?) but it would need a big change in his screen persona to pull Avon off properly, and I'm not sure he could do the aristocratic authority. Nathanial Parker could do a terrific Avon, I think.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Moran was much more restrained in 'Shaun of the Dead', so I assume he can play other roles. Mark Heap didn't quite get Avon in BJ7 but every time I've seen him, he's been completely different so I know he could do it.

I've never seen Nathaniel Parker but I googled him and he looks as if he could be an Avon.

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

I love your choices :0)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Actually the more I think about it, I'd love to see Magda Szubanski as Jenna.