Casting the Reboot: The Silverhawks

I was honored to be a guest on this week’s episode of The (title pending) Movie Podcast to discuss G.I. Joe: Retaliation. If you’re interested in my full written opinion on the movie, go here.

After discussing and reviewing current box office titles, we got to have some fun. Each of us on the podcast (Cold Slither’s Classick Material was also a guest) got to reboot an 80s property. We cast the major roles, talked about what made us love the source material, and more.

For my 80s property reboot, I chose the SilverHawks.

READ ALSO: Casting the Reboot: The Thundercats Movie

Partly metal, partly real, the SilverHawks were not exactly a spinoff of the Thundercats, but certainly existed because of them.

READ ALSO: Where Are They Now: The Silverhawks [HUMOR]

This September marks the 27th anniversary of The SilverHawks’ cartoon debut. I think a reboot in the form of a major motion picture complete with merchandise and action figures would be one hell of a way to commemorate that milestone. Just imagine the CGI that brings Iron Man to the big screen, but multiply by five (because there’s five main characters) and set it in space. A SilverHawks movie could be visually astounding.

Here’s who I would cast as the main characters in a SilverHawks movie:

Quicksilver – Andrew Lincoln

Lt. Jonathan Quick is the field leader of the SilverHawks. He’s unquestionably honorable and loyal. Quicksilver is a pretty basic (and vanilla) 80s good guy leader type.

In AMC’s The Walking Dead, Andrew Lincoln has proven he has the ability to play a character who leads a group, and he’s got the look. He’d bring in a legion of dedicated sci-fi fans as the main star of this movie.

Alternates: Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Matt Bomer (White Collar)

Steelheart – Ashley Greene

With a background in Tae Kwon Do, the star of The Apparition and the Twilight series (don’t hold that against her) would be my choice for Steelheart.

I have to give credit to my wife for this bit of casting, as she noted Greene’s ability to pull off the pixie hairstyle that the original Steelheart wore in the 80s.

Steelwill – Chris Pratt

Steelheart’s twin brother will have to be played by someone who’s physical stature overshadows the other actors. Chris Pratt beefed up considerably for his role in Zero Dark Thirty (seriously, have you seen the before and after?) and he could do that again if his Parks and Recreation schedule permits.

Pratt is tall for an actor (6’2″) so he’d physically fit the role, and I’d buy him as Ashley Greene’s brother.

Alternate: John Cena (especially if WWE Studios buys the rights to this property)

Col. Bluegrass – Justin Timberlake

I remember when it was announced that Justin Timberlake was one of the finalists to land the role of Green Lantern (the role Ryan Reynolds ultimately landed). I scoffed then, but now I’m convinced JT is a comic book/toy based supporting character in waiting.

I say ‘supporting’ because I still can’t picture Timberlake carrying a heavy role such as Superman or Batman, but I could certainly seem him as The Flash. The reason Justin fits the role of Colonel Blugrass so perfectly is twofold: the character is music-based, so we’d take a little of the twangy country edge off, and still have a musically inclined (and believeable) character AND Timberlake grew up in Tennessee. He was practically born to play a guitar-toting half-metal country space cop!

Copper Kidd – Leo Howard

Copper Kidd is the youngest member of the SilverHawks, and is the only non-human. Kidd comes from the planet of The Mimes, and speaks only in tones and whistles. The actor portraying him would have to be considerably younger than the other actors, but not a child.

Howard is the star of Disney XD’s Kickin’ It, and played the young version of Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. He’s now in his teens, and would make a perfect Copper Kidd. He’s a martial arts champion, so he brings the physical ability to play an action hero.

Mon*Star – Gerard Butler

I see Gerard Butler as a guy who is really good at screaming and being scary. This role is perfect for him.

Mon*Star was the arch-enemy of the Silverhawks, and leader of a band of goons not dissimilar from that of many other 80s cartoons. Mon*Star was certainly cut from the same mold as Mumm-Ra and Skeletor, but I think he’d translate very well to the big screen is visually rendered the right way.

Take a minute to picture a tense dialogue-based scene pitting Butler’s Mon*Star versus Andrew Lincoln’s Quicksilver. Silly as it may sound, it would be rad as hell.

Cmdr. Stargazer – Dean Norris 

On the podcast I mentioned LOST’s Terry O’Quinn and Modern Family’s Ed O’Neill for this role. In a typical moment of “man I wish I had thought of that a little earlier”, I realized the perfect actor to play the no-nonsense, cranky desk-leader of the SilverHawks was right in front of my eyes as I make my daily trek through AMC’s Breaking Bad on Netflix.

Dean Norris plays DEA agent Hank Schrader on Breaking Bad, and his brand of tough, unintentionally funny law would be perfect for the Silverhawks movie. He’d be the primary source of comic relief, and bring levity to the far-fetched “space cops fighting space aliens” plot.

I also cast Melodia and Hotwing, because one thing this cast seriously lacks is diversity. Check out The (title pending) Movie Podcast to hear who I cast in those roles, as well as the other 3 awesome reboots from Tank, Fogs and Classick!

By the way- as fun as this was, the SilverHawks will always remind me of how spoiled I was.

Howie Decker (@HowardtheDeck) is the chief blogger and editor of UnderScoopFire. He likes fantasy baseball & taco night. You can read his Letter from the Editor here.