10 Times Controversial Casting Choices Proved Outraged Fans Wrong
When a book gets really popular, people often feel very connected to it. It will probably also be turned into a movie soon enough, and those people who are so connected usually have some VERY strong feelings about who is going to star in that movie. Most of the time people over react and the movie ends up being good despite their objections.
When Pattinson was first cast as Edward Cullen he was really only known as playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and fans thought that the guy who played clean cut Cedric could never capture the brooding vampire-ness of Edward Cullen. Obviously they were mistaken and Pattinson became a teen heartthrob because of the role.
When a movie version of Pride & Prejudice made in 2005 people seemed furious that anyone else would play the character other than Jennifer Ehle, who had played the role in the 1995 miniseries on BBC. People specifically thought Knightley was too pretty and one dimensional to play the character. Joke's on them, as she was nominated for an Oscar for her role.
When it was announced that Craig would be taking over the iconic role of James Bond in 2005 the reaction was so strong, it even led to the website DanielCraigIsNotBond.com. People complained that Craig was too short and has the face of "a professional boxer." While the movies staring Craig have had great reviews, the website still remains up.
The main complaint that came with Zellweger's casting was the fact that an American would be playing a character known for being British (and who is supposed to be a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice.)Â
When Lawrence was first cast as Katniss people said she wasn't skinny enough to come from the improvised District 13 that Katniss lives in. People also had complaints about her hair color, calling her a "beach bunny blonde." Lawrence even said she understood some of the backlash since the character is so personal to so many people. It apparently didn't stop people from seeing the movies, since they've made $2.3 billion so far.
The 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice did not have many fans when the cast was first announced. People right away jumped on Macfadyen, saying he would never live up to Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy.Â
When Hathaway was cast in The Dark Knight Rises as Catwoman/Selina Kyle fans of the comic book character thought she would never be able to pull off the dark character. When the first image of her as the sometimes foe, sometimes friend of Batman, many people claimed she looked very "underwhelming" as the character. Hathaway responded by saying one image is not nearly enough to know about the role.
Believe it or not, people often got upset about casting LONG before the internet came around. Leigh faced similar criticism as Renée Zellweger, just reverse. People didn't like the idea of a character that so well represented the Southern belle being played by a British actress. People wrote into newspapers to complain about the casting, claiming Leigh's casting was an affront to anyone who fought "to free this land of British domination."
When Keaton was cast as the Caped Crusader more than 50,000 letters were sent to the studio producing the movie. They complained that Keaton was a comedian and was not nearly physically intimidating enough to play the superhero.
By now you've probably figured out that Batman fans will never be happy. When Ledger was cast people were FURIOUS. Many people claimed that since Ledger was known for his roles in teen movies such as Ten Things I Hate About You. One commenter went so far as saying, “There are better choices in my own opinion, but what do I know, its only been my life enjoying these comics?†Ledger ended up winning a posthumous Oscar for the role, so I guess there weren't better choices?