Casting Call: The CW's Justice League!

Let’s face it DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television have been dominating the small screen through The CW. With hit shows like Arrow, The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl they have cornered the market for live-action super heroics in our living rooms. This season with Superman appearing on Supergirl marks the lifting of the Super-Embargo, and that has people wondering if or when the other Justice League members embargoes will be lifted. It also lead us to pondering who would be cast as The CW Justice League? So Kat, Brant and Me (Jay) have decided to do our first Casting Call: The CW’s Justice League!

First things first, this is just fan casting nothing official. We are doing this for fun, so it is a game. Like all games we have some rules, or guidelines….

Rules/Guidelines:

• Any character from a CW show Main Universe (Earth-1 & Earth-CBS) that is used must be played by the same Actor/Actress E.G. Green Arrow must be Stephen Amell.
• You can not use DC Cinematic Actors E.G. Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman in the movies so she can not be Wonder Woman on CW.
• All teams must be 7-10 members, no more, no less.
• There are no embargos ALL DC Comics characters are fair game!

Now that you know the rules and guidelines we had to play by, onto our CW Justice Leagues!

CW Justice League Casting

By: Jay

For my Justice League I knew right away I had to do the Big 7, and I knew since this was in the CW Green Arrow had to be in it. That left me with two spots and I knew my team were mainly men, so for my final two spots I wanted females and decided to go with one known and one new one.

SUPERMAN - Tyler Hoechlin (Supergirl)

BATMAN - Daniel Southworth (Power Rangers: Time Force)

WONDER WOMAN - Cote de Pablo (N.C.I.S.)

THE FLASH - Grant Gustin (The Flash)

GREEN LANTERN (HAL JORDAN) - Robert Buckley (iZombie)

AQUAMAN - Alex Cubis (Mako Mermaids)

MARTIAN MANHUNTER - David Harewood (Supergirl)

GREEN ARROW - Stephen Amell (Arrow)

VIXEN - Megalyn Echikunwoke (Vixen)

ZATANNA - Arden Cho (Teen Wolf)

Superman, was a given.In a universe with Superman, I think he would be a member. We saw in the Season 2 premiere of Supergirl how the world looks up to him, so he would be that member to gain the public’s trust, that is why I chose him over Supergirl, as she still has people divided on her. Tyler Hoechlin portrays the Man of Steel, to perfection. He captures the duality that the role requires, like few have.

To be honest, Batman was my hardest role to cast. I looked all around and went through a lot of choices before settling on Daniel Southworth. Southworth is maybe best known for playing the Quantum Ranger on Power Rangers: Time Force, but he has also done other roles. I had a list of qualifications for Batman; He had to have a strong jawline CHECK.He had to have the build CHECK. He had to be able to do fight scenes, as a stuntman and martial artist Southworth gets a huge CHECK. He also had to be able to play both brooding Batman, and the superficial playboy Bruce Wayne CHECK.

Wonder Woman, was a little bit of a debate for me, but I went with a long time favorite of mine, Cote de Pablo.  N.C.I.S. is my favorite show on TV right now and de Pablo as Ziva David is one of the strongest, compelling female characters ever created. Cote de Pablo is absolutely gorgeous and being from Chile she brings a great look for Wonder Woman, much in the way Gal Gadot does. A big selling point is also her physicality, as Ziva David de Pablo demonstrated she can do intense fight scenes, while also having a grace an beauty like no other.

Every Justice League, needs a speedster, and on the CW there is no other Speedster they would use but The Flash. I know this season is introducing more of them, like Wally as Kid Flash and Jesse Quick, but I think the CW would automatically go to Barry Allen as the Flash. While not a direct translation of Barry from the comics, Gustin’s Barry is like that thing you never knew you wanted, but now that you have it, you don’t know how you ever did without it.

The CW loves teasing us with Green Lantern Easter eggs, and Hal in particular. With mentions of Coast City, Ferris Air, etc., it seems like the only reason we haven’t gotten him on the show yet is due to the embargos, and since we lifted them for this I believe Hal would be an automatic add. FOr me, there is just one option, Robert Buckley (Major on iZombie), Kat and I have been saying this since we saw him on iZombie, he embodies Hal Jordan. I know he has a show on right now, but iZombie is a midseason show, and on the CW, so I am sure he can pop in for a few episodes. Buckley even has taken pictures with the Green Lantern ring, and a Green Lantern Power Battery, come on he is ready for the oath! If that isn’t enough we’re not alone in this even his iZombie co-star Rahul Kohli even tweeted out to Warner Bros. that Buckley should be cast as Green Lantern for the movies, but I would love to see him on the CW!

Aquaman was another toughie, I knew right away that the CW would not use Alan Ritchson, because he played Aquaman on Smallville. My Aquaman, I wanted to be more traditional to the movies, and go with the classic blonde route. I also wanted someone who didn’t look like an American surfer boy, someone who had an exotic look, so I expanded my search beyond American actors and ended up on the shores of Mako Island. If you never seen our Media Madness episodes on Mako Mermaids (Mako: Island of Secrets in Australia), Kat and I love the show and in season 2 we were introduced to Erik, a merman played by Alex Cubis. As Erik Cubis played an outsider something that I feel Aquaman is in the comics. He also has this regal, yet everyday man vibe about him, which again I feel as both the son of a lighthouse keeper and Atlantean royalty Aquaman should have. My final reason is fairly obvious, Mako gave Cubis ample amount of underwater acting experience that he can really bring to the role.

To me the Justice League isn’t the Justice League without Martian Manhunter (I’m looking at you New 52), he is the heart and soul of that team, and I had to have him on my CW Justice League. On Supergirl, they have already went about giving Martian Manhunter that role on Supergirl, David Harewood plays that father figure, which I think would help untie these heroes and make them a team.

Like I said before The CW would never do a Justice League team without Oliver Queen. He started this whole party with Arrow, so the Green Arrow is a must have. I always said that Amell plays Green Arrow the best in the crossovers, and with all of these heroes to bounce off of I am sure he will pull off his best performance yet!

For my final two spots I wanted two women and I knew I wanted to bring in someone from Legends, but then I thought of Vixen, the animated series that shares this universe as well, so I killed two birds with one stone and added Vixen. Mari also brings something different to the team by having powers that play out across the board but all based on animals, she can fly, sim, have super strength and speed, but not on the other heroes levels. Megalyn Echikunwoke not just voices Mari, but is also the actress on Arrow, and she is the perfect choice as she brings to life the grace and beauty of Vixen.

Finally I wanted someone whose powers weren’t just mystic in nature, but flat out magical, and I had to go with the first lady of magic in the DCU, Zatanna. With Zatanna, I wanted someone who quite frankly was not white. I always thought Zatanna should be Asian, whether it was Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or even Indian, I just always thought she would be from that region. I also loved how Young Justice made her young, and not fully powered yet, so I decided to go with a younger actress, and that lead me to Arden Cho. In Teen Wolf she demonstrated great physical abilities and had fluid grace to her kata, which I thought would look amazing as she wields her magic.

Next up is Brant’s CW Justice League team!

CW Justice League Casting

By Brant Fowler

Abiding by the rules of using existing actors in the roles that are already established in the “Arrowverse,” here are my casting choices for a Justice League on the CW:

For this iteration of the Justice League, I went with a more classic feel for the team. You have your original seven heroes in Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter. Then I added in two CW mainstays in Green Arrow and Supergirl, along with another female hero to round out the team.

SUPERMAN - Tyler Hoechlin (Supergirl)

BATMAN - Ryan Eggold (The Blacklist)

WONDER WOMAN - Marie Avgeropoulos (The 100)

THE FLASH - Grant Gustin (The Flash)

GREEN LANTERN (John Stewart) - Omari Hardwick (Power)

AQUAMAN - Chris Zylka (The Secret Circle)

MARTIAN MANHUNTER - David Harewood (Supergirl)

GREEN ARROW - Stephen Amell (Arrow)

SUPERGIRL - Melissa Benoist (Supergirl)

DOCTOR LIGHT (Kimiyo Hoshi) - Arden Cho (Teen Wolf)

Hoechlin, Gustin, Harewood, Amell and Benoist are all already cast in various shows, and play their roles perfectly. Going down the list for the others, here are my reasons for choosing them:

Ryan Eggold (Batman) would make an interesting choice for the Caped Crusader. His role on NBC’s The Blacklist proves he can play multiple characters and hide secrets very well, as Batman needs to. He can be smooth and charming, as is Bruce Wayne, but he can be cunning and kick butt just like Batman. He has that playboy look, but under a cowl, he can pull off the more threatening look of Bats.

Marie Avgeropoulos (Wonder Woman) is a CW mainstay in her role as Octavia on The 100. She has proven on that show to be a very strong, independent woman who can throw down with the best of them. She also just happens to have Greek ancestry, so she has the look. There are a lot of parallels between her and Wonder Woman, so she would be perfect for the role.

For Green Lantern, though Hal Jordan was the original Justice League team member, I decided to go with John Stewart. While he may be very similar to the Supergirl version of Martian Manhunter with his military background, I actually think that could provide some interesting conflict between the two. The reason I chose Omari Hardwick is he projects a sense of strength on Starz show Power.

Aquaman was the hardest role to cast, but I ended up going more traditional in looks. I chose Chris Zylka because of his role on The Secret Circle. He projected a sense of strength as well, but also a boyish charm. I think both of those traits embody Aquaman quite well.

Finally, a Teen Wolf alum to join Hoechlin in Arden Cho for Doctor Light. First, the reason I chose Doctor Light, and the female version of the character, is because I felt having a rookie or younger team member not as sure of herself to the team dynamic would be interesting to watch. I like the female version of Doctor Light better than the male counterpart also, and her background that could easily be explained. I could see her fitting in well in guest spots on The Flash in STAR Labs and perhaps that’s how she got her powers, from the Particle Accelerator. As for why I chose Arden Cho, on Teen Wolf she played the rookie role to a tee, and so I know she could pull that off here as well. Now, I know technically we’ve seen Doctor Light on The Flash, but it was the Earth-2 version, and who’s to say this can’t be Earth-1 or a different Earth’s Doctor Light?

Last but not least we have Kat’s CW Justice League team.

CW Justice League Casting

By Kat Comic Uno

THE FLASH - Grant Gustin (The Flash)

GREEN ARROW  -  Stephen Amell (Arrow)

SUPERGIRL - Melissa Benoist (Supergirl)

STAR SAPPHIRE - Aly Michalka (iZombie)

MARTIAN MANHUNTER - David Harewood (Supergirl)

BATGIRL - Holland Roden (Teen Wolf)

RAVAGER - Shelley Henning (Teen Wolf)

MISTER TERRIFIC - Echo Kellum (Arrow)

The Flash - Grant Gustin

In the Arrowverse I count Flash, Supergirl, and Green Arrow as the trinity/ core three heroes of the universe. So of course Grant Gustin’s Flash had to be on DC TV’s version of the Justice League. Aside from his speed, Flash would be a great addition to the Justice League because of his resources with Star Labs and his job at the police station. Barry has a more science driven mind and that is a great attribute to have for the Justice League. I see Grant Gustin’s Flash taking the role of Superman on the team, which is interesting to think about because we do have a Superman in this universe thanks to the Supergirl TV show.

Green Arrow - Stephen Amell

The hero that started it all! Without Green Arrow the DC TV universe wouldn’t be possible. Oliver very much takes the role of Batman in this universe. He’s a bit more calculated as a hero, and doesn’t need to have powers to fight side-by-side with the big leagues.

Supergirl - Melissa Benoist

Supergirl is a powerhouse, but she also brings a brightness that I would love to see with the DC TV’s version of the Justice League. I love the emotional arcs that Kara goes through in her own show and with a team dynamic this could be even more interesting to explore. Even though Supergirl is Superman’s cousin I think Kara fits Wonder Woman’s role a bit more for the DC TV universe. She’s the heart of the team. A woman from another world, who wants to learn as much as she can about Earth.

Carol Ferris - Aly Michalka

This was a tough decision to pick between Hal Jordan (who I would have casted Robert Buckley from iZombie) and Carol Ferris, but ultimately I picked Carol. In the comics Carol’s character is always connected to Hal or another Green Lantern’s story. The DC TV universe could give Carol a chance to shine as her own hero. It also makes sense to develop other corps since the movie universe will be focusing on the Green Lantern Corp. Bringing the Star Sapphires into the TV universe will allow the DC TV universe to do it’s own thing. Maybe all those Ferris Air easter eggs were referencing Carol this whole time!

Martian Manhunter - David Harewood

The comics may be leaving out Martian Manhunter as a Justice League member these days, but I feel DC TV should utilize Martian Manhunter’s character to the fullest. Martian Manhunter is a powerhouse who tries to close himself from making ties with other people. It would be interesting to see Martian Manhunter open himself up to other heroes. Right now he’s only open with his surrogate adoptive daughters Alex and Kara.

Barbara Gordon - Holland Roden

In interviews Melissa Benoist and Chyler Leigh love to tease about Batgirl coming onto the show, and I think Barbara Gordon would be a great way to bring the Bat Family into the DC universe without bringing Batman. Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, will never be used in the Gotham TV show because it’s set before Bruce becomes Batman. Barbara is never utilized enough in live action, but I think she would be the perfect fit for DC TV. Picture the team ups she could have with Kara and all the other DC TV members. I can see Barbara taking a Black Canary type role on the team.

Rose Wilson - Shelley Henning

So hear me out! While thinking about this list I wanted to pick an underdog character. We’ve all grown to love heroes like Green Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl. But I wanted to bring a hero who needed to prove herself as a Justice League member and hero, especially with the most recent trend of villains becoming members of the Justice League in the comic books. Slade was a fan favorite villain, and I would love to see DC TV explore his interesting family dynamics.

Mr Terrific - Echo Kellum

I was thinking of a Cyborg-esque character for the team and Mr Terrific was a “Terrific” choice. He can be the technology person for the team. I can also see Felicity helping every once in awhile.

Well those are our picks! What do you think? But we want to hear from all of you! Tell us in the comments who YOU would want on your CW Justice League team! Just be sure to follow the same rules and guidelines we did to keep it fair!  Next week we will post our other options, or B-Squads!

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