Here in the Flickering Myth Multiverse, we take a look at how a Cannon-produced Avengers epic may have been cast…

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been doing pretty well since Robert Downey Jnr kicked off a major era in cinema. Some might not like the almighty hold the MCU has on multiplexes, and movie stalwarts like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have lamented the monopolization they’ve had. They are effective though and they, at least until they peak with Avengers: Endgamewere foolproof money makers.

However, the popularity of comic book movies is still relatively new in movie history. For every real hit like Richard Donner’s Superman or Tim Burton Batmanyou had box office disasters like Albert Pyun’s Captain America. Speaking of which… Cannon Films threw their hats in the comic book movie ring with an unfortunate fourth Supermanunsuccessfully tried to bring Spider-Man to life and effectively torpedoed their company (or at least half of a post-cannon-divorce subsidiary, which produced it) with the aforementioned Pyun Captain America.

What if however… what if Cannon had had an extremely successful year in 1987 with masters of the universe And Superman IV: The Quest for Peace? Here I’m going to imagine another Universal Cannon somewhere between 1988 and 1990 with Cannon still running with Golan and Globus together producing hits. They’re going to make the ultimate comic book barnstormer, having already done Spider Man with Pyun the previous year.

First, consider the director… It could be a slightly outdated old stalwart, like Sidney J. Furie or J Lee Thompson, or it could be a movie arthouse director European (or American Indie) bought (because Cannon liked to do that). However… I’m going to give the job to the late Albert Pyun, who was destined for a lot of action fantasies at that time, like the hit masters of the universe 2 (in this alternate reality), Spider Man and one to come Captain America concert.

Now for the main event. The casting.

Captain America – Michael Dudikoff

Matt Salinger may have starred in the movie Albert Pyun released in our reality, but the lack of star power and charisma was one of the reasons the movie failed to find a willing audience. . That and it was also a cheaply built mess. For this Cannon opus with a budget of 35 million dollars avengers spectacular, we need an all-American hero and who better than Michael Dudikoff? It comes straight out of a string of solid films by Sam Firstenberg (american ninja And vengeful force), with the look of Jimmy Dean and his screen presence. Meanwhile, the next Jean-Claude Van Damme enters as The Winter Soldier in what ends up being a three-hour opus (scored by Bill Conti).

Thor – Dolph Lundgren

This is perhaps the most obvious choice on the entire list. It must be Dolph Lundgren as Thor. masters of the universe in this area was a mega-hit. Dolph decides fantastic action and adapting IP addresses is the way to go. it is offered The Punisher in Australia or playing Thor in Cannon’s avengers. He was born to play a Norse god and wield a huge hammer. He chooses Cannon, while Michael Pare plays in the solo Punisher and appears briefly here as well.

Hulk – Lou Ferrigno

There’s no way there’s an alternate reality where Lou Ferrigno isn’t Hulk in the pre-CGI era. Lou, versed in Cannon fantasy thanks to his run as Hercules and Sinbad of the Seas is always the perfect choice. The editor (Anne V. Coates) forbids herself to do it almost entirely in slow motion like in the television series. Bill Bixby is, of course, Banner.

Spider-Man – Corey Feldman

The cast of Peter Parker needs someone young, promising, but experienced. He needs a Corey. You could go Haim, but we’re going Feldman. He will turn out to be an affable Peter Parker. Every Parker needs a GM, of course, and Brooke Shields provides him with someone to yearn for. Shields is already part of Cannon’s canon with his headlining tour Saharawho certainly did not bombard this reality.

Iron Man – Eric Roberts

Pop it Jarvis!! Eric Roberts, fresh off an Oscar-nominated hit with Cannon’s masterpiece, train out of control, enters as Tony Stark (reuniting Rebecca De Mornay as Pepper Potts). It further cements Roberts as a rising talent whose career won’t implode the next decade. Roberts anchors the film with drama and pathos. Just like the real MCU in this area, it will be Iron Man who will be the most emotionally compelling character. He will also have to face Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, but it’s young Mickey Rourke, with fire in his stomach.

Doctor Strange – Richard Chamberlain

Richard Chamberlain has a wealth of experience and a lot of charisma. cannon star IndianaJones-pair of riffs King Solomon’s Mines movies can bring some seriousness to Dr. Stephen Strange. Sharon Stone stars as Scarlett Witch to bring their on-screen chemistry together.

Hawkeye – Sylvester Stallone

Stallone was one of the biggest headliners Cannon bought in his heyday. With such star power on board Avengers Cannona full Stallone appearance is too expensive, but a low-impact supporting role as Hawkeye makes sense, and he’s already got the arc skills locked in tight.

Black Widow – Cynthia Rothrock

Black Widow is the main female hero in the picture. Cannon needs to get the best of the best, and before America even got the hang of it, they heard about an American martial arts champion who was stomping her way through a bunch of action movies from Hong Kong. Rothrock is awesome and since Scar Jo never had to worry about a Russian accent, neither did she. Expect the scorpion black widow to kick someone upside down for good measure too.

Black Panther – Carl Weathers

Cannon loves action and they love stars with experience in the genre. Carl Weathers has plenty and for the fully shirtless finale with the good guys charging at the faceless enemies of Thanos’ army, he’s got the six-pack to match the rest. It won’t have the range or commentary of the real Ryan Coogler movie, but Weathers will make a great choice for all-hands FX action scenes. All he has to do is go through Killmonger played by the late great Steve James.

Shang Chi – Brandon Lee

Shang-Chi makes an appearance, played by Bruce Lee’s son. The budding young star has natural charisma as well as physical prowess for action sequences. Then, because it’s a fantastic universe evoked in my strange mind, Bruce Lee is still alive and played in Enter the dragon 2, 3 And 4 for Canon. Who else could play the Mandarin, Shang-chi’s father than Brandon’s father? With so much talent involved in the image, Brandon Lee’s natural charisma manages to steal the film, as does the character’s father-son friction with the Mandarin who has one last act of changing his mind (sorry, spoiler alert) .

The Guardians – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Christopher Reeve, Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris, Mathilda May

The Guardians briefly rushed to their ship near the end, thanks to visual effects by Richard Edlund (star wars, masters of the universe). Arnold Schwarzenegger is Drax because he is a great unit that can throw gags. Chuck Norris voices Groot. Kenny Baker dons a slightly goofy raccoon costume to play Rocket, who is voiced by Charles Bronson. Mathilda May plays Gomora and because it’s a Cannon movie and it worked so well in life force, she does not wear a single point of clothing everywhere. The final piece of the Guardians puzzle is Christopher Reeve as Star-Lord. While synonymous with DC character, crossover has never been against any movie law (see Dolph, Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds, and many others who jumped between DC and Marvel properties). Reeve brings charisma and sincerity the same way he did Superman/Clark Kent.

BAD GUYS :

Aside from the aforementioned antagonists, this movie needs big bad guys. This requires a level of decor chewing worthy of a Cannon opus.

The Red Skull – Frank Langella

Frank Langella turned out to be a sensational villain in masters of the universe. It elevates the endless film with a very Shakespearean and theatrical approach to the role. He would no doubt bring the same energy to playing the Red Skull who is the orchestrator of evil helping Thanos collect Infinite Stones for his gauntlet.

Loki – Billy Draco

Loki loves acting, but in Cannon’s version, he’s darker, twisted, and creepier. Such slime villainy needs one of the all-time great exponents of film slime villainy in Billy Drago. Draco has always been the villain with his intense stare and distinct gaze. He also had a penchant for eccentric villains and Cannon’s version of Loki would undoubtedly be that.

Thanos – Oliver Reed

A powerful presence. The ability to chew landscapes to oblivion near the end of the universe, but still feel oddly believable. Beyond all that, and probably being the originator of the mega-pint concept, Oliver Reed might also be in on the action. A Cannon Thanos has to be barnstorming, bold, off-balance, and played by an actor who could possibly be drunk as a skunk during filming. Then it must have an underlying complexity that makes it interesting. It appeared via Josh Brolin in the real world, even via CGI, but Reed, with slightly random purple makeup, would look like a more compelling flesh-and-blood version of the ultimate MCU villain. It would get a Razzie nomination, but deep down, fans and moviegoers will know it was one of the best blockbuster villain performances of all time.

What other characters would you like to see in Avengers Cannon? Name your cast or tell me where I got it very well or very poorly @FlickeringMyth…

Tom Jolliffe is an award-winning screenwriter and avid film buff. He has a number of films released on DVD/VOD worldwide and several releases scheduled for 2022/2023, including Renegades (Lee Majors, Danny Trejo, Michael Pare, Tiny Lister, Nick Moran, Patsy Kensit, Ian Ogilvy and Billy Murray), Crackdown, When Darkness Falls and War of The Worlds: The Attack (Vincent Regan). Find more information about the best personal site you will ever see here.