The superhero genre is far from being a fad done with. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe both taking off it will be a decades’ worth journey for us to see hundreds of stories unraveling. Avengers: Infinity War is out in due course and its sequel next year will mark the end of the entire 22 film Marvel Phase One to Three saga conclusion. The DC Extended Universe is still taking its first steps but an enormous range of releases have already been announced.

As both these universes will be seeing a major shake-up, with several new heroes about to be introduced, there are a number of names in the running for actors who might end up becoming superheroes. Then there are those actors whose time might be up to become heroes but had been up for a part years ago. Finally, there are those actors who have never been considered for a part as a superhero or villain but fans have cast them in their minds already.

Using Photoshop enables these fans to present to others an idea of what a particular actor might look like should he or she become part of Marvel or DC. Naturally, some are better than others and keeping this into consideration this list will present those actors who would be a hit or a miss.

20 Thumbs Down: Will Ferrell As Doctor Strange

Will Ferrell is no doubt a very talented man. It’s a misconception if one thinks the funnyman is incapable of doing anything other than comedy as his performance in Everything Must Go should surely end doubts about his acting ability. But seeing him as Doctor Strange is the largest of stretches anyone could think of.

Ferrell would turn Doctor Strange into a pure comedy act.

When it comes to big budget movies studios want to play it safe and cast an actor close to his strengths, and while Doctor Strange had a lot of comedic elements, Will Ferrell would have taken it way over the top in an attempt to make the comedy aspect shine. Still, this Photoshop is nothing to scoff at and is very well done.

19 Thumbs Up: Jared Padalecki As Nightwing

The casting of Nightwing is imminent as the DC Extended Universe looks to expand its borders. There are rumors the character may appear in the next Batman film which would showcase a much darker interpretation of Gotham City. For those who don’t know, Nightwing was formerly known as Robin who left Gotham City to pursue his own solo crime-fighting career in another city.

Ben Affleck’s Batman is in his mid-to-late forties and so the casting of Jared Padalecki, who is 35 at time of writing, would be perfect as Nightwing would be shown to be a more mature hero, capable of being a protector in his own right. Jared Padalecki also portrays Sam Winchester in Supernatural very well as a reluctant hero and could do something interesting here. Plus the picture above really does make one excited at the prospect of seeing him as Nightwing.

18 Thumbs Down: Megan Fox As Wonder Woman

When Gal Gadot had been cast as Wonder Woman there were more than a few raised eyebrows as the actress was only well known for her role in the Fast and the Furious series up to that point, and let’s face it her acting left a lot to be desired. But Gadot silenced everyone when Wonder Woman came out as her portrayal was delicate when needed and firm when required.

Megan Fox wouldn’t be able to pull the role off.

The majority of Fox’s roles are that of eye candy and she has never displayed any real acting ability. In the Transformers movies, her role of note so far, all she did was huff around in revealing clothing and casting her as Wonder Woman wouldn’t have done anyone any good.

17 Thumbs Up: David Tennant As The Riddler

When Jim Carrey played the Riddler in Batman Forever, the character seemed something of a cross between the Joker and that weird cousin you stay away from during family dinners. Carrey never seemed sure of what he wanted to do, and the fans needed a Riddler who could be whimsical yet calculating.

To this end, David Tennant would be perfect for the job. As the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who we saw him play someone who took the fun out of every bad situation and overcome it using his smarts while in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire he was superb in portraying the maniacal Barty Crouch. Fellow Whovians would flock to the cinemas to watch him in action while there is no doubt he would play the Riddler with some patience without going over the top.

16 Thumbs Down: Kristen Stewart As Supergirl

No doubt as soon as you saw this you went ‘Please no’. The character of Supergirl requires the actress to be strong yet retain a big sense of fun. Unlike her cousin Superman, Supergirl takes more joy out of the situations she finds herself in and her powers are just part of the package.

Kristen Stewart would feel very dry in the role.

Even the parts where she has been required to display more emotion she hasn’t shown much. She isn’t a bad actress but she does lack a certain charm that is required to play a superhero. The lack of comedic chops is a big factor in her being a bad choice for the role. The above picture is an old one that imagined her debut in 2014. Good thing that never happened.

15 Thumbs Up: Bryan Cranston As Lex Luthor

The above picture is one of those where you get a glance and realize it’s something that has been missing from your life. The Lex Luthors we have seen onscreen as of date haven’t felt true to the character in the comics. The 70s Superman films made him rather hammy while in Superman Returns he was like a boy angry for no reason. Then we have Jesse Eisenberg who played perhaps the worst incarnation in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Now if Bryan Cranston would take the role we could have someone who could play the sinister Lex fairly.

As seen in Breaking Bad, Cranston is superb in such a role where he could appear unassuming but was plotting a large diabolical plan at the back of his mind. Imagining him against Henry Cavill’s Superman isn’t too difficult.

14 Thumbs Down: The Rock As Martian Manhunter

It’s a shame we didn’t see Martian Manhunter appear in Justice League. The character is known as one of the founding members of the league and was seen in the role in the DC Animated Universe. In the Justice League animated series, J’onn Jonzz was one of the standout characters as he was calm and collected all the while mourning the loss of his family.

The Rock wouldn’t feel like a good fit here. He is known for being larger than life and his appeal is in playing characters close to how he is in real-life which is loud and quick with the one-liners. For someone to accurately portray J’onn Jonzz he would need to be quieter during the film with giving his two cents only when needed.

13 Thumbs Up: Jon Hamm As Cable

It’s a wonder that Jon Hamm has never been seen in a superhero capacity. The guy has a lot of charisma at his disposal as seen in Mad Men, and isn’t too bad to look at either. It’s unfortunate he is moving toward his fifties which means his superhero casting choices are limited, but not when it comes to this one.

Cable requires an older man to play and Hamm would’ve been great.

Josh Brolin has already been cast but imagining Jon Hamm in the role shows what a missed opportunity it was. He is hilarious in any funny role he plays as seen in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Bridesmaids. That is why there is no doubt he would have fit the capacity of a buff dude with a keen sense of humor as Cable in Deadpool 2.

12 Thumbs Down: Jaden Smith As Spider-Man

Say it ain’t so... and it’s a good thing we can say that for now. Miles Morales will be seen in an animated capacity in an upcoming Spider-Man movie. It’s a good thing it wasn’t live-action or the above picture could have become a reality. Jaden Smith is a kid doing his own thing and we wish him the best but when it comes to acting he should take a step back as we saw more than enough of him in After Earth.

The picture we see isn’t too bad at all and shows some good photoshop skills but that’s where the admiration ends. Thankfully Tom Holland is still very fresh into his Spider-Man career and it might take a while before the need for Miles Morales comes up in live-action.

11 Thumbs Up: Rachel Weisz As She-Hulk

Rachel Weisz is one of those actresses you would never consider in a wish-list to be seen as a superhero. The closest she got to one was in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. Now with the actress approaching her fifties, it’s likely we never see her as a superhero, which is a shame as this fantastic photoshop should hype up any fan.

We may be very close to seeing She-Hulk onscreen.

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe undergoing a major change following Avengers 4, speculation is rife for a female-led superhero film and She-Hulk should be one of the leading names. We have seen the character in animation but if Rachel Weisz were to take up the role she would set the bar very high.

10 Thumbs Down: Lupita Nyong'o As Storm

Odds are we will never see this casting happen as Lupita Nyong’o is already part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we saw her in Black Panther earlier this year. It’s a given she will appear in Black Panther sequels and with the X-Men universe about to be incorporated in the MCU, it wouldn’t make any sense for Lupita to appear as Storm.

It’s a good thing too as the above edit, which isn’t very well done either, doesn’t convince us she would be right for the part. The picture has Nyong’o’s hair styled just as Storm’s would and it is enough to set the picture. The new X-Men films will feature younger incarnations of the character and, at 35, that ship has sailed for Lupita.

9 Thumbs Up: Robin Williams As The Joker

If only we could have seen this become a reality. But sadly it will never happen. The great Robin Williams passed away in 2014, dashing any hopes of seeing him as the Joker.

There shouldn’t be any need for evidence to back up this claim.

Robin Williams was a natural at acting. He was especially adept at playing characters that required more expressiveness. The Joker would have been a perfect fit for him. He was certifiably funny and we saw him play serious roles plenty to convince us he could have blended the two together. He would have been infinitely better than Jared Leto and played Joker that was truer to the character in the comics. Williams had the ability to bring to life the Joker we saw in Batman The Animated Series.

8 Thumbs Down: Jack Black As Green Lantern

Isn’t the picture reason enough why Jack Black is not the right guy for the part of Green Lantern? We’re assuming the picture implies he plays Hal Jordan but the ridiculousness wouldn’t make it too far-fetched to assume he may even be playing John Stewart. Here’s the most interesting tidbit: Jack Black was at one point in the running to play Green Lantern. The actor revealed the film would have taken a comedic turn of the character.

It’s safe to say everyone is happy this did not come to pass or the legacy of Green Lantern would have been very firmly shovelled deep into the ground for decades to come. That is why this fancasting is best left in our minds to shudder over.

7 Thumbs Up: Jeffrey Dean Morgan As Batman (Flashpoint)

Readers can rejoice because this fancasting might not be part of fantasy in the years to come. To those who don’t know there is a film called Flashpoint coming up which will deal with the Flash travelling to a different dimension where Thomas Wayne has become Batman.

In the intro for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice he played the character as he met his end along with his wife Martha Wayne. The actor has expressed interest in appearing in Flashpoint and we can only cross our fingers in the hopes this comes true. A comparison with Ben Affleck’s Batman would be imminent as the two are close in age and it would be interesting to see the outcome.

6 Thumbs Down: Ryan Gosling As The Flash

After La La Land and Blade Runner 2049, it shouldn’t be too outlandish to consider Ryan Gosling as a superhero. He has shown enough talent to convince us he can pull the job off easily as Gosling is one of the few big name actors who hasn’t been seen in a superhero film thus far.

However, Ryan Gosling is too old to play the character now.

The Flash has famously been known to be the youngest Justice League member and he needs to remain innocent as the character acts as the conscience part of the group. Ryan is also too bulky to be seen as comic relief. Due to this, it’s best to leave the role to actors currently portraying him in the DC Extended Universe and the CW TV series.

5 Thumbs Up: Armie Hammer As Shazam!

Zachary Levi was recently announced as the man for the job in 2019’s Shazam! The film will introduce the character in the DC Extended Universe and is expected to face The Rock, who will play Black Adam, in a future movie. Looking at the above picture, it’ a shame the photoshop work wasn’t shown to studio executives as Armie Hammer can easily be seen in the role.

He was one of the few positives in the dud that was The Lone Ranger and a little bulking up would have made believable as a powerful superhero that a child turns into by saying the magical word of ‘Shazam’. Armie has already been seen with Henry Cavill in The Man from U.N.C.L.E, and with Superman set to appear in Shazam! It would’ve been a nice reunion for the two.

4 Thumbs Down: Nicolas Cage As Superman

Here’s the biggest plot twist with the hilarious picture above. Nicolas Cage had been a shoo-in for the role as Superman! It’s bizarre to even consider but the actor was the front-runner and test screening of him trying out for the part is even available on the internet. At the time Cage wasn’t the weird guy who appeared in about a hundred movies a year yet, so studio executives were willing to try him out.

But it would’ve been so very terrible to have seen him as Superman. He’s not the worst but he definitely does not have the look for Clark Kent. It’s hard to imagine him bulking up enough to appear as Superman either. We can all be thankful talks didn’t progress for him to have actually become the Man of Steel.

3 Thumbs Up: Benedict Cumberbatch As Martian Manhunter

Those who have seen the Justice League animated TV series will know of J’onn Jonzz’s demeanor. He is a very soft-spoken individual with a troubled past. He is also very powerful and Superman has admitted he sees J’onn as stronger than him as Jonzz is even a powerful telepath. Suffice to say there’s a certain mystique to him.

This aura of mysteriousness is what makes Benedict Cumberbatch the prime person to portray him. With the Justice League sequel nowhere close to our screens in the near future, there is a chance Benedict’s Doctor Strange days might be over by the time Martian Manhunter’s debut is about to arrive in cinemas. Many have jumped from Marvel to DC and vice versa and this would be one of the best occasions to do so.

2 Two Thumbs Down: Justin Bieber As Superman

It would be the last breaths of the DC Extended Universe when we might see this become a reality. This picture was meant to be taken in a lighter sense but it would be nightmarish should Justin Bieber eventually become Superman.

This is just about the worst choice one could think of.

Bieber has had his fair share of troubles with the law among other controversies and he can never be believable as the straight-laced Clark Kent. Only teenaged girls might see some appeal in seeing the singer become Superman but the outrage from comic book fans is enough to prevent this from ever happening in real-life. To his credit, Bieber has maintained a nice physique but he still comes across too boyish to be taken seriously.

1 Two Thumbs Up: Idris Elba As Green Lantern

Has there been a more appropriate photoshop for a more appropriate choice? Idris Elba’s fans have been clamoring him to become James Bond for years but this role is perfect for him. Hal Jordan was seen in the Justice League animated series where the character was stoic with a non-nonsense attitude. Elba played a similar role as Heimdall in Thor and its sequels.

Besides, just looking at this picture should be enough.

John Stewart would be brought to life on the big screen. The story of the upcoming Green Lantern Corps. due out in 2020 hasn’t been known but if Idris Elba is cast as John Stewart then you can be sure there will many people flocking over to the cinema to see justice being done the right way.