New MCU Punisher! The End of White Castle?

There are rumours of a new non-white MCU Punisher, and of course people are complaining about malefic social justice agendas and stuff.

But here’s the thing. If the Punisher just stays as a white dude in his next screen appearance, those same complainers are just going to whine about the inevitable swathes of articles that decry the new Punisher franchise for being a glorified ode to fragile white masculinity or whatever.

But if Frank Castle isn’t white, the volume of those articles will be severely diminished, and all of Frank’s fans will still get a satisfying Punisher movie or whatever it is without having to cavil about that polemic aftermath. Everybody wins! Or at least no one loses?

Well, maybe someone loses. There is one group to whom my mollifying arguments do not apply. Yup! White supremacists. For whatever reason, Frank, through no fault of his or Marvel, seems to have an inordinate number of avowed bigots in his fan base, and obviously, they’re always going to want a white protagonist. But those are some feelings I care even less about.

Bonus Question!

Best castle?

Howl’s. It’s in the sky, dudes!

Sandman Dream Cast

Man! When I saw the cast list for the audio adaptation of The Sandman in mid 2020, I initially thought it was for the movie, and I got really excited. The two names that stuck in my mind most were James McAvoy and Kat Dennings for Dream and Death. Those two are fun to watch in anything, and having them in two of the best roles would be a treat.

Around the new year, I was talking with a friend about the movie, and they mentioned those two names. At first I thought they were confused, but then I learned Gaiman has a habit of appreciating people from audio adaptations of his works enough to get them into filmed versions, and McAvoy and Dennings made that leap.

Could not be more excited.

And then I found out that was not the cae, and fhe actual Morpheus is someone I can’t really claim to know, but apparently be played Byron in that Mary Shelley horror movie, which is appropriate in a different way.

Bonus Question!’

I just realized “Dennings” fits with the Endless tradition of names that start with D, and now I’m wondering if McAvoy’s first name should be “Djames”.

Batadict Cumberbat

Been hearing about this Batman casting. I don’t need to tell you that Pattinson’ll be fine. Everyone basically knows. Putting aside my personal affection for the Twilight franchise, I can still say he’s a skillful actor beyond the confines of that role he harbours open distaste for. But at least it gives clear precedent for his portrayal of a moody nocturnal rich dude. With bat symbolism.

Anyway, if that doesn’t work out for whatever reason, I’ve got another suggestion inspired by hearing that one of the villains for the film is supposed to be the Penguin.

Benedict Cumberbatch! Another tall dude with dark hair who looks as though he could come from money. Maybe he doesn’t quite have the chin for it? But whatever. Really, I just want to hear him pronounce “penguin” again. That was a highlight of that Madagascar film he was in.

He needs a name though. We just had Batfleck, and people are trying to decide on one for Robert. I’ve heard “Robert Batinson” and “Robat Pattinson” at least. Maybe “Batadict Cumberbatch” or “Benedict Cumberbatman”? We can work on it.

Bonus Question!

Best penguin?

Probably Memphis. He’s an incarnation of Elvis played by Hugh Jackman. That’s a potent mix.