Who Could (and Should) Play Solid Snake in the Upcoming ‘Metal Gear Solid’ Movie?
At Konami's recent Metal Gear 25th Anniversary event, 'Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes' wasn't the only big announcement. It was also revealed that Hollywood will take another pass at bringing MGS to the big screen. We decided to examine who we'd like to see cast as Solid Snake, as well as who we don't want to see in the role.
Christian Bale
There's no doubt that Christian Bale would absolutely kill as Solid Snake. Unfortunately, Bale is getting a bit long in the tooth to play the character (assuming the film will take place during the events of MGS1). That's not the only thing working against us. Bale already played a similar role (John Connor) in the critically panned 'Terminator Salvation.' Another possible deal-breaker is Snake's gravelly voice. If Bale's going to do the Dark Knight voice, forget it. Add that to the fact that he's just coming off of a major franchise and you can all but write-off chances that we'll see him sign on.
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman would be an excellent Snake. He's got the look and the badassdedness that Snake embodies, as proven by his hard-nosed portrayal of Wolverine in the X-Men films. Jackman is also much more likely to jump aboard another franchise and has enough star power to carry one, unlike some of the others on this list.
Chris Evans
Chris Evans has the potential to make a great Snake. He is the right age, build and looks enough like the son of Big Boss. The only problem is that we don't know how convincing he would be as a tough guy. He may be a little too comedic to pull off the role, plus he was pretty boring in 'The Avengers' and 'Captain America.'
Eric Bana
He may not have blown us away as The Hulk, but Bana is a serious actor with serious chops. He would look right at home behind the headband and is due for a major comeback.
Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington may not be the most ideal actor on this list, but this is the type of dude Hollywood will likely cast. He's already attached himself to a few franchise moves ('...of the Titans,' 'Avatar,' 'Terminator') and is just popular enough to carry the film if he's got a legit supporting cast. He is around the right age to play Snake as well and does sort of look like him. We're just unsure if his on-screen personality fits the bill in this case.
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck has (once again) proven himself a serious actor/director in recent years. So much so that the public has almost forgot about atrocities like 'Gigli' and 'Daredevil.' We can't really see him as Snake, but series creator Hideo Kojima has said he would like to see Affleck in the role. We'll pass, thank you very much.
David Hayter
How could we make this list without the voice behind Snake in the video game? Hayter also resembles Snake and has even penned a few scripts for the project. He's an accomplished voice actor and screenwriter ('Watchmen,' 'X2') but lacks the star power to carry a major franchise, no matter how badly we think he deserves it.
Josh Holloway
You may remember him as Sawyer from 'Lost,' where he already sounded like a southern-fried Solid Snake. He definitely has the badass factor going for him, but he may not have a big enough name to drive the franchise. In addition to that, we're not sure that we could see him in anything and not think of Sawyer. Plus he's probably a little too "pretty" to play Snake.
Shia Labeouf
Before you get all fired up about this one, let us be clear -- We do not want Shia Labeouf to play Solid Snake. Although, we're afraid this is the type of bonehead move that the clueless execs in Hollywood will make. He's a well known actor who has already carried a blockbuster franchise ('Transformers') and sometimes they just look at the numbers with these casting decisions. A younger, profitable name like Shia or Robert Pattinson getting the lead in the MGS movie is a real possibility, one that will result in a disastrous flop and utter disappointment.
Kurt Russell
as Big BossThe man on which Snake was based -- Kojima even had Solid Snake use the alias Snake Plissken (Russell's 'Escape from New York' anti-hero) in MGS2 -- has to play Big Boss. It would be a nice little nod to the fans and would be great to see Russel return to the type of role that made us go nuts every time he appeared on the big screen in the 1980's.