I had a request to start a blog where you could weigh in on thoughts about a movie based on The Merchant of Death and to discuss casting. This isn’t to say that a movie is imminent. It isn’t. But I’m working with some folks to develop one now, so you never know. (Just don’t hold your breath!)
So, here’s the blog. Have fun.
bobby sherwood says:
this will be sooooo exciting!!!!!!! I am now on my 7th time in a row reading the whole entire series!!!! I can’t get obsessed with another book series until i see a pendragon movie comes out….i guess i came to the right place,eh?
Heather says:
bobby sherwood: That’s awesome! I’m on my 8th read. I know some people would think “How can you read something that many times?”
Very simple answer. Because it’s that awesome! You can never get tired of Pendragon…and I don’t think I’d ever get tired of watching movies either 😀
Hobey ho, let’s go!
bobby sherwood says:
i actually do think that nobody could play bobby pendragon. it is just so hard to look at a person you don’t imagine in your own mind. does anybody else have second thoughts?
bobby sherwood says:
i have also read morpheous road twice
Heather says:
As long as they find a decent actor, who I can look at and think, “He seems like Pendragon to me,” then I’d be happy. Obviously, he’d look different for everyone, so it’s impossible to find someone who’d satisfy everyone.
However, it’s certainly not impossible to find someone who fans can grow on, even if it’s not exactly how they imagined. It’s all about finding that one person who can best capture Bobby’s character.
Mozartghost says:
By my rather superfluatory figuring and or reckoning, I have unanimously deduced that Pendragon would probably look like your average kid. Ergo, any averageish looking juvenile male actor could be considered for the part.
beth watson says:
Uncle Press should totally be played by Nicholas Cage…as for the main three unknown actors would probably be best!!!
Lead Traveler says:
My life will be complete if you make a Pendragon movie…seriously. (As long as it’s good, maybe you could direct it!)
As for casting…oh God, I’m not good at this…
All I’ve got is Morgan Freeman for Gunny, and he isn’t even in the 1st book. Possibly Nicholas Cage or Matt Damon (that’s a stretch) would be good for Uncle Press.
This movie would be the best thing ever if you made it (I’m being honest, the Pendragon books are my favorite piece of media.).
Mary says:
Agreed, Lead Traveler! It would be the best thing ever 😀
Colin says:
Yeah, unknown actors for Bobby, Mark and Courtney sounds like a good idea.
gavin says:
i think u could cast Steve buoshomie for saint danei think he could make it a great movie and add some comedy to it
Magic123 says:
Whoever said Nathan Fillion should play Press, I think I could get on that bandwagon. He usually play someone more cocky, but he can do adventurous roles. And he would be the coolest uncle ever!
Eve17 says:
i would say that for the actors you have to get actors that are unknown talent but would still match the characters because really if you get well known actors to play the roles the movie will fail due to not liking the actors or the certain actor being known as bad actor/actress or just seem like any other film ,they start out as new faces to that people start to enjoy or hate maybe one known actor because i do think Nicholas Cage would be an amazing uncle press
BuggyReality says:
Wow, a pendragon movie could be the best thing ever as long as it sticks to the book. It should since Mr. MacHale has experience as a director. The Pendragon books have been my favorite series for years. If the movies are made I’d espescially want to see the reality bug. The ending where they are out running the reality bug would look great on screen.
Kelsey says:
I’d absolutely love to see Quillan Games on screen. Seeing all the wicked games come to life would be so awesome. As well as seeing the dados!
And I agree BuggyReality. If done well and follows the book, it could be the best thing ever.
Hobey ho 🙂
BuggyReality says:
You’re right Kelsey. Quillan would be the second world that I’d like to see in theathers. Go Challenger Red!
Kelsey says:
Yeah, I’d love to see Tato and the Clown Forest. Haha, and LaBerge. I’d like to see what they’d do with him. He’d for sure be the comedy of the film 😛
I’d pretty much be excited just to see any territory, though. Just to see it come to life and all would be so cool.
BuggyReality says:
Yup, every territory would be interesting except for Second Earth of course 🙂 , but it would be espescially nice to see the what the travelers look like. If Mr. MacHale does direct the film he would probably make sure that the travelers look like his image of the travelers which is pretty much our image too so that would be great.
Kelsey says:
Agreed! 🙂
Kat says:
I think that Nicholas Cage would be good for Uncle Press and Alan Rickman could do a good job of playing Saint Dane. He’s so evil in Harry Potter (he plays Voldemort). And Kristen Stewert might do a decent job of Courtney. Personally, I’d love to see the Never War just to see what Earth looked like a long time ago.
Kim says:
Yeah, and to see Third Earth, Earth’s future would be awesome too.
alyssa says:
you need a pendragon movie…I think u should have unknown actors…can I be in it??? I love acting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it’s all I ever wanted to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I <3 pendragon
hobey ho let's go!!!:D
alyssa says:
you also should get nicholas cage as uncle press…thats what I amagined him of as from the very beginning
Taylor says:
Yeah, Nicholas Cage as Press has been brought up a lot. It seems like a lot of people are in favor of him.
Devin says:
I can’t even use words to express how much I love the Pendragon series.
I read the first Pendragon Book when i was in 5th grade(7 years ago), and I read the books as fast as I could as soon as they came out. I just graduated High School, and I’m still rereading the Pendragon series. Somehow i never get tired of them. It’s such a complex, emotional, adventurous, and exciting book series that I have yet to find any that i like as much. It killed me to see it end. When I was 60 pages away from the end of the Soldiers of Halla, I just couldn’t bare to read the rest and know it was over. I wouldn’t let myself read the end for like half a year haha. But i was pretty happy with the ending (though I still have a lot of questions). But maybe that’s what this book is all about… Instead of asking for answers you have to go out and find them.
I thank you very much, D.J. MacHale, for providing this wonderful story. AND I would explode with joy if I saw a Pendragon movie released. SO DO IT 🙂
Lindsey says:
I would explode with joy as well! And I agree with you, Devin. Pendragon has still remained my all time favorite series and will so forever.
Pendragon is just so amazing of a series and could turn into just as amazing of a film series if done well. It’d be great to see all the sadness, anger, confusion, struggles and joy of Pendragon brought to the big screen!
Hobey ho, let’s go 😀
BuggyReality says:
I already exploded with joy the moment that I read that a movie might be underway, because Pendragon is the best and always will be!
MissBookworm says:
I would LOVE a Pendragon movie! It would be the greatest thing in the history of the world! I think DJ should direct it. Unknown actors for Bobby, Mark and Courtney is a really good idea. I’d really hate if they screwed it all up like with the Percy Jackson. I just finished The Pilgrims of Rayne. MY DAD WON’T TAKE ME TO THE BOOKSTORE!
I would love a movie to come out. I’d buy it the very first day, and watch every day!
Hobey ho, let’s go!
Saint Kane says:
We’ve been discussing all of these things in depth at thependragonmovie.com. Everyone please encourage D.J. to take a look! We’re putting up some of the highlights into one topic for presentation.
We think it would be unique and, in a way, groundbreaking for the fans to have input in the series to ensure that it stays true to the books!
We want this to mirror Lord of the Rings in terms of quality!
Not Eragon or Harry Potter! (or countless others)
So check it out.
Mozartghost says:
If properly done it is,
a failure it will be not.
PS @ Saint Kane
Finally!
bobby sherwood says:
I really do hope that a movie will come out soon. But i do disagree with having unknown actors for bobby mark and courtney. if we did have unknown actors then who knows if they can act every emotion??? I know that we would all love to be in the pendragon movie but it just cant happen because there would be millions and billions of people in it.
But i do love the idea of Morgan Freeman as gunny. I would also go with Jason Issaacs as saint dane. or the dude who plays voldemort.
D.J. should also direct the movie to because he has directed some and he also wrote this book himself. That would be really amazing!!!
Just do it D.J.! Just do it!
asapisaiah says:
Jason Issaacs would be an amazing role for Saint Dane, because that is ALWAYS what I imagined him to look like since the first time he was described in the books. I feel the same way about Morgan Freeman for Gunny. Nicholas Cage, not so much…
eelong rulz says:
I think that maybe that guy that wrote Darth Vader’s theme song should write Saint Dane’s theme song! Wouldn’t that be cool?
I also think that it would be AWESOME to have a Pendragon movie!! I would watch the movie a billion times WHEN IT’S IN THEATERS!!!
DJ, you should make sure that the movie is like the book AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!!
I don’t want the Pendragon movie to be so un-like the Pendragon book that it’ll just be wacky… sort of like the Percy Jackson movie!! THEY KILLED LUKE!!! LUKE DID NOT DIE IN THE FIRST BOOK!!!
pendragon super fan says:
i would die if pendragon movie was like percy jackson. in PJ they just used the characters names! i hate that! i hope pendragon will be really good. ive always wanted to make a movie like that. i hope the pendragon movie is as good as harry potter. why is pendragons name pendragon?
pendragon fan says:
I hope that i will they will make the pendragon movie and mabye even the whole series because all the books that my brother has read was created into a movie so i hope it will happen!!!! :}
Colbykid says:
Bobby: Cameron Monaghan?
Press: ummm… someone between Nicholas Cage and Brendan Gleeson in the HP’s? haha
Dane: Ray Liotta?
haha i dont know, im not good at casting. BUT this is an excellent idea! Iv been waiting for a pendragon movie since i was like 10, ha this would complete me =)
Kianna says:
Okay, so I was thrilled to hear of this Movie Blog and immediately set to work finding actors and actresses that I thought could possibly play the part. Truthfully, I might have been doing this for ‘Pendragon’ before I knew there was a possibility of a movie. I’ve collected a couple of my thoughts and, though grant it that some of these are far fetched, they’re ideas. And ideas are the start to everything, right?
To start, I thought about Saint Dane. First, I thought about what villains that would relate to him, villains that made me think of him. And so, I immediately came up with Lord Blackwood from the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ movie released in 2009. The part definitely reminded me of Saint Dane; kind of the eerie, mysterious, and powerful looking villain. He was played by Mark Strong, a very good actor, who I believe could handle the part.
The next one was Anthony Head, who I’ve only seen in the TV series, ‘Merlin’, as Uther Pendragon (Ironic last name, I know). He, like Mark Strong, possesses that powerful and almost villainous look to him. However, I’m not sure how good of an actor he truly is and whether or not he could play the part.
The last one is Tom Hiddleston. I saw him recently play Loki in ‘Thor’. He is kind of a younger looking Saint Dane, but none-the-less, I thought of him being a possible Saint Dane.
Now, next (obviously) to come to mind was Bobby Pendragon. Bobby is an extremely hard one, because on every single one of the old book covers, he looks very different. However, I came up with a few ideas. The first actor I ran into, I have never seen play in anything, but apparently, he has been in quite a few productions. His name is Sterling Beaumon and when I saw him I immediately thought of Bobby Pendragon. However, I’m not sure how good of an actor he is because I haven’t seen him in anything.
The other unlikely choice of mine for Bobby Pendragon, is Gabriel Basso. Recently, I saw him play in ‘Super 8’ as Martin. Though the character he portrayed in that movie was incredibly wimpy and had a very weak stomach, the actor himself (when he doesn’t look like Martin, from ‘Super 8’) actually looks quite a bit of what I think Pendragon would look like. Also, in ‘Super 8,’ his acting job was superb and I’d have faith that he could relate to Bobby alright.
Uncle Press is who came to mind next. He’s kind of a harder character to portray, but I tend to envision him as kind of the ‘cool’ uncle. The first names (some of which that have already been named) are Timothy Olyphant (most known for ‘I Am Number Four,’ though I haven’t seen the movie), Josh Duhamel (most known for ‘Transformers’), Karl Urban (I have seen him in ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Red’ and in both he’s done a brilliant job), and two more unusual choices: Kyle Chandler and Bruce Greenwood.
Kyle Chandler is probably a more unusual choice because he doesn’t look as ‘cool’ as he looks ‘wise and caring’. However, he is a very strong actor (as seen in the TV show ‘Friday Night Lights’ and the movie ‘Super 8’) and I believe he could portray Uncle Press quite well.
Bruce Greenwood, though perhaps an older choice than most would see, has both the ‘strong and bold’ and the ‘wise and caring’ look. I could see him definitely as Uncle Press, though he would be an older choice to play the part.
Courtney Chetwynde is a harder character and I had troubles finding an actress with brown hair. The best actress I could find, though she doesn’t have brown hair, is AnnaSophia Robb. She is a phenomenal actress and has played many different characters. Though she’s obviously blonde, I think she could possibly work.
For Mark Dimond, the innocent nerd character, I immediately thought of Zach Mills, who played Preston in ‘Super 8.’ He’s a good actor and he definitely looks the part.
Loor is difficult. Many people have suggested Zoe Saldana and if she were a lot younger, she would be perfect. However, she’s not younger. So I went in search of someone younger that could still resemble her. I only stumbled across one actress, though I haven’t seen her in anything, so I don’t know her acting abilities. Her name is Shanica Knowles.
For Loor’s mother, Osa, I also had difficulties. Then a name found it’s way to me. Caroline Chikezie. She’s a younger actress and I’ve only seen her in the (failed) ‘Eragon’ movie, playing Nasuada. However, I think she could easily play the part of Osa.
Alder is my all-time favorite character of the entire series, so he was by-far the hardest to find anything on. So basically, I just gathered a whole bunch of actors that were around his age that I thought could possibly do the part. Some of these are far-fetched, but oh well. The first is Hutch Dano. Though I personally have never seen this actor in anything, if he looked serious enough and was a good actor, he could potentially play Alder. I just happened upon the actor Jeremy Sumpter and, though I haven’t personally seen him in anything either, he looks like he could be a possible choice. Chris Hemsworth is another possible choice, possessing that strong, knightly look. He recently played in ‘Star Trek’ as George Kirk and in ‘Thor’ as Thor.
The last choice, and my personal choice, is Sam Claflin. He was in the most recent ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film and played the Clergyman, Philip. He might be harder to get, since he’s already been in a huge hit movie, but then again, he’s still pretty new to the acting business. Though he’s a bit older than Alder, he has a younger look to him. One of the reasons he made me think of Alder is because Alder, though he’s such a grand and tough warrior, is so innocent and so kind and caring, he wouldn’t hurt a butterfly. Sam Claflin kind of has the same look to him, although probably more of the innocence than the warrior-out-to-save-the-galaxy type. The only potential problem with him is, he’s not extremely tall and Alder is known for his height and size. Other than that, Sam Claflin is a good actor and I think he could handle the part perfectly.
Wow! Okay! That turned out much longer than I thought it would. Those of you who read the whole thing, congratulations, you’re amazing! So, to do a little recap:
~Saint Dane: Mark Strong, Anthony Head, and Tom Hiddleston
~Bobby Pendragon: Sterling Beaumon and Gabriel Basso
~Uncle Press: Timothy Olyphant, Josh Duhamel, Karl Urban, Kyle Chandler, and Bruce Greenwood
~Courtney Chetwynde: AnnaSophia Robb
~Mark Dimond: Zach Mills
~Loor: Shanica Knowles
~Osa: Caroline Chikezie
~Alder: Hutch Dano, Jeremy Sumpter, Christopher Hemsworth and Sam Claflin
Believe it or not, that’s all I have to say right now. I might add another thing about possible composers for the soundtrack. Those who have read this, thanks, and I hope I’ve gotten some ideas flowing.
Marina says:
I’m still all for unknown actors for the younger characters. But I think popular actors would be good for the adults.
I just recently started Morpheus Road. It took me a while to get started because summer is just a crazy time, but I’m really into it right now. I have so many questions. No one say anything about how it ends!
Anyway, that was off topic. Back to the movie…
wordbank says:
i think that the best characters are the one that special audiences do not know about! we need to be surprised at who is in it, and maybe, they are the people you have wanted? let d.j. decide, guys. he had the idea that changed our sort of halla- reading his masterpieces. let him arrange that halla the way he wants to.
Mozartghost says:
One thing that may be problematic in the Merchant of Death movie is that very first part where Bobby and Courtney are smooching. I mean, that would just look corny no matter how good the filmmakers are. So that would be pretty much the only thing I would want changed to make it a good movie.
Jacob says:
This just made my day haha. I personally don’t think Nicholas Cage or Matt Damon would be good people playing Uncle Press I kinda thought that Uncle Press was quite old to be honest in my own mind haha. I was thinking there was like a twenty to twenty five year difference to him and Bobby’s dad. I was kinda of thinking that Michael Caine could play him. Granted that he is pretty old actor but I think he would do really he himself can be quite whimsical and he would be suited to train Bobby to become the lead traveler.
Tamara says:
I am all for this movie being made. Agreeing with what Jacob had stated earlier, Nicholas Cage would ruin the movie, and therefore I would not use him to play Uncle Press. Harrison Ford would be my pick. He’s the right age and has the right attitude.
Second Earthling says:
I think a Pendragon movie will be a dream come true! I would be especially excited to see how they depict Eelong, with its talking and walking cats.
I think that Pendragon shouldn’t be like Percy Jackson. I think the reason Percy Jackson was changed so much is because they weren’t sure if there was gonna be a second movie, so they took out parts that were not only vital to the first book, but to the story carrying on into the others. If they’re gonna make a Pendragon movie, they need to make it like Harry Potter, where they knew that they were gonna continue the series.
Lauren says:
Second Earthling, I agree! A Pendragon movie would indeed be a dream come true!
Kianna says:
Tamara, Harrison Ford’s a good idea . . . he does kind of have the attitude and look. However, he’d probably be hard and pricey to get. . .
eelong rulz says:
IF YOU WANT THIS TO BE A MOVIE, TRY TO MAKE THERE BE 200 COMMENTS!!!
Heather says:
Hobey ho, let’s go!
I’m all for a spiff Pendragon movie 😀
Second Earthling says:
If belong rules is right, then one more contribution from me!
I personally really like the idea of Morgan Freeman as Gunny. That’s how I have always imagined him. Even in the depictions of him in the books, there’s a big resemblance.
And so we go…
Telleo says:
Morgan Freeman for sure. If anyone could do Mr. Van Dyke justice, it’d be him.
Indeed, Second Earthling. And so we go…
Michelle says:
There should be a movie because like Press would say, “This is the way it was meant to be.”
Hobey ho!