Who Would Play These Apex Legends in a Live Action Movie?
From Seer, Valkyrie, Wraith and on – it’s fun to dream about an all-star live action cast of who would play the best Apex Legends in a movie.
In a world… (movie announcer voice) where literally every video game is being made into a movie – do you often think about who would play your favourite characters in said movie? They aren’t always box office hits, but as I was grinding my season 12 rank yesterday, I found myself mentally casting Hollywood A-listers in Apex Legends – from Seer to Valkyrie, Wraith (my main) to Gibby and the whole gang.
Apex Legends Support Characters:
LIFELINE – Letitia Wright – Black Panther
Letitia Wright is better known as Shuri from Black Panther and I think that she would be perfect as Lifeline. She’s got badass moves and she can lock down a battle. I think her work on the Marvel series of Black Panther and Avengers Movies positions her against no rival to play Che/Lifeline – the quirky, confident battle medic Legend!
LOBA – Florence Pugh – Black Widow, Little Women
Yeah, I’m going back to Marvel for this one too but I DARE you to look at Florence Pugh and tell me she’s not 100% Loba! You probably know her as Natasha Romanoff’s (Black Widow) “sister,” Yelena or from Little Women but SHE IS LOBA! Bonus points for the fact that we know she would handle the acrobatics and staff-slinging that matches Loba’s character with ease. Che/Lifeline – the quirky, confident battle medic Legend!
Apex Legends Defenders
GIBRALTAR – Dwayne Johnson – Jungle Cruise, Jumanji, wrestling stuff
The towering fortress with a giant heart would have to be played by someone who has the sheer physical presence of Gibraltar but also the kind nature and team-spirited-ness of the character. To me, that pumped out Dwayne Johnson’s name and visual perfectly. Hope he can nail the accent. As an aside – if it where my choice, Dwayne Johnson would be in every movie. against no rival to play Che/Lifeline – the quirky, confident battle medic Legend!
CAUSTIC – Mickey Rourke – Iron Man 2, The Wrestler
Apparently, I want to re-skin the MCU films as one big Apex Legends live action tribute but to be fair; they have basically collected all the best action talent in cinema for over 10 years now. Mickey Rourke has the vocals, the stature, the sheer intimidation that Apex’s toxic trapper needs to soak the field with fear and fumes. “The Wrestler” gets my nod for Caustic. Che/Lifeline – the quirky, confident battle medic Legend!
WATTSON – Esme Creed-Miles – Hannah
NOT because I’m worried about Marvel superfans, but it is nice to pull talent from elsewhere. Esme Creed-Miles played Hannah on the Amazon Prime series born from the film about ‘born-to-kill’ youth assassin originated by Saoirse Ronan in 2011. I think she’d be perfect to play the timid but deadly youth prodigy Wattson. No doubt her performance would be………… electrifying. I’LL SEE MYSELF OUT OKAY!
RAMPART – Freida Pinto – Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Slumdog Millionaire
Freida Pinto is a bit under-rated in my opinion and she does have the action chops to play Apex’s back-talkin heavy-hitter Rampart. Do we have to cast her trusty ‘Shiela’ separately? I find her to be the perfect portrayal of Rampart in all her heavily armed goodness.
Apex Legends Strikers
WRAITH – Jennifer Connelly – Top Gun: Maverick. Snowpiercer
As a dedicated Wraith main and fanboy, this was tricky for me – I had too many options but I ultimately pegged Jennifer Connelly. She kept popping in my mind because she has the grit, the voice and the action portfolio as well as the ability to play the brooding underlying torment of Wraith’s character.
BANGALORE – Jada Pinkett Smith – Gotham, The Matrix: Reloaded
Jada Pinkett Smith popped into my mind immediately for Banga. At first blush she might not appear to have the edge that Bangalor carries but I’ve seen her do it. She can throw down, is no stranger to action film and she is an absolute boss! I’d love to see her poppin’ smoke and droppin’ hot lead in an Apex live action movie.
MIRAGE – Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool, Free Guy
C’mon, WHO ELSE! Ryan Reynolds would be an absolutely perfect addition to this lineup and a killer fit for the comedic, wise-crackin Mirage. His humor, proven ability in action film… I couldn’t think of anyone better at all. And that’s before my Canadian bias kicks in!
OCTANE – Michael Peña – Ant Man
How much heat will I get for poaching Marvel movies? Michael Peña has had his share of roles in action flicks and definitely has a flare for comedic timing! To be fair, a lot of Octane would presumably be costume but I think Peña has the goods to bring Octane to live behind the mask too!
REVENANT – Andy Sirkis – Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes – every godly CGI character
Andy Serkis is legendary for bringing brilliant acting together with cutting edge CGI tech – from Gollum to Caesar and in a host of Marvel films and series breakouts. When I thought that I’d see Revenant as a mainly CG character the only name that I heard in my head was Andy f’in Serkis. Hands (or claws) down.
HORIZON – Rose Leslie – Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey
You may know her as Jon Snow’s better half on and off-screen in the character Ygritte, but Rose Leslie is at home in the fantasy genre and she’s actually Scottish to boot! Not only would I love to see her in this role, but I’d love to see her return to a hard-hitting action show again. Loved her in GoT!
FUZE – Colin Farrell – The Batman, Phone Booth
Though he is Irish, Colin Farrell has the acting chops to pull anything off. See his performance as Oswald ‘The Penguin’ Cobblepot in Matt Reeves’ The Batman for more than enough proof. The guy looks like yer ol’ pal Fuzey too. Picture him with a giant cannon over-shoulder, raging mustache and a cold one in-hand.
ASH – Anna Campbell (voice) – Apex Legends, God of War
That’s right! I’m putting the original voice of Ash as… the voice of Ash. That’s because I see Ash as an entirely CGI role which means, in a twist, we get to consider the original voice actor, Anna Campbell, do the work. She’s no stranger to the VO game and I thought this was a nice nod to the original voice talent.
MAD MAGGIE – Rachel House – Thor: Ragnarok
While we know Apex doesn’t draw from real Earth geography or peoples, the ties are pretty evident and Mad Maggie actually has distinct Māori ties, it is reasonable to consider a Māori actress to play Mad Maggie – it has to be someone who can also harness Maggie’s no-nonsense edgy approach to kicking ass and taking names. That person is Rachel House – You might remember her as Topaz. The Grandmaster’s chief bodyguard in Thor: Ragnarok. Yeah, she’s got Maggie locked!
Apex Legends Scouts
BLOODHOUND – Katee Sackhoff – The Mandalorian
Part of Bloodhound’s legacy is that we’ve never seen their face and the voicing is heavily modulated. While that might open up casting options, the performer behind a live-action Bloodhound needs to be able to run the quiet deadliness and physicality of the tech hunter. When I ran that down, I felt Katee Sackhoff aka Bo-Katan would be perfect and, well, she’s got the tech hunter part down pat right? Did you know that she not only played Bo-Katan in The Mandalorian, but also voiced the same character in the Clone Wars tv series?
PATHFINDER – Chris Edgerly (voice) – Apex Legends, The Simpsons
The second of only two characters I would see being entirely CGI – and only because I feel we now have the tech to do it well – goes to Pathy’s original voice actor, Chris Edgerly. Beyond that, it would be pretty cool to see a few of the original Apex Legends voice actors in the mix here.
CRYPTO – Simu Liu – Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
At this point, I just concede to the fact that Disney basically owns everyone. Yes, another MCU pull but while you’ve SEEN these folks in Marvel movies it doesn’t mean they started there. In fact, Simu Liu is another Canadian bud who got a leg up in a Canadian tv series called Kim’s Convenience.
VALKYRIE – Ming-Na Wen – The Mandalorian/Book of Boba Fett
Again from the Disney roster, Ming-Na has shown that she can not only hold her own in a combat-centric, aggressive lead but that she can easily gel into about any role from an ER doctor to an intergalactic assassin and more. I’m sure she can take to the skies as Valkyrie, just as easily.
SEER – Donald Glover – Solo: A Star Wars Story, Community
The sagely, other-worldly, low-key King of Pop vibes needed for the omniscient Seer was a tough one for me. Lots of great actors could bring this one home but I though a great fit would be someone with an almost dancer-like grace. When I put all that together it hit me that this person… is Donald Glover.
Now of course I know that I’m ignoring a LOT of Hollywood casting convention with a list like this and I’m sure everyone has their own picks of who would be perfect for each of these roles. These are simply my top-of-mind, fun picks based on a genuine love for each one of them and the lore that they hail from.
If you disagree that’s fine! Get at us on socials and tell us what you think and if you can cast it better, shoot your shot!