If you had to recast all the characters

[on:]

Now now, I know this page is highly blasphemous and I should be burned at the stake, but let's just say the voice actors all had to be replaced (not because of Fox being stingy and hiring scabs or something similar, but because of something more respectful, like a flesh eating virus that only eats the vocal cords of voice actors.)

Anyhow, which actors/voice actors would you hire to voice our beloved characters?  Give your reasons why.   Be creative!  This is not about finding people who can match the originals, but who might take the character in a slightly different direction or maybe more.
For this imagining, its probably better to imagine your choice of artist in place of the original from the start, rather then abruptly changing randomly.  

Anyway my ideas:
Leela
For Leela I would have cast Kari Wahlgren.  I love Kari's voice: it's very deep and womanly, but very feminine and has an underlying sweetness as well.  Its tough and no nonsense, and very maternal sounding.  All these traits are the essence of Leela (the voice she does for Karin from Shadow Hearts Covenant is what i am thinking of.)

Amy
For Amy I would choose Katie Leung.  Amy is already Chinese Martian (maybe American as well) so why not throw Scottish in there for the hell of it?  Amy's valley girl accent sounds nothing like her parents NO TICKEE NO WASHEE voices so it would be fun to contrast those atrocious accents with Katie's soft spoken Scottish Rose voice.  

Mom: Anjelica Houston.  I think she would be FANTASTIC as Mom.  She would have to keep a tight reign but every so often a Grand High Witch type ham fest would be fantastic.

If they were still alive I would still want Phil Hartman for Zapp as was originally planned, and Eartha Kitt for Mom.   I think it's a terrible tragedy that Kitt never voiced a Simpsons/Matt Groening character (though her appearance as Krusty's ex wife was great).

Your ideas?  (Please don't kill me.  If you must, at least do it quickly and leave the face alone)

[Reply #1 on:]

The same cast.

[Reply #2 on:]

The same cast.

That's not the point of this thread at all.

[Reply #3 on:]

I think we had a thread like this before a few months ago if I'm not mistaken...I'd rather the show axed for good than have it re casted..

[Reply #4 on:]

An interesting thought experiment.  But it's hard to imagine because I don't think I'd watch it if it were completely recast.

[Reply #5 on:]

This is not about finding people who can match the originals, but who might take the character in a slightly different direction or maybe more.

I dislike this idea intensely. I don't quite have the tools necessary to indicate just how much I dislike it. Stabbing you in the face would come close to getting the message across though, I feel.

[Reply #6 on:]

I think we had a thread like this before a few months ago if I'm not mistaken...I'd rather the show axed for good than have it re casted..

Second, I was 99.9% sure I wouldn't like the show anymore when I heard they weren't gonna get the original cast back, but then I heard that they did so the day was saved.

[Reply #7 on:]

Hmmm I didn't think many people would understand what I was trying to say.   Basically, I love the show and if Fox had recast all the VAs, I wouldn't have carried on watching it.

Basically this is just a place to imagine what the characters might sound like if someone had got the part.  A Farnsworth Parabox if you will, only in this universe someone else got cast instead of coin flips having different outcomes and romantic reset buttons are left unpushed.

Think of it as a giant "What If"? rather then a "Fox got dickheadish and cast cheaper vas out of stinginess and general assholism."

[Reply #8 on:]

Think of it as a giant "What If"? rather then a "Fox got dickheadish and cast cheaper vas out of stinginess and general assholism."

What's with the general dislike of this thread? It's not like Goldy is criticizing the voice actors or saying there SHOULD be a different cast, this is purely a thought experiment.

In that case, I think Aisha Tyler would make a great Leela. Leela and Lana are similar in some ways, and it would be very interesting to see.

[Reply #9 on:]

This is a valid thread and I have nothing against it. I just cannot come up with anyone who I think would be suitable as a replacement voice actor. No one. This isn't helped by the fact that Futurama is essentially the only thing I watch.

[Reply #10 on:]

What spira said.  We are not as knowledgeable about voice actors as Goldfish clearly is.

[Reply #11 on:]

Think of it as a giant "What If"? rather then a "Fox got dickheadish and cast cheaper vas out of stinginess and general assholism."

What's with the general dislike of this thread? It's not like Goldy is criticizing the voice actors or saying there SHOULD be a different cast, this is purely a thought experiment.

In that case, I think Aisha Tyler would make a great Leela. Leela and Lana are similar in some ways, and it would be very interesting to see.

Thanks, I was hoping that someone would see that I actually don't want the actors recast.  Far from it. 

But it's not just voice actors though, it can be just about any actor you like.  Katey Sagal was mostly a live action actor before she did Leela. 

[Reply #12 on:]

I would cast the people who were the best mix of sound-a-like and acting talent out of the people who audition. Chances are, they wouldn't be very well, if at all, known actors.

[Reply #13 on:]

Chances are, they wouldn't be very well, if at all, known actors.

This is also true. Often good live-action actors just don't have the specific talents needed to be really excellent voice actors.

[Reply #14 on:]

Before going for a new cast right now, I'd rather prefer the show to be cancelled.

[Reply #15 on:]

After a lot of watching Archer and Arrested Development and carefully watching the Mom thread, I've decided that  Jessica Walter would be an interesting (although very different) version of Mom.

[Reply #16 on:]

Very good choice.

[Reply #17 on:]

Seeing her role in AD and reborn in a similar role in Big Bang Theory, I completely agree!!!

[Reply #18 on:]

Yeah she'd probably be the only replacement version of mom that could keep up the same level of geriatric evil.

[Reply #19 on:]

Anyway my ideas:
Leela
For Leela I would have cast Kari Wahlgren.

Let's run with that:

Kari Wahlgren as Leela
Yuri Lowenthal as Fry
Crispin Freeman as Bender
Liam O'Brien as Farnsworth
Stephanie Sheh as Amy
Johnny Yong Bosch as Kif
Steven J. Blum as Zoidberg
Wendee Lee as Edna
Tara Platt as Michelle

[Reply #20 on:]

Hank Azaria as everyone.

[Reply #21 on:]

Hank Azaria as everyone.

If they needed to recast Billy West I think Michael J. Fox would be a perfect replacement.

[Reply #22 on:]

Ehhhh.
Michael J Fox could probably be a good Fry, but I couldn't see him as Prof. Farnsworth or as Zoidberg.

[Reply #23 on:]

Yeah I kinda forgot about his other charictars..

[Reply #24 on:]

If they're gonna recast Billy West altogether it doesn't mean they have to use one guy for the Professor and Zoidy, they'd probably get seperate guys for them too...

[Reply #25 on:]

They would pick the guy who sounds most like the character.

[Reply #26 on:]

They'd pick the guy who had the best mixture of sounding like the character and being able to act.

Being able to do an impression is one thing, but it's no good without the ability to emote whilst you're doing it.

[Reply #27 on:]

On a slightly-related sidenote, Billy West says something on the Rebirth commentary about "Michael J. Fox Fry" being the worst version of the voice he can do.

[Reply #28 on:]

Who's Micheal J Fox Fry?

[Reply #29 on:]

He means when Fry sounds like MJF.

[Reply #30 on:]

Well you put Fry in the same speech marks as MJF.

[Reply #31 on:]

Yeah cause I was quoting Billy...

[Reply #32 on:]

Who's Micheal J Fox Fry?

A version of Fry that sounds like Michael J Fox, globviously. Danny's use of quotation marks was perfectly correct, as he was lifting the line he quoted from Billy West's Rebirth commetary appearance on the Futurama DVD extras.

On that topic, I think that if there were to be a recast, rebooted Futurama... MJF would be a poor choice for Fry. There are better.

I've had a think about this. I like the idea of recasting Fry for a reboot with Aaron Paul, and the Robot Devil being done by Tim Curry.

That's as far as I got when thinking about it.

[Reply #33 on:]

I have to admit, I'd love Tim Curry Robot Devil. 

On the other hand, the Robot Devil has enough scary fangirls as it is.  Having Tim Curry be his voice actor will just rend reality like so much wet tissue paper.

[Reply #34 on:]

If Futurama was a non-animated show, Larry David would make a great professor!

[Reply #35 on:]

Nooononononononono live action.

The more realistic fanart of Leela gets, the more she freaks me out.  Being a cyclops only really works with a cartoony show otherwise I'd probably start screaming: "KILL IT!  KILL IT TO DEATH!".   Unless they found a really cute redhead to play Fry.

[Reply #36 on:]

My friend from school could be Fry. He would only need the hair spikes...

[Reply #37 on:]

The more realistic fanart of Leela gets, the more she freaks me out.

Ahem?

Click to view

Fairly mild but possibly NSFW in some places

[Reply #38 on:]

Every thing below the neck is fine.  Her eye is still cartoonized enough for me not to start screaming.

[Reply #39 on:]

I don't find this hot at all......only cartoon Leela does that for me (regular Leela)