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Recasting Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is an all-time classic movie. @laura_bigelow from Instagram suggested that I do this recast and it really excited me. I realized that there aren’t a lot of main characters to cast, but it was still very enjoyable to do this.
Here it is!
Forrest Gump: Jake Gyllenhaal – Jake Gyllenhaal has shown throughout his career that he has a ton of range. He’s played slightly childish in Donnie Darko, and he’s played weird and geeky in Zodiac and Nightcrawler. But he’s also brought the necessary charm for this character in films like Demolition, Source Code, and Brothers. He has star power – not at the heights that Tom Hanks did – but still enough star power that people would recognize the name. The titular character is totally within range for him.
Jenny Gump: Emma Stone – I was between Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence for Jenny, but I can see Stone going to the dark places that are required for Jenny much more easily than Lawrence. She can be charming based on La La Land and The Amazing Spider-Man, but she also goes to the darker places in Birdman. She can give off the aura that she is better than Gyllenhaal, but that she could still end up with him.
Mama Gump: Sandra Bullock – Sally Field was only 10 years older than Tom Hanks as Mama and Forrest. Bullock is 16 years older than Gyllenhaal. She has the kind softness that Mama has, so she would be excellent at explaining things to Forrest so that he could understand them. That is basically her character in The Blind Side, for which she won an Oscar.
Lieutenant Dan: Bradley Cooper – This is my favorite casting I did for this movie. Lieutenant Dan starts off as a tough, but somehow he’s still likeable. Cooper has shown that he can slim down and play an arrogant-ish tough guy. But he can also be endearing like he was in Aloha and American Sniper. He’d be perfect to play the iconic Lt. Dan.
Bubba Blue: Daniel Kaluuya – Kaluuya has made a name for himself because of Black Mirror, Black Panther, and of course Get Out. He would have good chemistry with Gyllenhaal because that would be vital. Bubba almost demands that you like him, and based on the fact that people empathized with him in Get Out, it wouldn’t be difficult for audiences to fall in love with him as Bubba.
School Principal: Tom Hanks – There really aren’t a lot of big characters in this movie. So to add some length, I had fun and casted a few of the small roles. I thought it would be fun to let Tom Hanks make a cameo in this remake, so it would be really fun and interesting to see him in a different sort of role than we normally do.
School Bus Driver: Kat Dennings – Dennings would be the implicitly crazy, but also kind lady that lets little Forrest on the bus towards the beginning of the movie.
Drill Sergeant: Samuel L. Jackson – The Drill Sergeant’s one character trait is that he’s loud. Jackson could play this role in his sleep.
Man on the Bench: Jim O’Heir – This was the first role that I was 100% sure about casting. Jerry from Parks and Recreation would be the perfect guy to say that he’s been “sittin’ next to a millionaire.”
Woman on the Bench: Helen Slayton-Hughes – And Ethel Beavers would be the perfect kind old lady to slide down the bench and talk to Forrest after the man gets up and leaves.
Susan: Kelly Marie Tran – With her breakout role being in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Tran would be able to stand next to Lt. Dan and say one line without a problem.
Let me know what you think of my recasting, or give me suggestions for other movies to recast for the next Fan Request Friday on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!