FX'S Archer, A Live-Action Feature Length Movie

In the realm of fantasy movie releases, there are far too many possibilities to cover in just one writing session. We could go on and on about a remake of Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, a reboot of Miami Vice, and what will no doubt be even more Star Wars films by Disney. Hollywood has little imagination left and has been forced to rely on Disney pulling from comic book franchises and studios that keep rehashing old material. This idea, however, would prove to be as funny a spoof movie as I've ever seen.

The FX animated series, Archer, is a spoof of the traditional spy genre, right down to its' characters. In one episode most people are hooked on the comedic hijinks of Archer, the not so 007ish secret agent, and his wacky cohorts at Isis. Isis is run by Mallery Archer, a take from the Bond movies that Judy Dench played M, long believed during her reign to stand for mother. Ripe with popular culture humor and covert jabs at relationships, drugs, alcoholism, and Mallery's unnatural hold on Sterling, the show delves into anything an adult might want to see in an often funny, sarcastic, and even farcical way. Who, though, if it were to be turned into a live-action movie, would fit the parts the best.

John Hamm As Sterling Archer

John Hamm comes with an impressive body of work already under his belt so it might be far-fetched to see him in the role of Sterling Archer. He definitely has the chops for it and on more than one occasion has played the cool, suit-wearing, tactical turtleneck-owning, badass that Sterling sees himself as being. One would only have to look at the movie Keeping Up With The Joneses to believe he could play the role of a spy in a comedy setting. Hamm has done some convincing voice work in the Marvel Universe, playing Tony Stark so he has an understanding of the animated world above those who haven't delved into it. With similar looks and some comic chops, my vote goes to John Hamm as Sterling Archer.

Gabrielle Union as Lana Kane

For anyone that is a fan of the Bad Boys movies, particularly Bad Boys 2, and has seen the series L.A.'s Finest, you know that Gabrielle Union is both talented, funny, gorgeous, and terrifying with a gun. Much like the character of Lana Kane, Unions' past action characters have proven to be strong, fierce, and sometimes terrifyingly dangerous women. But, Union has the comedic work under her belt that qualifies her for the role of Lana. She's starred in some funny roles and also has done animation voice work much like John Hamm. Gabrielle gets my number one pick for the role of Lana Kane and with L.A.'s Finest being canceled, now is a good time to snatch this talented actress up.

Hellen Miren As Mallery Archer

This is a role that in a perfect world would have gone to Jessica Walter, the incredibly talented actress that became the cranky, sometimes overly domineering, voice behind the head of ISIS. Sadly, Jessica Walter passed away before any dreams of an Archer movie could become reality. When I think about tough, savvy, sexy, confident older women in Hollywood there is one name that pops right to mind. The incredibly gifted Hollywood royal, Hellen Miren. Hellen has done it all, literally, and is still going strong in the Fast and the Furious franchise as the mother of the Shaws. Last we saw her, in Fast 9, she was leading Dom through a wild car chase as he sought out his nefarious brother Jakob, and making it look effortless while doing it with a smile on her face. If there's one actress that can do any role, it's Hellen Miren and she could easily take on the role of Mallery Archer.

Natalie Portman as Cheryl Tunt

Popular, talented, cute, and spunky are all words to describe Natalie Portman's work and how she portrays her characters in romcoms, comedies like Your Highness, and action sequences from movies like the Star Wars prequels. She holds a commanding presence on screen, often overpowering her male counterparts on screen. Perhaps this is what will make her an ideal new Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder, but it also would make playing the crazed office assistant, Cheryl Tunt, an easy gig for Natalie and that's why I'm giving her my number one spot on the fantasy casting of the Archer movie.

Jamie Presley as Pamela Poovie

Even fans of Jamie Presley may question this choice but Pamela Poovie has been both thick or heavyset, and skinny, albeit the latter due to a lot of cocaine during season five. After seven seasons on the hit show Mom, and seeing her in the Wayans Brothers Movie, A Haunted House 2, Jamie Presley is one of the funniest and cutest women in Hollywood and could easily portray the often over the top Pamela Poovie.

Steve Carrell as Cyril Figus

To cast Cyril Figus one really only has to look as far as the fantastically talented Steve Carrell. His body of work includes the comedy action genre that this movie would slide into like fingers in a glove. Steve Carrell would fit the character to a T with his often awkward and gawky portrayals of such characters as Maxwell Smart and the General in Space Force to pull from.

Neal McDonough as Ray Gillette

For the character of Ray Gillette there are a lot of talented actors out there but when you talk about moving to a live-action feature from animated voice work depth and range mean everything. For those two or so hours that we will get to see the finished work, judging it with our internet reviews and word of mouth, we want actors that can immerse themselves in a role. Neal McDonough is that actor when it comes to having a stage or screen presence and the ability to play a role humorously, seriously, comedically, or even flamboyantly. To see a real measure of his abilities, check him out as Damien Dark on the CWs' Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, particularly the latter, where we get to see a much goofier side of the character at times when he's playing the arch-villain. Plus, this is a fantasy casting and I just love the actor.

Dr. Algernop Krieger: Brett Gelman

This one I could easily see happening. There's an unhinged side to Krieger that Brett Gelman would be perfect for and he comes tailor-made with a look that fits the role.

Depending on the screenwriters, should this fantasy movie ever become a reality, there are some side characters that have been regulars in the show but considering that in four of the eleven seasons they didn't use them much I can't see them as necessities. But, here are a few ideas for those beloved characters.

Katya Kazanova-Stana Katic

Stana Katic proved her action chops in the long-running hit series, Castle but if you go back and watch the episode with the underworld poker games, she can also use a Russian accent. The character claims to have spent a year studying abroad, learning to speak the language, and still going to a Russian tea room in New York to amuse herself. She fits the attractive qualities of Katya Kazanova and I can see where she would look just as good as she usually does beneath a blond wig.

Barry Dillon-Chris Hemsworth

This is purely fantasy casting, but Hemsworth comes with the secret agent, the super-hero physique, and is talented, funny, and would make an interesting and promising choice for the role of the ex-agent turned cyborg.

As the show prepares to premiere its' twelfth season it's taken some losses along the way. The role of Woodhouse, Archer's famed butler, would be a tough one to do, especially as the actor doing the voice work, George Coe passed away, and now Mallery actress, Jessica Walter. Mallery is such an intricate part of the series that the character not being there and involved would take too much from the show. If I was going to use Woodhouse, I might consider a change for the movie. Woodhouse could have been the oldest agent and we could see a new "Woodhouse" in his place, just to keep an agent watching Sterling. Perhaps Jack Nicholson or Robert Deniro.

Thanks for reading, and if you found this was a fun way to spend your time, enjoyed this piece of fantasy casting, and would do it again, hit the heart button below and let me know.