What a fantastic way to kick off the work week, huh? The Sony PlayStation TV adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’ and Michael Avon Oeming’s Powers keeps sounding better and better with each subsequent casting announcement. After adding a trio of actors – Eddie Izzard as the series supervillain Wolfe, Game of Thrones‘ Noah Taylor as the teleporting criminal Johnny Royalle, and High School Musical‘s Olesya Rulin – to its cast, the David Slade-directed adaptation has cast two of its leads, Christian Walker and Retro Girl.
Deadline is reporting that Sharlto Copley (Maleficent, District 9) will be stepping into the barrel-chested role of Detective Christian Walker, a former superpowered crimefighter himself who lost his abilities in a battle with a superhuman mass killer. A brooding, fallen hero, Walker now works as a homicide detective and uses his particular set of skills to investigate crimes within the Powers community. The role for the original FX pilot was played by Jason Patric, but I think that Copley is a dynamic choice that will help Powers stand out from the superhero television show pack.
Michelle Forbes (True Blood, The Killing) will be playing superheroine extraordinaire Retro Girl. A paragon of truth, justice, and the American way, Retro Girl is something of a celebrity amongst the Powers. With a cool, collected, hard facade, she manages to save the day while managing her ever-expanding global brand. Given her memorable turn as Admiral Cain on Battlestar Galactica, I have no doubt in my mind that Forbes can bring Retro Girl to life in all of her authoritative glory. Still, *mild spoiler alert* considering that the first arc of the Powers is entitled “Who Killed Retro Girl?”, I wonder how long Forbes’ character will be for this fictional world. While another character, Calista Secor, takes up the mantle after Retro Girl’s death and becomes Walker’s protege, the age difference between the original Retro Girl and her successor has me thinking that the 49-year-old actress will be playing the original after all. It’s more likely that they’ll stretch out the Retro Girl arc prior to her demise or they’ll feature her in flashbacks throughout the series.
For those not in the know, Powers follows two homicide detectives, Christian Walker (Copley) and Deena Pilgrim (Susan Heyward), who are assigned to protect average Joes like you and me from people with superhuman abilities, the titular Powers. While this casting certainly has me hopeful for the show’s potential, it’s particularly interesting that Sony is continuing full steam ahead with its original programming and attempt to realign the PlayStation console as an entertainment hub rather than just a video game console. The recent dissolution of Xbox Entertainment Studios did nothing to dissuade Sony from its current course of action, so only time will tell whether this is a sustainable business model for major console manufacturers or if it’s just a flash in the pan. Regardless, we’ll finally be getting the long-simmering Powers adaptation we’ve been waiting for and that is definitely a cause for celebration.
What do you make of this casting? Who else would you like to see on the series? Let us know in the comments below.
[HT: Deadline]
