Getting the right cast for a movie is one of the important components of making something good. For years, video game adaptations were a huge gamble, with most of the productions from the 1990s plagued by actors not understanding the source material, to Hollywood rolling the dice by casting actors who seemed wildly out of place.
Case in point, the new Street Fighter movie is full of casting news that is giving fans whiplash, making it difficult to figure out what the upcoming film’s tone might be. From Orville Peck as Vega and David Dalsmatian as M. Bison, to former wrestling world champions Hirooki Goto as E. Honda and Cody Rhodes as Guile, the movie is full of eyebrow-raising decisions.
As such, we were inspired to round up a list of some of the most out-there casting we’ve seen. Whether it’s miscasting, tone-deaf decisions, or just plain chaos, here are the weirdest–and most head-scratching–casting choices in video game movie history.
1. Tom Holland as Nathan Drake (Uncharted, 2022)
For years, fans knew Nathan Drake to be this rugged, wisecracking adventurer with years of experience, scars (literal and emotional), and a world-weary charm. Holland felt too young, too innocent, and lacked the confidence that made Drake so well-received in the first place.
Though his youthful look and energy felt mismatched to Drake’s seasoned, Indiana Jones-esque persona, the filmmakers defended the casting by saying it was a younger version of Nathan Drake, and this was supposed to be something of a prequel to the games. Yet, even as an origin story, the tone and character didn’t line up for many longtime fans, making it feel like a generic action movie with “Uncharted” slapped on the poster.
2. Chris Pratt as Mario (The Super Mario Bros. Movie, 2023)
Remember when Chris Pratt said his voice would be “unlike anything you’ve heard in the Mario world before” and then the first trailer was released and it just sounded like… Chris Pratt talking? In a movie where you have Jack Black going all out for Bowser and Anya Taylor-Joy providing a new take on a fiery-yet-elegant Peach, Pratt’s Mario initially felt underwhelming in both trying to match that energy and uniqueness.
While you might have come around to his performance by the end of the movie, his casting still feels lazy. Though it was serviceable for kids and casual fans, who obviously didn’t care since the film became one of the year’s biggest hits, it still came across as a reach for star power rather than authenticity. Here’s hoping that Pratt dials it up a bit more for the sequel.
3. Jim Carrey as Eggman (Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy)
Casting Carrey as Eggman/Dr. Robotnik in the first Sonic movie felt like a bit of a stretch. The evil doctor had always been portrayed as a menacing villain. Zany, yes, but someone with a bellowing voice that carried sinister undertones. Carrey had played villains before, cranking up the camp as the Riddler and adding an aura of childishness to Count Olaf, but Ivo is a conniving scientist and someone who, on the surface, is more straight-laced.
Carrey’s portrayal turned Eggman into a fast-talking, maniacal weirdo who caught viewers off guard at first. However, fans saw the big picture. Three moves in and Carrey has evolved into the textbook Robotnik, bushy moustache and all. For all the initial skepticism around his inclusion, it feels safe to say the actor was phenomenally cast and succeeds in stealing scenes in every movie with his unpredictable energy.
4. Taboo as Vega (Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li, 2009)
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li makes fans ask several questions, with, “What if we took everything cool about Vega and discarded it?” pretty much at the top. It was hard to watch the handsome, vain, matador-styled fighter be reduced to a quasi-ninja with zero charisma. Every other line delivery from Vega is a grunt or groan, while his actual dialogue is packed with weapon-grade cliches. Think Deadpool in Wolverine: Origins, and you get the idea.
I will give credit to the filmmakers for at least casting someone of Mexican and indigenous background (similar to Jay Tavare, who played Vega in the 1994 movie), despite Taboo not being renowned for his acting prowess. However, his performance boils Vega down to a helpless goon, and I got a feeling that Peck will put some much-needed charisma back into the role.
5. Jamie Lee Curtis as Patricia Tannis (Borderlands, 2024)
The Borderlands movie bombed at the box office despite it seeming like the formula for good video game adaptations had been cracked. The film had a solid cast, a well-known genre film director, and a genuinely excited fanbase. But while critics praised some of the casting, mainly with Cate Blanchett as Lilith, others were downright miscast, as is the case with Jamie Lee Curtis as Patricia Tannis.
Maybe chalk this up to another post-Oscar-curse statistic, but this was a misfire from all directions. Even outside the fact that Tannis is typically depicted in her late 20s to early 30s in the game series, in the movie, she came across as flat, forgettable, and disconnected from what fans knew the character to be. Even worse, her scenes existed mostly to dump plot, turning her into an afterthought.
6. Christopher Lambert as Raiden (Mortal Kombat, 1995)
Having a French-American guy playing an Asian-inspired god was definitely a choice. For those unfamiliar with Mortal Kombat, Raiden’s design and characteristics are based on Raijin, the Japanese god of thunder. As such, it was weird for a character so deeply rooted in Asian mythology to be played by a white actor. Sure, Lambert had recently made a name for himself in the world of sci-fi, having just played Connor MacLeod in the Highlander film franchise, but even then, we’re not quite sure the reasoning behind the casting directors’ decision.
Additionally, Lambert’s comedic delivery and random laughs–which he would follow up with a sheepish apology–stood out against the otherwise serious or action-focused tone of the film. Lambert’s portrayal made Raiden feel more like a quirky, mystical European wizard than a powerful, godlike figure of East Asian origin, and this tonal mismatch only further emphasized the awkwardness of the casting choice. It should be noted that Lambert didn’t return for the 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, but was recast yet again by a white actor, James Remar.
7. Raul Julia as M. Bison (Street Fighter, 1994)
There’s a lot to be said about the 1994 Street Fighter movie: some good, some bad, and some weird. However, even with the JCVD on-set antics, Raul Julia transformed Bison into an iconic entry on his already eclectic resume.
Julia was a classically trained actor with multiple Tony and Golden Globe nominations under his belt by the time he donned the red suit and cape of General M. Bison, and it shows. Every line that he delivers comes across as unhinged and as serious as a heart attack. The monologue he gives, in which he explains his ultimate goals of world conquest, almost comes across as a guy trying to tackle his Saturday to-do list. At times, it’s as if he’s the only one who understood the assignment (well, him and maybe Andrew Bryniarski’s Zangief). His casting might have seemed unconventional at the time, given his stature, but it worked so well he’s become synonymous with the character 30 years later.
8. Dennis Hopper as President Koopa (Super Mario Bros, 1993)
Dennis Hopper had already established himself as one of Hollywood’s go-to character actors if a film needed a stone-cold weirdo. However, his portrayal of President Koopa (yes, President) is an all-time head scratcher in video game adaptations. Now, Hopper himself admitted in later interviews that he didn’t understand the movie. He reportedly only took the role for the paycheck, and after the script went through constant rewrites, things became even more chaotic on a day-to-day basis on set.
Hopper embraced the absurdity of the movie, however, and gave Koopa (essentially Bowser before he was widely called that) a creepy, manic, and reptilian energy. Sporting slicked-back spiky hair, gross lizard-like tongue flicks, and, oddly, germophobia, his energy matched the tonal confusion of the movie itself. What you ended up with was part-villain, part-cartoon, and all together a campy, confusing performance.
9. Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, 2010)
Yes, Dastan is adopted, and they don’t go into an origin story, but you know, Jake Gyllenhaal was/is obviously not Iranian. 2010’s Prince of Persia: Sands of Time came at a weird time and as part of a larger pattern, in which whitewashing was, unfortunately, all the rage–just see M. Night’s The Last Airbender adaptation.
Gyllenhaal, while a strong actor, looked like a white guy in a spray tan and wig–and this was all made worse by his strange, vaguely British accent. It felt like someone’s last-minute cosplay rather than a full-on performance for a film that was intended to be Disney’s next Pirates of the Caribbean-level franchise. Gyllenhaal later admitted he regretted taking the role, acknowledging it as a poor decision.
10. Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu (Detective Pikachu, 2019)
Maybe this is less weird than some of the other entries on this list, but the announcement did take some fans aback. Did other Pokemon have human voices? Was this something only trainers could hear? How would this work? The mystery of why Pikachu suddenly sounded like Ryan Reynolds was eventually explained in the movie, even if somewhat convoluted.
However, the weirdness was part of the charm. Reynolds worked surprisingly well, delivering a funny, heartfelt, and oddly effective performance in the most Ryan Reynolds way possible. The casting was risky, but it paid off as it became the highest-grossing video game movie at the time.
