10 Upcoming Movies That Have Cast Completely The Wrong Person

9. Idris Elba - The Dark Tower

Idris Elba was recently cast as Roland Deschain in the upcoming - and long-awaited - film adaptation of Stephen King's masterful book series, The Dark Tower. This was viewed by many as a somewhat surprising announcement, given that Roland has almost exclusively been portrayed as a Caucasian guy over the years. Elba is a phenomenal actor, you'll agree, with memorable roles in The Wire, Luther and - most recently - Beasts of No Nation all serving as a showcase of his phenomenal talents. But there's a fundamental issue with the idea of Elba as Roland pertaining to the actual source material - one that kind of makes his being "white" something of a necessity. Which is to say, near enough the entire second book in The Dark Tower series is hinged on the racial tensions shared between Susannah - a racist black woman - and Roland, which makes for some of The Dark Tower's most interesting and complex threads. If Roland is to be played by a black man, none of that works; his casting compromises part of what makes The Dark Tower so brilliant. This isn't a racial issue, of course - it's a narrative one. Who, then? Benicio del Toro seems like a great choice for the role, especially after his work in the recent thriller Sicario. He can do pained and stoic, grizzled and badass, and has the aesthetic look of a spaghetti western lead. Not to mention that he's a plainly fantastic actor, too.