Image from my bookstagram account: @goodyreads

*Updated as of March 2025*

In the start of a brand new ADULT fantasy series by one of my favorite authors, we are once again introduced to an astounding cast of characters in another richly detailed world created by one of the Queens of YA Fantasy. This book just released earlier in 2020, so of course I wanted to share my own personal fancast of this book that I’d devoured since I’d opened it’s pages.

Here’s the official blurb:

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.

To see my review of book #1 – House of Earth and Blood – Click HERE

To see my review of book #2 – House of Sky and Breath – Click HERE

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Here is my official Fancast/Dreamcast:

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Danika Fendyr: Elle Evans

Elle is a model/actress that I came across during my search for some cute blondes; I guess she’s most notably from Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” music video.

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Jesiba Roga: Evan Rachel Wood

Image courtesy of the actress’s IMDB profile

Evan Rachel Wood is an absolute show-stealer in HBO’s “Westworld,” and when I’d read Jesiba’s description in the book, Evan immediately came to mind, especially when I remembered her wearing this look to the Golden Globes in recent memory.

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Connor Holstrom: Stephen Amell

Stephen Amell has the perfect look for the second in command of Danika’s pack. For any of you DC/Marvel fans, Stephen has recently finished his most notable role from the CW’s “Arrow.” Despite how the book plays out, I really did wish Bryce and Connor could’ve had a chance.

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Ithan Holstrom: Robbie Amell

Ithan is Connor’s younger brother in this story, so why not get Stephen Amell’s cousin to play the role? I’ve been in love with Robbie ever since he played Max in Disney Channel’s Life With Derek, and he’s been in The Babysitter, The DUFF, and the CW’s The Flash.

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Thorne: Steve Lund

Image courtesy of http://www.stevelund.net

Danika also had a chance at happiness with Thorne, who was a quieter member of their pack. He didn’t say much, but Steve came to mind of who I’d thought he’d looked like. Steve has been in the shows Bitten, Schitts Creek, and even had a brief appearance in Blue Mountain State.

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Sabine Fendyr: Madchen Amick

Image courtesy of the actress’s Twitter profile

I absolutely adore her as Alice Cooper in the CW’s hit show, Riverdale, and thought of her when I’d gotten to meet Danika’s absolutely despicable mother.

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Fury Axtar: Gemma Chan

Gemma has such striking features; she’s stuck with me ever since I’d seen her in Crazy Rich Asians. Looking at Sarah J. Maas’s Pinterest board for the book, I learned the mercenary/assassin was of Eastern Asian descent, so of course I’d think Gemma would be a great Fury!

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Juniper Andromeda: Lea Mitchell

She’s another WWE wrestling fancast, but seriously SOOOOO perfect to play Juniper!!! She goes under the ring-name “Kelani Jordan.”

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Isaiah Tiberian: Elliot Knight

Image courtesy of the actor’s Twitter profile

He played Merlin in ABC’s Once Upon a Time, and also briefly appeared in How To Get Away with Murder. Feel free to check him out on social media and see his bromance with bestselling LGBTQ YA author, Adam Silvera too!

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Viktoria Vargos: Jenna Dewan

The former Mrs. Channing Tatum, who is an actress and dancer, has been around dance all her life and has been linked to several big names in the music industry before she starred in the 2006 dance flick, Step Up.

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Ruhn Danaan: Fabien Tietjen

Ruhn was by far was the hardest to find someone to cast…he’s got such unique look to him! Odds are whoever would plays him will be spending A LOT of time in make-up to get the look of the Fae Prince. Fabien is a German model, and he defs rocks the blue eyed tattooed look, and with a long wig, he’d look quite like Ruhn in my opinion!

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Naomi Borgeas: Tessa Thompson

Badass female character who’s a POC…it almost goes without saying that Tessa Thompson is made for that role!

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Justinian: Harry Lloyd

This one is still kind of up in the air for me to be honest…

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Lehabah: Lizzo

This is a match made in heaven…the famous music artist would make an amazing firesprite who’s all about the latest gossip and the hottest males who enter Bryce’s life. I just pictured this character being more curvy and similar to Lizzo’s figure.

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“The Autumn King” Einar Danaan: Viggo Mortensen

It’s hard to imagine Viggo playing such a prick of a character like the High Fae Autumn King, especially since he’s frickin’ Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings movies. I know he’s a terrific actor, and I’d want him to try this completely different role than the one I’m so used to seeing him as.

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The Viper Queen: Lourdes Faberes

I’d recently watched the mini-series Good Omens, and really enjoyed seeing her play one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, Pollution, and think she’d also crush the role of the sketchy drug dealer in Crescent City.

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Philip Briggs: Michael McElhatton

He played the slimy and deceptive Roose Bolton in Game of Thrones, so I’d think he’d play the human terrorist/rebel who has had unspeakable terrors happen to him behind bars.

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Micah Domitus: Casper Van Dien

Image courtesy of the actor’s IMDB profile

I know him best from the Starship Troopers movies that were so bad that they were actually good, but he’s got such a commanding look; he’d be able to nail the powerful role of the governor who hardly takes “no” for an answer.

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Tristan Flynn: Hunter McVey

To be honest, I don’t remember much that was said about his appearance, but if Tristan is such a big flirt, he’s got to have the looks to back it up, right? Hunter, without a question, can step up to the plate.

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Declan Emmett: Finn Jones, or Nico Greetham

Finn, Image courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

Another Game of Thrones alumni, Finn Jones went from playing a Tyrell to being Danny Rand on Iron Fist. Nico actually was in American Horror Story if he looks familiar!

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Sandriel: Evangeline Lilly

Image courtesy of http://www.99starimages.com

Evangeline is so beautiful, it’s intimidating…she can kick some serious ass as an elf in The Hobbit movies, and is also a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Ant-Man alongside Paul Rudd. I think the bombshell would have no problem playing the ruthless and powerful governess of the northern region of Pangera.

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Tharion Ketos: Austin Zenere, or Callum Kerr

Austin is a model, and Tharion is an extremely good looking mermaid…so it’s pretty much an easy set up there, right? I really hope we see more of Tharion and the other merpeople in the later books! Callum is a Scottish actor and model I’ve recently discovered who could definitely play the part!

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Ember Quinlan: Rose Byrne

Ember was the perfect combination of funny but protective whenever it came to her daughter, Byrce. I feel like Rose Byrne would be perfect to play her, I pretty much love every movie she’s in!

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Randall Quinlan: Don Cheadle

Don Cheadle is extremely versatile as an actor; he can be serious in movies like Hotel Rwanda and Crash, but can show his comedy skills when he joined the MCU. Randall is the kind of father that can joke around one moment, but can become hardass, military dad with excessive intimidation in his arsenal the next.

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Aidas: Neels Visser

Perhaps the most interesting character in the whole book, the 5th Demon Prince leaves quite an impression, and must be as striking as he is chilling. Neels is a model and actor who’s VERY easy on the eyes, so can he manage to cast the perfect amount of wickedness as his character? I’d like to watch to find out!

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Amelie Ravenscroft: Taylor Grado

Another WWE fancasting here, she’s a female wrestler that goes under the ring name “Jacy Jayne” and totally matches the vibe of how I pictured Amelie in these books!

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Pollux Antonius: Alan Ritchson

This guy somehow makes Henry Cavill look puny….and he played the iconic Thad Castle! Now he’s Jack Reacher, and someone who I can totally picture as Sandriel’s commander of the triarii, the Malleus, and master of torture.

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Queen Hypaxia Enador: Shay Mitchell

Image courtesy of http://www.gotceleb.com

Shay Mitchell is a favorite of mine ever since I’d first laid eyes on her in the hit TV show, Pretty Little Liars. She then completely switched up her character to play Peaches Salinger in the (now) Netflix show You. She has such a unique look, I’m a big fan, and I’d love to have her be a part of this casting!

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Sofie Renast: Daniella Pineda

You may recognize her from the very early episodes of The Originals!

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Lidia Cervos “The Hind”: Sydney Zmrzel

The Hind is described as being one of the most beautiful women in this world, and Sydney came to mind as I am an avid WWE wrestling fan, and she portrays “Maxxine Dupri” on my screen on a weekly basis!

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Prince Cormac Donnall: Austin Butler

Austin Butler has quickly become a household name in the last few years with the impressive list of movies he’s been a part of! It’s so weird to think that he started off as a Disney Channel one episode add on for shows in the mid 2000’s

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Archangel Governess Celestina: Sanaa Lathan, or Gabrielle Union

Gabrielle Union, image courtesy of shape.com

I could honestly see either of these actress’s play the new governess of Lunathion after the demise of the previous one! Celestina was an interesting character because even though she was kind and fair, I still couldn’t figure out if I could trust her…leave it to SJM to make me question an actually nice person of a character!

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Baxian Argos “The Hellhound”: Keith Carlos

Yet another character who ends up being way more than their first impression fortells! I ended up really liking Baxian and am curious to see what else he does in the series! Keith Carlos is a former NFL wide receiver and now male model who was actually the first male winner of America’s Next Top Model!

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Mordoc: Dolph Lundgren

Dolph Lundgren is a famous actor who was in quite a bit of action movies in the 80’s, but even was in The Expendables with a notable list of other action movie stars from different generations! He’s also been in Creed II, Rocky IV, and I believe he would be an excellent choice for this terrifying character in book 2!

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“The Harpy”: Riley Keough

For some reason I pictured the granddaughter of Elvis Presley playing this minor character who’s temper is about a sharp as an actual harpy eagle’s talons!

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Archangel Ephraim: Oscar Isaac

Oscar Isaac is who I imagined this character being, the Star Wars actor has this presence and authority vibe that I picked up from this character!

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Asteri “Bright Hand,” Rigelus: Timothée Chalamet

The Bright Hand (and unofficial leader) of the Asteri is described as being a lanky teenager with a chilling smile….Timothée instantly came to mind. It’s hard to think of anyone who doesn’t know this young actor’s name or face by now, his star power has certainly risen to astronomical heights with him starring in Dune–what may have been the most anticipated film I can remember in a long time!

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Marc Rosarian: Jeremy Pope

Here’s who I picture as Declan’s boyfriend! He’s a gay actor/model/singer who I think would be perfect for the part!

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Apollion: Joel Kinnaman

Joel is a Swedish-American actor whom most people may recognize from the DC Suicide Squad movies and Altered Carbon on Netflix!

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Thanatos: Bill Skarsgård

I feel like I hardly need to describe who Bill is, but he is easily the Hottie of Horror lately with Nosferatu and IT, and Thanatos gives me vibes that he’s the creepy brother of the Princes of Hel, so this may be a match made in heaven, okay yes pun intended.

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Pippa Spestos: Lauren Cohan

Honestly Lauren is easily a go-to fancast choice for me ever since The Vampire Diaries…I make no apologies for this.

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Ariadne: Simone Ashley, or Melissa Barrera

Both actors would absolutely nail this fiery role in my opinion! Simone is the iconic Kate from Bridgerton on Netflix, and Melissa most notably from the two newest Scream movies before allegedly(?) being fired for her views on the Israel/Palestine War.

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Captain Sendes: Ayo Edibri

There’s not much description of Captain Sendes except for her dark skin, and I feel like Ayo, with her comedic chops, would breathe some more life into this minor character!

The Under King: Willem Dafoe

I feel like Willem would make the creepy Under King even more fabulously creepy with his facial expressions and just have so much fun with this character!

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Vesperus: Mikey Madison

I was first introduced to her in the 5th Scream movie of all things, but then in 2025 she become the awards season darling it seemed like! She would crush this roll for sure! This character was super interesting when she showed up in Flame and Shadow!

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Sathia Flynn: Addison Rae

Addison looks exactly like how I pictured Tristan’s sister looking, hopefully her acting improved from that He’s All That movie she did on Netflix though…

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River Queen: Kerry Washington

I’ve known about Kerry Washington for some time, but I recently watched her WW2 movie, The Six Triple Eight, on Netflix and loved it! I’ve been meaning to watch Scandal for the longest time too.

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River Queen’s Daughter: Halle Bailey

Yes, my brain instantly went to this because of the live-action Little Mermaid that she absolutely crushed! And yes, it’s a completely different character than Ariel….and?

Sigril Fendyr: Camila Morrone

This wild card character sure shook things up for the wolves in the third book, and this actress definitely looks like how I imagined this character!

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Hunt Athalar: Colby Lopez, Antonio Moriconi, or Marino Katsouris

Antonio, image courtesy of the models instagram

Marino, image courtesy of the model’s Facebook page

Colby Lopez is a WWE Superstar who goes by the name “Seth Rollins” when he get’s inside the ring, so besides the looks, he’d obviously be able to perform the more physically demanding stunts with playing the infamous fallen angel nicknamed the Umbra Mortis. Looking at Colby/Seth in 2025 with his….interesting fashion choices, I he doesn’t really give me Hunt Athalar vibes like he used to from like 2017-2019, so these models I found are great alternatives I think!

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Bryce Quinlan: Natalie Marie Nelson

Image courtesy of the actress’s Twitter account

Natalie is a gorgeous actress/reality tv star who is most well known for when she was in the WWE and E!’s reality show “Total Divas”, under the ring name “Eva Marie.” Her hair is no longer red, but look her up and see for yourself how amazing she’d look the part!

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:: More Characters to be added as the series goes on! ::

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fancasts/Dreamcasts

My Fancast/Dreamcast: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

February 1, 2020September 27, 2020 nicholasjgoodsell

An Enchantment of Ravens is a brief, but wonderfully told story that’s a debut YA Fantasy novel written by Margaret Rogerson. The story is about a girl named Isobel, a young human who’s an amazing painter. She’s so talented, she’s gathered the attention of the Fair Folk—i.e. The Fae—to have her commission portraits of them in exchange for magical deals.

One day, the Fae prince of the Autumn court arrives on her doorstep, Prince Rook, and is next in line for another masterpiece. When it doesn’t turn out as he’d hoped, Rook takes Isobel into his magical realm to go before the court to speak on her crime, but become thrust into the enchanting and dangerous land of the Fair Folk and meet many…interesting characters. Isobel and Rook start off as enemies, but a spark ignites between them, and both try to hide their growing feelings for one another, because a human and Fair Folk falling in love together is a forbidden betrayal, and the punishment from Rook’s people is absolutely vicious…

You can read my full book review of An Enchantment of Ravens by clicking the link HERE!

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Here’s my official Fancast/Dreamcast:

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Isobel: Scarlett Leithold

Image courtesy of fashionmodeldirectory.com

Scarlett is a model, and she has the perfect mix of innocent-but-has-a-mischievous-glint in her eyes kind of look, if that makes any sense? Isobel appears like a damsel in distress, but for those like me who’s read this book, she’s more clever and cunning than she lets on.

Prince Rook: Thom Morell

He’s a model, but with those piercing eyes and swoon-worthy hair, Thom Morell would make a captivating Autumn Prince. Totally Book Boyfriend worthy!

Hemlock: Tilda Swinton

She may very well be a Fair Folk, because there’s a chance that Tilda Swinton is not actually human. She looks like a Fae queen, but how about a badass, warrior chick on the hunt like Hemlock? Plus, the author totally fancasted her for this role herself!

Gadfly: Matthew Bomer

I mean…slap on a Rhaegar Targaryen wig on Matthew, and he’d be a fantastic Gadfly, who was an incredibly sneaky and sly Fair Folk within the story. You could never tell what side he was truly on!

Lark: Isabelle Fuhrman

Isabelle may seem familiar from another, mega-popular YA series because of its movie adaptation…she was the knife wielding Clove from the first Hunger Games movie! Based off that, she’d for sure be able to play the childish, but lethal young Fair Folk named Lark. She’s cute as a button, but deadly like a cat playing with a mouse.

Foxglove: Mila Kunis

Foxglove had been described as having an extremely unique and ethereal look with striking hazel eyes, so my mind instantly went to Mila Kunis! She’s one of my favorites starlets in Hollywood, and I know she’d absolutely nail this part!

Aster: Nina Dobrev

Aster is described as having an incredibly fragile bone structure; she’s very petite with pale skin and dark hair and eyes, and Nina Dobrev is a favorite of mine, she’d be a great pick!

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Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fancasts/Dreamcasts

My Fancast/Dreamcast: Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

December 7, 2019March 7, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

Image from @goodyreads, my bookstagram account!

When his mom became the President of the United States, Alex Claremont-Diaz was casted as the American equivalent of a young prince. He’s handsome, charismatic, genius, but there’s one problem: Alex has major beef with an actual prince, Henry, across the pond.

When the tabloids get ahold of a photo involving an Alex/Henry altercation with a wedding cake, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse. Heads of both families devise a plan for damage control: Stage a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagram-worthy friendship grows much deeper, and soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret, romantic, sexy affair with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry.

Unfortunately, life ain’t easy like a Disney movie like they make us want to believe, and everything that weighs against the two of them begins to threaten their relationship. It raises the questions: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?

See my full book review of Red, White, and Royal Blue HERE!

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Here’s my official Fancast/Dreamcast:

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Alex Claremont-Diaz: Alfonso Herrero, Tyler Posey, or Diego Boneta

Alfonso Herrero is an Instagram model I’d discovered, and I thought he definitely looked the part. Go follow him and see all the sweet, romantic photos of him and his (real) boyfriend, and tell me you don’t get Alex-vibes from him!

Tyler Posey is a young actor who’s best known for starring in the reboot of Teen Wolf on MTV, and I got to say, I feel like he’d absolutely nail the mischievous smirk Alex gets before he says something to absolutely piss someone off!

Diego Boneta is an actor with a wide variety of roles he’s played: he’s been in the musical Rock of Ages, MTV show Scream Queens, and even played Aaron Samuels 2.0 in Mean Girls 2 (Yes, such a thing exists, and I’m sorry to those that had managed to forget about it).

June Claremont-Diaz: Clara Alonso, Ana de Armas, or Nathalie Kelley

Clara Alonso is a Victoria’s Secret model with some Spanish flair, and is absolutely gorgeous, so I could see her playing Alex’s older sister, June!

Ana de Armas did an amazing job in the film Knives Out amongst the more well known names included, so I think it’d be interesting to see her play a different kind of role like June if they make this book into a movie!

She was in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, she played a siren on The Vampire Diaries, and is on another CW Show, Dynasty; Nathalie has the confidence in any of her roles to nail the part of June.

Henry, Prince of Wales: Wyatt Nash, Jeremy Irvine, or William Moseley

Wyatt Nash is on a lot of shows I’m watching right now! He’s guest starring on Riverdale, GLOW, and can be seen on the show, Dear White People (All these shows can be found on Netflix). He’s not British, so I hope he could imitate the accent if he got casted!

This gorgeous specimen starred in the movie Warhorse, but most recently was seen in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Jeremy is in fact British, and is incredibly good looking, so I’d personally love to see him play Prince Henry of Wales!

Yes, who wouldn’t want Peter Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia movies to play another prince all these years later?! William, who I swear was a gay-awakening for me even when I had no idea what that even was, also already plays as Prince Liam on the TV show, The Royals, so why not continue his royal streak?

Nora Holleran: Hailee Steinfeld, Brenda Song, or Janel Parrish

Hailee Steinfeld has been a popular choice for mathematician Nora, and I can kind of see it; Hailee can definitely nail Nora’s quirkiness based off how she was in the Pitch Perfect sequels!

Anyone who is a millennial and grew up watching Disney Channel knows who Brenda Song is… London Tipton anyone? She has more recently been in The Social Network, guest starred on New Girl, and even starred in some thriller on Netflix. I don’t remember the title, but they pretty much spoiled the whole thing in the trailer…

Janel Parrish played Mona Vanderwall in Pretty Little Liars, and was in the romantic Netflix movie, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Zahra: Lesley Ann Brandt, Zoe Saldana, or Tessa Thompson

I’ve been watching Lucifer on Netflix, and my girl Lesley here plays a demon who is a master in the art of torture, so I know she’d be amazing at the role of hardass secret service agent, Zahra!

Zoe Saldana is so great at playing sexy, badass female characters! Maybe she can step away from her Marvel movies as Gamora and play the role of Zahra in the (hopefully) upcoming release of a movie!

Another Marvel lady, Tessa Thompson also nails the role of a badass, tough-as-nails woman in so many of her roles.

President Ellen Claremont: Connie Britton

Connie is an American Sweetheart ever since she was in the Friday Night Lights TV show, and everyone wants her to be their mom, or just get close to her luxurious, iconic hair…don’t pretend like you haven’t thought about it!

Rafael Luna: Oscar Isaac, Joey Gonzalez, or Adam Rodriguez

Perhaps my favorite aspect to have come out the new Star Wars Movies–other than Daisy Ridley–Oscar Isaac is a popular choice I’ve seen to play the role of Rafael Luna.

A gorgeous man I discovered on Instagram, he’s also the CEO of mega workout program, Barry’s Bootcamp, so I guess he’s kind of big deal? I honestly don’t know, I’m not big into fitness, but look at his face!

Adam Rodriguez melted hearts in CSI: Miami, the Magic Mike movies, and even played a lustful literary professor in Jane The Virgin; Adam would be an excellent choice!

Senator Oscar Diaz: Jaime Camil

I loved this man’s extra-ness as Rogelio De La Vega in Jane the Virgin, plus he’s an incredibly handsome Mexican actor, perfect for the role of the Senator, who is also Alex and June’s father!

Mary, Queen of England: Judi Dench, or Helen Mirren

No explanation needed.

She doesn’t need one either.

Percy “Pez” Okonjo: Ncuti Gatwa

I haven’t personally seen this actor in anything, but I looked at some images of him, and he can pull off the flamboyant and fabulous style of Fez, who is Prince Henry’s best friend back across the pond.

Shaan Srivastava: Marwan Kenzari, or Rahul Kohli

Both men’s names came up on who would be an excellent fancast option for Shaan, so I couldn’t decide between the two and let them both have the spotlight!

Philip, Prince of Wales: Freddie Stroma, Harris Dickinson, or Josh Dylan

Freddie Stroma is the most recognizable guy in this bunch for me, he played Cormac McClaggen in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but Harris Dickinson is in the newest Maleficent movie!

Catherine, Princess of Wales: Emma Thompson

I haven’t seen Emma Thompson in anything for quite some time besides playing the kooky Professor Trelawney in the Harry Potter movies, I think she’d be an excellent choice for Henry’s mother!

Beatrice, Princess of Wales: Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, or Lily James

Catch Florence in the movie, Fighting with my Family, where she plays the young but talented WWE Superstar Paige! She had an edginess to her, and we see the same thing every so often in Beatrice throughout the book, so it’d be interesting to see her in this role.

I absolutely adore Emma Watson! I’d love to see her take on this role thats so different than what she usually plays, much like Lily James, but I think she’d do amazing at it either way!

I loved Lily in Baby Driver and the live-action Cinderella movie! She’s cute as a button, but I’d be interested to see how she’d play Beatrice, who has a lot of heavy issues with royal fame and substance abuse that weigh her down.

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Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fancasts/Dreamcasts

My Fancast/Dreamcast: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas

October 19, 2019February 15, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

Image is my own off my bookstagram @goodyreads, with dustjackets from nerdy.ink

In Sarah J. Maas’s second bestselling series, a mortal young woman named Feyre Archeron is thrust into the world of the High Fae: a world full of mystique, beauty, political intrigue, and danger. the shadow of War is brewing upon the horizon, and with her newly found allies and inner circle, she must defeat a powerful enemy in order to save the world she already knows comes to love…

This has been such a popular series amongst SJM fans, it seems to be more popular than even her first series, Throne of Glass! I personally prefer TOG, but that doesn’t detract from ACOTAR; I still consider A Court of Mist and Fury to be the author’s best book to date!

Below, I’ve included an image of the main cast created by the extraordinary artist, Charlie Bowater! Her work is simply breathtaking and she is some of my all time favorite digital artists!

To see my book review for book #1 – A Court of Thorns and Roses – Click HERE!

To see my book review for book #2 – A Court of Mist and Fury – Click HERE!

To see my book review for book #3 – A Court of Wings and Ruin – Click HERE!

To see my review of book #3.5 – A Court of Frost and Starlight – Click HERE!

To see my review of book #4 – A Court of Silver Flames – Click HERE!

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Here is my official Fancast/Dreamcast:

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Feyre Archeron: Barbara Palvin, or Josephine Skriver

One thing that grinds my gears with a lot of the other fancasts/fanart I’ve seen is that they make Feyre out to be blonde….um nope, that’s cancelled because she’s brunette! Both of these models have delicate & feminine features, gorgeous smiles, and have a particular look that I believe is the essence of our heroine of this whole series!

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Elaine Archeron: Minka Kelly

Minka Kelly has such a soft voice, similar to Vanessa Hudgens’ but much less annoying. You may remember her from Friday Night Lights, the TV Show and the college thriller flick, The Roommate.

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Nesta Archeron: Bar Refaeli

Nesta was a hard character to cast, but I believe this supermodel has a look that’s very similar to the cold, intimidating, and oldest Archeron sister. She’s not an actress, but has been on the cover of the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated magazine, and dated Leo DiCaprio at one point!

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High Lord Tamlin: Nick Nemeth

That jawline though…..as a WWE wrestling fan who also is an avid reader–ESPECIALLY with SJM series–I thought of Nick here who goes under the stage name “Dolph Ziggler” –I wish I was kidding–and has the physical appearance of how I picture the High Lord of the Spring Court.

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Lucien Vanserra: Tom Busson

A lot of other fans say that Outlander male lead, Sam Heughan, is their choice for Lucien. I had him too for quite some time too, but now I believe he’d be just too old to play the part. Maybe he’d be better suited for Eris or his father Lord Beron, but I believe this Instagram model has a look much more suited to our beloved Lucien Vanserra!

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Alis: Octavia Spencer

Octavia Spencer is just so adorable! She’s cute as a button, but can also go into a serious mom mode in her characters, and I thought she’d be perfect to play the part of Alis, the attendant who looks after Feyre when she’s brought to the Spring Court. It also makes sense considering Alis is from the Summer Court, and if we’re going to talk about Representation, the people from there are typically of African descent!

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The Suriel: Bill Skarsgård

Okay, after his triumph that is absolutely nailing the iconic role of Pennywise from Stephen King’s IT, we all know Bill can nail the creepy roles…no one can deny that. I would love to see him play our ghoulish, gossip loving, pot stirring, tea sipping Suriel in these books. He would add so much to the character and steal every scene he was in!

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High Lord Rhysand: Ian Somerhalder, or Sahib Faber

One’s an actor while the other is a model, but both could so easily play the coveted role of the High Lord of the Night Court. If anyone has watched The Vampire Diaries, Ian portraying Damon Salvatore is a dead ringer for Rhysand: same personality, same swagger, same inner turmoil hidden by smirks and wisecracks, and of course the same devilish good looks. I couldn’t help but imagine the High Lord looking like Damon because of all this. Sahib is a more unknown choice, but why not have some more choices? Plus…just look at him! Would you just look at him? Just look at him!

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Amarantha: Eva Green, or Deborah Ann Woll

I admit both actresses have such different looks when compared to each other, so as for who might be a better choice? I guess it depends on who you ask…Eva has such a nefarious, villainess look to her, but Deborah matches a lot of the fanart I’ve seen of Amarantha and is known for being in HBO’s True Blood, so either choice works for me!

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Morrigan: Maryse Ouellet-Mizanin

Mor was another hard choice! Everyone seems to be going for Margot Robbie for some reason, but there’s two things wrong with that casting: she doesn’t even have brown eyes like Mor is described as having. That may sound picky, but whatevs…it’s my fancast, so get over it… I personally envisioned this former WWE Women’s wrestler who is undeniably gorgeous, and physically fits the description of Mor much more effectively!

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Azriel: Nick Bateman, or Joao Lima

Joao Lima, image courtesy of brazillianmalemodel.com

Both of these male actors are tall, lanky and can pull off the moody, brooding look: so for me, both of them could be excellent choices for our Lord of Shadows, Azriel! Nick does small acting jobs but is mostly an Instagram model, and was who I originally pictured as Az, but once it became apparent that Illyrians were POC, I also picked this male model Joao Lima, especially when he’s more clean shaven! Or I guess he doesn’t have to be…I’m cool with Azriel rockin’ some facial hair!

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Amren: Jamie Chung

Jamie is a fan favorite among others who’ve shared their fancast for this series, and I agree with it! She’s given her voice acting chops for Big Hero 6, and was also a wonderful Mulan in the show, Once Upon A Time, and if I don’t have you convinced yet, check out this image of her below with total Amren eyes:

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Cassian: Santiago Loker

This guy is probably unknown to a lot of you, but oh my goodness, is he easy on the eyes! He’s an Instagram model, and looks great with a manbun which was a must to play our favorite charming, cocky general for the Night Court’s army.

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High Lord Tarquin: Michael Ealy

I loved this man in Think Like A Man, and seriously…look at those eyes! They’re so hypnotic and I could so easily get lost in them for days! He never does anything even remotely close to Fantasy-genre, so it’d be cool to see him broaden his horizons and play the High Lord of the Summer Court!

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Ianthe: Laura Vandervoort

Ianthe needs to be played by an actress who’s obviously attractive, but also looks like she could have a stick up her ass the entire time, and Laura looks the part 😂…She was in the show Bitten and was even Supergirl back when Smallville was still a thing!

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The Bone Carver: Iain Armitage

I mean…if this 14 year old (as I’m typing this in 2023) actor can star in a tv show like Young Sheldon, why not have him go for this creepy role of playing a death god? Personally, I’d be all for going back in time to 2009 and getting a much younger Hero Fiennes Tiffin, who played an 11 year old Tom Riddle/Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, but it don’t work like that unfortunately…

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The Weaver of the Woods/ Stryga: Bonnie Aarons

Image courtesy of the actress’s IMDB page

You may or may not recognize this actress, but she’s actually one of the most famous figures in modern horror movies! Or at least she plays them. Take a closer look, and you may agree with me when you remember she plays the creepy AF nun demon named Valak in the Conjuring and The Nun movies. That alone makes me think she’d make an AMAZING Weaver too!

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King of Hybern: Jason Isaacs

I mean…Do I really need to justify casting the man who magnificently played the evil and elitist Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies? Nope, I didn’t think so either!

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Queen Briallyn (Young/Old): Anna Popplewell and Imelda Staunton

Whether or not anyone agrees with me on this pairing, it’s my fancast so it’s my final say, but I think this would just be fun to watch! Anna, or Queen Susan from Narnia, played a mean-girl, bitchy queen…and then freakin’ Dolores Umbridge played her evil old Fae crone form after she ends up in the Cauldron!! C’mon…..you gotta see that, right?!

High Lord of the Autumn Court, Beron: Mads Mikkelsen

He’s so great at playing villains! I’ve known this ever since he starred opposite Daniel Craig in 007: Casino Royale, and the guy played Hannibal Lector too! He’d also be another great choice to play the part of Big Boss Villain, the King of Hybern…It’s funny how Maas literally has her villainous kings just named “King of _______” from her books.

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Lady of the Autumn Court: Sarah Rafferty

Sarah matches the description of Lord Beron’s wife very well in my opinion, even if it sounds like this role is a far cry from her character on the USA network show, Suits. I couldn’t tell ya since I haven’t seen the show!

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High Lord of the Day Court, Helion: Joel Wieneke

Image courtesy of the model/personal trainer’s Instagram profile: @green.joel

Another harder one to cast; most of the actors that would be eligible—or were fancasted by many others—were either too old or too young or just not what I imagined at all. Not knocking anyone’s choices, but it made it harder to find someone that fit MY vision…I ran across Joel on Instagram and he is a gorgeous model and personal trainer who definitely looks the part in my opinion! Just stick a wig on him and a toga, and he could totally look like Helion!

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High Lord of the Winter Court Kallias: Heath Hutchins

Kallias, High Lord of the Winter Court, is a character I liked but him and and his mate, Vivianne, were barely in the dang books! I wished we got to see more of the other high lords, but maybe that’ll happen in later books; according to Goodreads, there are supposed to be, like, three more titles for the series!

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High Lord Thesan: Hamid Fadaei

He’s an actor and model, even if I haven’t seen him in anything. He’s a pretty gorgeous Persian man, so I thought he was an excellent choice for playing the role of the High Lord of the Dawn Court!

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Eris Vanserra: Ryan Cooper

He’s an actor who’s actually played a corpse in Rough Night, starring Scarlett Johansson, but also starred in a Colleen Hoover novel-turned-movie Confess. Dye his hair red, and with that wicked gleam in his eye, he could definitely be an option to play Lucien’s devious older brother!

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Prince Varian: Jesse Williams

This man is in Grey’s Anatomy while it goes into its 15000th season, and I like casting him in Fantasy roles, so I’d like it if he played Lord Tarquin’s younger brother and subtle love-interest to Amren.

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Princess Cresseida: Logan Browning

She has the similar features of other actors I’ve casted for the Summer Court’s royal family. She’s got gorgeous darker skin and mesmerizing eyes, so she’d look great playing the young princess! She’s most known for starring in the Netflix show, Dear White People.

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Jurian: Taylor Kitsch

I’ve been a fan of his since he played Tim Riggins on the TV Show, Friday Night Lights, and he was decent in Vince Flynn’s movie adaptation of American Assassin, so he’d be my pick to play the interesting role of Jurian!

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Vassa: Erika Postnikova

Image courtesy of Aleksandr Vinogradov on Flickr

Erika is a beauty influencer and model whom I found on Pinterest when looking into redheads for this character. She is EXACTLY how Vassa is described and I’d even say she’d make an excellent in the From Blood and Ash series by Jennifer Armentrout too!

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Priestess Gwyneth Berdara: Sophie Turner

As soon as I read that Gwyn had red hair, for some reason I just really pictured Emma Stone, BUT now Sophie Turner as a redhead really does it for me! She’s an amazing actress from Game of Thrones, and would portray Gwyn amazingly in my opinion!

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Emerie: Lindsey Morgan

I don’t know much about this actress, but she’s in the CW show, The 100, and that seems to be really popular, so her face popped up and I thought she looked like how I imagined the Illyrian shop-owner turned Valkyrie warrior looking like!

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Koschei: Sephiroth? Or Lee Pace or Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Lee Pace as Thanduin, Image courtesy of Georgia Strait

Jonathan, Image courtesy of the New York Post

So Koschei is another Death God from the ancient world, he’s the older brother of the Bone Carver and the Weaver of the Woods. He’s the evil sorcerer who’s trapped in that lake who also cursed Vassa. He does make a brief appearance in the latest book I believe, it’s been like two years since I’ve read it already WOW so this makes me feel like a reread is due! But he gave me vibes that he’s the next big baddie boss villain to defeat for this world…He’s described as having black eyes and white hair….okay. I pictured my favorite Smash Bro’s character to plau, OR to be a little more realistic, I also picture Lee Pace straight out of The Hobbit movies for this role then based off that alone…but JRM could make an excellent villain too! This one is more up in the air and could change when we get more content of this god, but that would mean SJM needs to release more books too so……………………

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There you have it for now! The series is still ongoing, so more characters will be added and fancasted by myself as it goes on and they are introduced. That means to be sure to check back to this page when new books come out and I’ll add as soon as I get caught up and find a face to the name!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Fancasts/Dreamcasts

My Fancast/Dreamcast: The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black

October 5, 2019March 7, 2023 nicholasjgoodsell

In Holly Black’s enchanting and twisted trilogy, Jude Duarte is a young mortal girl when Madoc comes and kills her parents. He takes her and her sisters back with him to the High Courts of Faerie, and ten years later wants nothing more than to belong amongst the folk despite their hatred for humans. Among the worst is Cardan Greenbriar, the youngest and most sadistic prince of the royal court, and Jude must evade him and his threats in order to secure her place.

As she gets herself caught up within the many twisted webs of courtly intrigue, she discovers her own skills and willingness to shed blood and tell lies, and discovers not only a shocking betrayal in the works but a scandal that could rock the whole future of Faerie. Jude must make some deadly deals and align herself with some dangerous players in order to secure not only her own safety, but everyone else she loves too.

My book review for The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air #1) is here!

My book review for The Wicked King (Folk of the Air #2) is here!

My book review for The Queen of Nothing (Folk of the Air #3) is here!

My book review for How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (Folk of the Air #3.5) is here!

The Folk of the Air trilogy is full of twists, deadly surprises, and enchanting romance that entranced me into Holly Black’s world of Faerie, and has been a vastly popular series for fans of YA-Fantasy everywhere!

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Here is my official Fancast/Dreamcast:

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Jude Duarte/Taryn Duarte: Daisy Ridley, or Sofia Carson

Who I really need as is a young Natalie Portman, but Daisy is an awesome choice to play the twins if I do say so myself! Based of her portrayal of Rey in the new “Star Wars” movies along with her role in “Murder on the Orient Express”, she’d be great at capturing both Jude and Taryn’s split personalities.

Daisy was my original choice, but once Holly Black confirmed that the Duarte’s are Latina, I had to update that! Sofia Carson is probably a more fitting choice for the role of the twins in this twisty series!

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Prince Cardan Greenbriar: Mitchell Wick, or Raphael Say

Raphael Say, Image courtesy of vanityteen.com

He’s got the flow, he’s got the smoldering gaze, and the sexy body! My pick for the wicked king of Elfhame is none other than this gorgeous male model.

I recently discovered Raphael, who’s an international French model, and is NOT afraid to show off in the camp get ups that we all know Cardan absolutely wears, so he’s a younger, maybe even more accurate choice!

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Vivianne Duarte: Ana de Armas

Ana de Armas, who stared in Rian Johnson’s whodunnit film, Knives Out, definitely has a certain look that I believe is quite similar to Jude and Taryn’s older half-fae sister.

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Locke: Jamie Campbell Bower

Just dye his hair a fiery orange, and you’ve got yourself my version of Locke! This British actor has been in the ultra-intense-popular latest season of “Stranger Things” and also is known from “Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” and even a small but notable appearance in Harry Potter as a young Grindelwald!

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Balekin Greenbriar: Aidan Turner

The older, more sinister of the Greenbriar siblings needed to be played by someone who is able to play a villain and look good doing it. I think I was watching The Hobbit movies when I came up with Aiden Turner as my choice, who was also in the And Then There Were None mini-series, but it worked!

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Eldred Greenbriar: Anthony Hopkins

If these books were turned into a film franchise, it’s something that no one would expect Hannibal Lector to be a part of, so I thought it’d be fun to see Anthony as the elderly king of Elfhame and get him all campy and fairy-like.

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Madoc: Keifer Sutherland

Kind of a random/filler answer to who would play the role of Madoc, but from what little I’ve seen on his old show, 24, Keifer would hold his own as the General.

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Nicasia: Aja Naomi King

I love her in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, and for some reason I pictured Nicasia being black—why not?—so Aja Naomi King would excel at the role of the elitist princess of the deep!

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Dain Greenbriar: Tyler Hoechlin

Another Mr. tall, dark, and handsome to play a Greenbriar sibling! Catch him from the Teen Wolf TV show that used to be on MTV (if you feel up to it, I know that sentence makes it really tempting).

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Heather: Kat Graham

Kat Graham has been a favorite of mine ever since her witchy days back on The Vampire Diaries, and she’s always switching up her look, so I thought she’d be a good fit for the alternative, artistic character named Heather.

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Valerian: Dan Stevens, or Dacre Montgomery

Dacre Montgomery, image courtesy of dacre-montgomery.net

Dan Stevens was pretty decent in the recent live-action Disney film, Beauty and the Beast, alongside Emma Watson, so he’s familiar with playing in fantasy settings for projects. After seeing him in “Stranger Things” as Billy, Dacre should be getting roles left and right now! He certainly knows how to play a sadistic and cruel fae highborn like Valerian!

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The Ghost: Matthew Noszka

Matthew Noszka kind of makes me feel like he’s the gen-z version of Chad Michael Murray…he’s got the golden-boy-next-door all american good looks, a total heartthrob that both girls and guys can all collectively have crushes on! Or is that just me?……..

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The Bomb: Melvnin

This instagram model has such a beautiful, unique look; she looks like a faerie in real life!

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Oriana: Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow is an actress who hardly needs any introductions or reminders of what films she’s done. Oriana always seems like she has a cloud hanging over her head, but she still pulls it off with such grace and splendor…Our girl Gwynie would rock this part!

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Queen Orlagh: Viola Davis

Since she works with Aja (above) in “HTGAWM,” why not have her play Nicasia’s mother, the Queen of the ocean?

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Asha (Cardan’s Mother): Sarah Paulson

Say what you will about American Horror Story, but there’s no denying that Sarah Paulson is an absolutely brilliant actress! Asha seems like an incredibly complex character, and I would love Sara to bring her character to life!

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