I have to say, I am still spinning from the news of the ‘from the heavens’ picture perfect casting of Emma Dumont (The Gifted) as the titular Razor in the upcoming film adaptation of Everette Hartsoe’s masterpiece, helmed by the incredible Rob Cohen. When I heard this news my brain almost immediately began wondering who else, in my perfect world, would join the ranks of the beautifully brutal Razor universe. For those who have read any of Hartsoe’s Razor series (if you haven’t, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!) naturally the first person I began fan casting for is a character that shares a very special bond with Razor, the deadly assassin, Stryke. Revealed to be *SPOILER ALERT* Razor’s twin sister, Stryke is a character that has her fair share of shrouded mystery, internal and external anguish, and will have to convey a plethora of emotions while trying to suppress them on the surface. In addition to containing some familial resemblance to Razor’s Emma Dumont, being a near perfect assassin, deadly with firearms, any blade you can put in her hand, and with unarmed combat, the actress playing Stryke will likely have to deliver some very powerful performances in Cohen’s adaptation.
Taking all of this into account I came up with, in no particular order, my top ten choices for Stryke. Let me know what you think, whether you agree with my choices, or if you have your own, let your voice be heard. Who would you cast in this killer role?!
Jaimie Alexander – From sword and shield mastery as Sif in the MCU, to close quarters hand to hand combat, modified weapon, and firearm proficiency to make Jason Bourne jealous in Blindspot, Alexander has demonstrated that she is no stranger to action packed fight scenes and has displayed her ability to bring to life a multitude of personas within the same character. Having predominantly played the heroine of the story telling journeys she stared in, having the opportunity to be a foil for our main character would be an exciting new change of pace as well.
Chloe Grace Moretz – Her experience with bladed weapons, guns, and overall fight choreography is an obvious reason to bring the former Hit Girl to the top of a fan cast list for a super assassin. However, it is her incredible rawness in her acting, her willingness to take her soul to the brink and exploring a multitude of emotional extremes while embodying her characters as seen in Carrie, Let Me In, Brain On Fire, and the upcoming Miseducation of Cameron Post that would really make Moretz powerful as the jaded, damaged Stryke.
Brianna Hildebrand – Along with her familiarity from comic book, action, and darker world based projects, Hildebrand could easily switch on a sarcastic wit sharper than any Razor to produce some wonderful dark humor into this story fueled by rage and loss. Having some of that classic tell tale Negasonic Teenage angst might be a perfect ingredient for our anti-hero’s sister.
Gina Carano Career MilestonesGina Carano – In my opinion (and if you don’t agree with me, watch Haywire) if you want to explore casting the perfect assassin, capable to belivability with guns and swords, but providing the most realism when the weapons are abandoned and it comes down to fisticuffs then you need to look no further than Gina Carano. Her ability to translate her real life martial arts experience onto the screen is second to none and would deliver exceptionally brutal fight scenes perfectly suited for the Razor universe.
Saoirse Ronan – You hardly need to look past her martial arts ability as it is displayed in Hanna in order to see why Saoirse would yield an incredible assassin sister for Emma’s Razor. In addition to her honed combat prowess, her dramatic capabilities would lend themselves to the needs for her character as well, looking to Atonement and The Lovely Bones as prime examples of her incredible portrayal on screen.
Anya Taylor-Joy – Between battling a super strong multi-personalitied James McAvoy in Split, being enchanted by a demonic goat in The Witch, and entering into the X-Men universe’s haunted corner as Magik in New Mutants, Anya Taylor-Joy has all of the foundation work established to be a deadly assassin and formidable opponent for Razor. Her repertoire of characters lend some herself well to taking on someone who is as deadly as they are damaged and could transition very well to into Hartsoe’s world.
Evan Rachel Wood – Holding a black belt in the art of Taekwondo off the set, automatically garners attention when casting a relentless assassin equally adept with weapons as she is her hands and feet. In addition to meeting the fight choreography requisite, having Emma Dumont share the screen with the actress who brought to life her performances in Thirteen, Mildred Pierce, and The Wrestler, the amount of acclaim she received for her deep rooted pain and emotion that she portrayed would be well suited in embodying Stryke.
Caity Lotz – The fearless leader of the CW’s Legends of Tomorrow Caity Lotz combines her experience working with the comic world lore, her background of break dancing and martial arts, with her well rounded acting capabilities. While playing an assassin turned hero in Legends, Lotz’s character constantly struggles with the animalistic rage burning inside of her and her muscle memory prepped predisposition to kill with seeming effortlessness. Her internal battle to hold onto her humanity results in a constant strained emotional range that if it was set against a period piece drama instead of a superhero show, she would likely be the talk of the town at every Golden Globe nomination meeting.
Skyler Samuels – No stranger to the comic genre, nor to Emma Dumont herself as Samuels shares the stage on The Gifted. Skylers’ ability to convincingly portray triplets that each possess their own distinguishable personality traits, while also acting as a borderline sociopathic hive mind is something that any acting enthusiast should readily applaud. In addition to her note worthy acting talent, having someone whom Dumont is already established a rapport and banter with would even further drive home the sibling bond.
Karen Gillan – Nebula herself, one of the deadliest assassins in the Marvel Universe would provide an exceptional sibling rival of the blade wielding anti-heroine. Her experience with the demands and sacrifices needed to bring the belivability of a comic universe to life and the perfect physicality pairing with Dumont would ensure that both actresses poured their blood, sweat, and tears (even hair if required) into the production to turn Razor into what it is truly meant to be.
It was extremely difficult to narrow down to a list of just ten actresses to suit up as Stryke and share the stage with Emma’s Razor. Those above were the ones I narrowed down to, that I could fully imagine breathing life into the role, and I could list 100 reasons why each of the aforementioned actresses should be the one that should get the part. What do you think? Do you agree with my choices? Do you have a favorite? Or perhaps, your mind brings to life Stryke in another form entirely. I implore all of you, use your voice, speak up as to who YOU envision embodying the role. You never know how much power your voice holds, creating a fan cast list like the above could be the catalyst to audition campaigns and even castings!
One thing is for certain, for the comic universe industry to continue to evolve and expand to the degree of allowing the incredible work of Everette Hartsoe to be personified on the big screen, it is most certainly, a great time to be a geek!