Cast This: "Clue" The Remake
Thursday, August 18, 2016 at 10:37PM I grew up playing "Clue" at home with my family so when the movie came out I was thrilled and saw it three times to catch the separate endings. My story is not unique (except for falling for the studio's marketing gamble and seeing it three times in theaters) because the board game has been hugely popular since its initial release in 1949 so multiple generations have played it and loved it. It has a built in audience so naturally movie studios are interested because franchises is what they do. Remember a handful of years ago when Universal was going to remake the movie Clue (1985) but nothing came of it? Too make a long story short... "too late!" ... the project is back on again at a different studio.
Clue art by Kevin Wada
Now, Fox will remake the movie despite the fact that board game based movies haven't done well at the box office (including the original Clue, despite its huge fanbase after the fact). Nevertheless it's a perfect opportunity for us to play CAST THIS! after the jump...
The possibilities are truly endless since the characters have been reinterpreted with every release of the game. You're not really bound by age or race or even too many character specifics. So let's do this.
Colonel Mustard is the military man. In early version he's a hunter. He's been portrayed at just about every age, when young he's usually a blonde and otherwise he's a grey haired stuffy colonial imperialist. He almost always has facial hair and sometimes a monocle.
Mrs Peacock is the grand dame. She's a dignified older woman in early versions. She began as an artistocrat with a tiara but eventually feathered hats and society lady became the norm in portrayals. Sometimes she's depicted as an ornithologist. In the movie she's a senator's wife.
Mr Green is either a Reverend or a Businessman, depending on the country you're playing in. The character has not been portrayed very consistently over the years. Sometimes he's a mobster, sometimes he's an old bald man in a smoking jacket. He's recently been reinvented as a black enterpreneur. In the movie he was a closeted gay in the State Department.
Mrs White is a houseservant. In the game she worked with the Butler, usually as a maid but occassionally a nanny or cook and usually she's a plump woman. In the movie they basically ditched that interpretation altogether (replacing her house duties with sexy maid Yvette and the Cook instead) and reinvented Mrs White as a mysterious black widow, whose husbands met untimely deaths. In a new version of the game she is a young African American lawyer.
Professor Plum is the intellectual of the game. No details as to what he's professor of. He's almost always depicted with glasses and sometimes with a pipe but the age varies wildly in different releases. In the movie he was a psychiatrist but in some versions he's an archaelogist.
Miss Scarlett is the femme fatale. She was originally portrayed as a young blonde but she's morphed over the years into a glamorous brunette or redhead and was the first Clue character to be portrayed as non-caucasian in 1972. In some releases of the game since she is Asian. In the movie she was an escort service madame but in the game she's often an aspiring actress or movie star. Which direction would you go in casting?
I can't wait to hear your thoughts. I'd list mine but my choice for every character keeps changing. Do I want Eva Green or Fanbingbing or Gong Li or Elizabeth Debicki as Miss Scarlett?
Bonus points
• if you can come up with anyone worthy to fill Tim Curry's shoes as the butler
• If you can guess why I listed the characters in this order.
Cast This!, Clue, casting, games, remakes
Reader Comments (44)
I want a version where all of your suggestions for Ms. Scarlet play her simultaneously--every time they enter a new room she's a new woman and no one comments on it.
And because she's literally the best, I want to see Rose Byrne in Tim Curry drag playing the butler.
@Joe K-Rose Byrne in drag as the butler..... Shut up and take my money!!!!!
I'm more excited for this post than for the remake! Clue is one of my top 10 favorites!
So, Bonus Point first: The characters are listed in the order that they arrive in the house in the film. ("...one by one, you all arrived." "Get on with it!")
My casting:
Colonel Mustard - Andrew Scott
Mrs. White - Keke Palmer
Mr. Green - Aaron Tveit
Mrs. Peacock - June Squibb or Blythe Danner or Anjelica Huston (can we have three different movies, each with a different Peacock?)
Professor Plum - Tony Hale
Miss Scarlet - Laura Benanti
The Butler - Oscar Isaac
The Cook - Kitana Kiki Rodriguez
The Maid ("Ohmigod, Yvette!") - Rose Byrne
And YES to all of Joe K's suggestions.
F. Murray Abraham as Colonel Mustard
Diahann Caroll as Mrs Peacock
Ralph Fiennes as Mr Green
Tilda Swinton as Mrs White
Jason Schwartzman as Professor Plum
Greta Gerwig as Miss Scarlett
Michael Shannon as Wadsworth
A film by Wes Anderson
Zhang Ziyi as Ms Scarlett
Andrew Garfield as Professor Plum
Gleen Close as Mrs. White
Oscar Issac as Mr. Green
Taraji P, Henson as Mrs. Peacock
Laurence Fishburne as Col. Mustard
Sarah Paulson in male drag as the butler, because she needs more work.
IF they're ACTUALLY remaking the 80s film version and not doing some other story, then....
Yvette - Margot Robbie
Mustard - Kristofer Hivju
Peacock - Blythe Danner OR, if younger, Anna Camp
Green - Jude Law
White - Rose Byrne
Plum - Stephen Fry
Scarlet - Monica Bellucci or Salma Hayek
AND, as Wadsworth, it can only be: Mr. Alan Cumming.
I love the idea of it being a Wes Anderson film...
I wonder if they'll use the new character Dr Orchid, who replaced Mrs White in the board game like a month ago...
Attempting a genderbent version, because why not?
Colonel Mustard - Sigourney Weaver
Mr. Peacock - Charles Dance
Mrs. Green - Lucy Liu
Mr. White - Oscar Isaac (let's all keep casting him you guys!)
Professor Plum - Viola Davis
Mr. Scarlett - Matt Bomer
Butler - Melanie Lynskey
Mustard - JOHN GOODMAN
Peacock - JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS or BEBE NEUWIRTH
Green - TAYE DIGGS
White - MEGAN MULLALLY
Plum - DANIEL DAE KIM
Scarlet - PENELOPE CRUZ or SOFÍA VERGARA
I would participate in this exercise but I can't due to the flames...on the side of my face...breathing...heaving breaths!
(More importantly who is going to be the singing telegram girl?)
What about...
Prof. Plum - JEFF GOLDBLUM
Miss Scarlet - JANELLE MONAE
Col. Mustard - BRYAN CRANSTON
Mrs. Peacock - LISA KUDROW or PARKER POSEY or JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS
Rev. Green - OSCAR ISAAC
Mrs. White - MARGO MARTINDALE or CHRISTINE BARANSKI
(I cannot decide between this greats for Peacock and White... :/ )
Okay, I am morally opposed to Clue being remade (it's perfect as it is), but thoroughly encourage this casting activity. I'd go with (assuming they are more in-line with the movie and not the board game):
Miss Scarlet: Laura Bennati
Mrs. White: Jane Krakowski
Mrs. Peacock: Audra McDonald
Mr. Green: Oscar Isaac
Professor Plum: James Corden
Col. Mustard: Len Cariou
Wadsworth: Jefferson Mays
Yvette: Megan Hilty
Wait...I may have just cast Clue: The Musical. But I think that might not be the worst idea.
I'm from the UK so my choices are based on the uk version of the game
Reverand Green - Hugh Grant
Mrs Peacock - Kristin Scott Thomas
Professor Plum - Toby Jones
Miss Scarlett - Scarlett Johansson
Mrs White- Brenda Blethyn
Colonel Mustard- Tommy Lee Jones
They did a kind of game show adaptation of Cluedo on UK TV in the early 90's.
If I remember rightly, Joanna Lumley was Peacock, Jerry Hall was Scarlett, and Pam Ferris was White. What a cast!! Tom Baker (Dr Who) was also one of the characters, but can't remember which.
Also, they already kind of remade it with Gosford Park, right?
I feel like Neil Patrick Harris should be involved in this somehow. Maybe as Professor Plum. Or maybe he could get away with playing Wadsworth.
Miss Scarlett: Angela Bassett
Col. Mustard: Nick Offerman
Professor Plum: Ben Mendelsohn
Mr. Green: Oscar Isaac
Mrs. White: Ann Dowd
Mrs. Peacock: Sandra Oh
Col Mustard: Nick Offermann
Mrs Peacock: Catherine O'Hara
Mr Green: Neil Patrick Harris
Mrs White: Uzo Aduba
Prof Plum: Martin Freeman
Miss Scarlet: Sofia Vergara
Wadsworth: Ricky Gervais
Denny: Blythe Danner would be SUCH A GREAT Mrs. Peacock!! I really want that now. (if not her, then Lesley Ann Warren.)
Nathaniel: I actually had a dream that I figured out why you listed them in that order, but now I can't remember. Please divulge.
Kate McKinnon. Somewhere. Anywhere. Who else now has those singularly kooky comedic chops a la Madeline Kahn?
Miss Scarlet - I feel like this is a good role to introduce a young Asian star, and I hope that's what the movie does
Col. Mustard - Nick Nolte
Mrs. White - Meryl Streep
Mr. Green - John Leguizamo
Mrs. Peacock - Viola Davis
Prof. Plum - George Clooney
She's not a "movie" star, but I feel like Teri Hatcher would kill it as Miss Scarlet.
Who will have the guts to take over the irreplaceable Madeline Kahn? Of all the ones mentioned here I would go for Megan Mullally, though I have to admit I am curious as to what Meryl Streep could do with the role.
JB - I also remember that Cluedo game show but the cast actually changed for each of the four series. Joanna Lumley and Jerry Hall were in Season 4 and Pam Ferris and Tom Baker were in Season 3 where Tom Baker played Professor Plum.
But the cast for all four series were very good. See link below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluedo_(UK_game_show)
Elizabeth Debicki or Rose Byrne as Scarlet; Niecy Nash and Megan Mullaly as Peacock and White (or switch the roles - could work either way); Ralph Fiennes or Gary Cole as Mustard; Zach Woods as Green; and Martin Freeman as Plum. And if they're keeping Wadsworth and Yvette in the story - Glen Powell and Riki Lindhome.
Though all that said, this is the sort of remake that could work beautifully if you switched it to an all female cast. Turning it into something like Ozon's 8 Women would be wonderful.
Singing telegram girl: Janelle Monae
Yvette - Scarlett Johansson or Lea Seydoux
Mrs. White: Rose Byrne or Michelle Dockery
Miss Scarlett: Jessica Chastain or Eva Green
Mrs. Peacock: Julia Louis Dreyfus or Lisa Kudrow
The cook: Margaret Cho
Mr. Green: Matt Bomer or Matt Damon
Colonel Mustard: Paul Giamatti
Professor Plum: George Clooney
Butler: Neil Patrick Harris or Benedict Cumberbatch
CHRISTINE BARANSKI AS MRS. PEACOCK!!!
Mustard: Brendan Gleeson
Green: Eddie Murphy
Plum: Simon Helberg
Peacock: Sally Field
White: June Squibb
Scarlett: Jennifer Lawrence
Mustard- JK Simmons
Miss Peacock- Alfre Woodard
Mr Green- Taran Killam
Mrs White- Julia Louis Dreyfus
Professor Plum- Jim Carrey
Miss Scarlett- Constance Wu
Honorable second place castings- Glenn Close or Octavia Spencer for Peacock, Rose Bryne or Mila Kunis for Scarlett, and Kristen Wiig or Amy Adams for White.
so, Clue! The Musical is an actual thing that exists, as I played Mr. Green in it sophomore year of college... Plot is totally different than the movie though... the audience picks cards before and the cast has to figure out who did it!
not a very good show, actually...
Mustard: Terry Crews
Green: Cee Lo Green
Plum: Larry Wilmore
Peacock: Oprah
White: Alison Brie
Scarlett: Lupita Nyongo
LEA DELARIA FOR THE BUTLER!
Professor Plum: Peter Dinklage
Miss Scarlett: Ruth Negga
Mr. Green: Jorge Garcia
Col. Mustard: John Slattery
Mrs. Peacock: Kate Mulgrew
Mrs. White: Amy Schumer
As directed by the Coen Brothers...
WADSWORTH: John Turturro
MUSTARD: Jeff Bridges
WHITE: Frances McDormand
GREEN: Richard Jenkins
PEACOCK: Tilda Swinton
PLUM: George Clooney
SCARLETT: Holly Hunter
YVETTE: Scarlett Johansson
COOK: John Goodman
MR. BODY: Josh Brolin
I'd like to take a run at playing Mrs. Scarlett because...reasons, but I get that people might not be down. In lieu of that, I'd love to see Christina Hendricks or Naomie Harris take a run at Mrs. Scarlett.
But what about the news that Mrs White is being removed from the game and replaced by the Asian Dr. Orchid! Will that factor into the remake? Diversity and all ha!
Mrs Peacock - Allison Janney
Wadsworth - Idris Elba
Col Mustard - Tom Hanks
Miss Scarlett - Jaime Pressley
Mr Green - Chris Hemsworth
Mrs White - Michelle Pfeiffer
Prof Plum - Viola Davis
I want Lisa Kudrow in there.
Christina Ricci as Miss Scarlett!! I need more of her in my life!!
I've finally come to be able to post here (really busy lately)... I'd go with two casts, pending or a more pure comedy remake or one more serious/thriller with some comedic elements...
Pure comedy.
Wadsworth: Sacha Baron Cohen
Mr. Green: Ewen Bremner
Prof. Plum: Benedict Cumberbatch
Scarlet: Cameron Diaz
Mrs White: Anna Faris
Mrs. Peacock: Melissa McCarthy
Col. Mustard: Ricky Gervais
Yvette: Marion Cotillard
Cook: Randall Park
Mr. Body: Johnny Depp
More Thriller...
Wadsworth: Clive Owen
Mr. Green. Ewan McGregor
Prof. Plum: Eddie Redmayne
Scarlett: Charlize Theron
Mrs. White: Viola Davies
Col Mustard: Idris Elba
Mrs. Peacock: Octavia Spencer
Yvette: Anna Paquin
Cook: Penelope Cruz
Mr. Body: Javier Bardem
WADSWORTH: Ricky Gervais
MUSTARD: Will Ferrel
WHITE: Tina Fey
GREEN: Paul Rudd
PEACOCK: Kristin Wig
PLUM: John C. Reilly
SCARLETT: Scarlett Johanson
YVETTE: Kate Upton
COOK: Rachel Ray
MR. BODY: Aziz Ansari
SINGING TELEGRAM: Katie Perry
Bebe rehxa ms peacock
Miraiah Carey miss Scarlett
Christina Aguilera mrs white
Cardi B Yvette
Idiris Elba Mr. Boddy
Will Ferrell Mr. Wadsworth
Angelina Jolie telegram girl
Post Malone Mr. Green
Sean Murray col.mustard
Michael Weatherly Professor plum
I think my ideal cast is :
- Jennifer Garner as Miss Scarlett
- Angela Bassett as Mrs. Wthe
- Ewan McGregor as Mr. Green
- Evan Peters as Professor Plum
- Sarah Paulson as Miss Peacok
- Doug Savant as Colonel Mustard
And other members :
- Jack Nicholson as The Victim
- Jessica Lange as his Wife
- Emma Roberts as his daughter
- Tom Holland as his gender
- Michelle Pfeiffer as the governess
- Jennifer Tilly as the crazy rich neighboor.
(Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot for a crossover with Agatha Christie ^^)