Casting What-Ifs
Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson swapping roles; Gibson as James Bond; Ridley Scott or Leonard Nimoy directing; Brian Dennehy as Murtaugh; Michael Biehn as Riggs; Steve Railsback or John Saxon as Joshua; William Hurt as Riggs
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:27Read transcript
- Willis could have had Lethal Weapon and Gibson Die Hard; a hot take follows that Willis in 1986 was not believable as a super soldier, while his Die Hard hero is streetwise.
- Willis looks like an everyman while Gibson looks cut from limestone; one host would have loved to see them switch, likened to a Brady-Brees swap.
- Gibson turned down The Fly and The Untouchables for this film.
- Gibson pursued Bond in The Living Daylights, but Broccoli turned him down for not being British and Timothy Dalton was cast; Dalton's Bond films are debated and called terrible.
- Brosnan was held to Remington Steele and had to wait about ten years for Bond.
- After the $250,000 script purchase, Ridley Scott was considered but had Blade Runner tensions with Warner Brothers; Leonard Nimoy was busy with Three Men and a Baby; Donner got it.
- Brian Dennehy was lined up for Murtaugh but did not want to play a cop again; F/X is praised as influential.
- Michael Bean was considered for Riggs but was filming Aliens.
- The Joshua role was offered to Steve Railsback and John Saxon; Busey, ice cold after his Buddy Holly Story nomination, auditioned and lost weight.
- Shane Black wanted William Hurt as Riggs; Hurt would play a damaged vet, not a super soldier, and a Hurt-Dennehy version would be a movie few watch.