It’s time for another round of Muppet Casting, where we take a famous movie and ask, if Jim Henson’s Muppets made their own version of it (in the vein of The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island), which Muppets would you cast in the lead roles?
This week, it’s Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy!
Kermit the Frog as Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man) – Lead hero and everyman. What more is there to say?
Miss Piggy as Mary Jane Watson – Female love interest who’s pursuing an acting/singing/modeling career. Again, what more is there to say?
Gonzo the Great as Norman Osborn (a.k.a. The Green Goblin) – Norman’s a guy who thinks careening around the city on a flying surfboard and throwing exploding pumpkins at people is a great idea. That’s Gonzo’s average Saturday night.
Walter as Harry Osborn (a.k.a. The New Goblin) – I considered Fozzie for the role, I really did. Who else to play the best friend of Kermit’s character? But I just don’t think Fozzie could pull off either the anger or the sense of entitlement that forms much of Harry’s character arc. Walter, while a sweetheart, also has an obsessive streak that I could see, under the right circumstances, leading him down a dark path. Plus, he’s definitely the Muppet most likely to pick up another Muppet’s costume and try to be them, like Harry does for the Green Goblin.
Statler & Waldorf as J. Jonah & J. Jameson – “He doesn’t want to be famous, we’ll make him infamous!” “And if we don’t, Spider-Man 3 will do it for us!” “DO HO HO HO HO!”
Bunsen Honeydew as Dr. Otto Octavius (a.k.a. Doctor Octopus) – Bunsen is ideal for a well-meaning scientist who is oblivious to how dangerous his inventions are. Each of his four mechanical limbs would have Beaker’s hair and eyes, and the scenes where they’re “speaking” to him would have a bunch of meeps added.
Sweetums as Flint Marko (a.k.a. Sandman) – Big, intimidating guy who actually has a sweet-hearted personality.
Constantine as Eddie Brock (a.k.a. Venom) – Evil version of Peter? Evil version of Kermit.
Hilda as Aunt May – The Muppets have few enough female characters as-is. When you specify an elderly female character like Aunt May . . . well, who else is there?
and
Our Very Special Guest, Mr. Bruce Campbell! as Uncle Ben – Now that Brucie’s a little older, I just thought it would be a fun homage to his cameos in the actual films to have him play Uncle Ben.
Those are my picks for a Muppet rendition of the Spider-Man trilogy. What are yours?