Neve Campbell as Nei and Neifirst: Neve Campbell from Scream, The Craft, and TV's Party of Five is my choice to play the tragic hero Nei and her villanous "sister," Neifirst.
Campbell is probably a little taller than Nei, but I think, aside from height, there's such a physical similarity there that Nei can easily be portrayed in the movies as taller than she is in the games. Of course, acting ability is also crucial in creating a Phantasy Star Dream Cast, and Campbell has that, as well. Especially when we're talking about Nei, we need an actress who can (1) impart Nei's innocence and charm, (2) convey emotion believeably (especially in Climatrol) and (3) go the other direction entirelly and play the pernicious Neifirst. Give Neve the job.

Dolph Lundgren as Rudo Steiner: My original casting on this web site for the role of Rudo was Kevin Sorbo, but before this web site began, when I was simply casting roles in my various posts on the Phantasy Star Discussion Board, Dolph Lundgren was always my choice for Rudo, and after seeing him recently in John Woo's TV movie Blackjack, I am once again convinced he would be the perfect actor to play Rudolf "Rudo" Steiner. Lundgren bares an uncanny resemblance to Rudo, not only in his face and eyes, but in the fact that physically, Lundgren is huge, much like our favorite Neishot-weilding hunter. Many of my fellow phanatics suggest Arnold Schwarzenegger for this role, and admittedly, Schwarzenegger would be good in the role, but I prefer Schwarzenegger as Odin, and Dolph Lundgren as Rudo.

Kellie Martin as Doctor Amy Sage: The physical similarity alone makes this one of my all-time favorite Phantasy Star movie castings. It's the eyes, man. I think Kellie Martin's eyes are the closest thing on Earth to Amy's big anime blues. Besides that, however, acting ability and voice finalize the deal. Life Goes On wasn't a hit because Martin couldn't act, and Martin's normaly soft-spoken voice is perfect for Amy's gentle, healing character --.though I'm sure she'll turn it up a notch for lines like, "I will never forgive you for what you have done." This PS casting suggestion was originally made on the Phantasy Star Discussion Board by Neilast, and I couldn't agree more. Kellie Martin is Doctor Amy Sage.

Wil Wheaton as Hugh Thompson: Wheaton, a vastly underrated actor, spent four-plus seaons on Star Trek: The Next Generation spewing technobabble about warp cores and phaser banks, and so I'm sure he could do the same with trimates and savol techniques. He has the prerequisite physical resemblence (especially when his hair is a little longer than it is in this picture), and like I said, he's a great actor, despite the hatred some Star Trek fans have for his Next Generation character, Wesley Crusher -- just take one look at Stand By Me, and you'll see that even when he was young, he was already an awesome actor. He makes a fine addition to the Phantasy Star Dream Cast. Mr. Wheaton, the role is yours.

Bridgette Wilson as Anna Zirski: When I saw Wilson in Billy Madison, I immediately realized she looked a lot like Anna Zirski. Then I heard she was in Mortal Kombat, and so, I realized she knows how to fight -- or at least she knows how to work with stuntmen and choreographers that can make it appear she knows how to fight. Regardless, just look at her eyes! She and Anna have the exact same eyes! Suit this lady up in a Guardian uniform. She has won the role of Anna Zirski.

Matthew Lillard as Josh Kain: I've only seen Matthew Lillard in two movies -- Serial Mom and as Stu in Scream -- but after he stole the show in the latter, I became convinced he'd be perfect as the Wrecker. He has all of the prerequisities. He has the similarities in physical appearance to Kain, he has the acting ability, especially in terms of comedy, which he showed off a lot of in Scream (for some reason, I see Kain as being a comic relief character...), and in terms of voice... well, I think his voice would be a vast improvement over Kain's "redneck speak." You're hired, Mr. Lillard!

Leslie Bibb as Shir Gold: Shir has always been a difficult role for me to cast, for some reason. Every idea I've come up with for the role in the past has never quite seemed just right to me. So imagine my surprise one night at the video store when I was watching The Skulls and Leslie Bibb came on the screen. "It's Shir!" I practically I blurted out loud, and indeed, this is a choice I am finally satisfied with for this role. On Popular Leslie Bibb plays a well-to-do teenager, so we know she has experience with playing someone from a wealthy background, like Shir. And with just one look at her, you can see Leslie Bibb has another trait that is very Shir-esque: this chick is one hot tamale! Her distractingly good looks would no doubt be a help to her whenever Shir "feels the breezes calling."

View an old casting for Shir on the Dream Cast Alumni Page

Ewan McGregor as Lutz: He played an 18-year old Ben Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace, so how about a one-thousand year old Esper in Phantasy Star II? As I mentioned above, I think Alexander Siddig is perfect for Noah in part due to his British heritage. McGregor, from Scotland, would also have an accent perfect for a master Esper. Somebody call his agent, and if he's concerned about his role being little more than a cameo, you just tell him to wait until Agent's Destiny: The Movie!

Bill Campbell as Tyler: Bill Campbell is probably best known for the title role in The Rocketeer, a very cool movie. However, he also guest-starred in a second season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Outrageous Okona," as Thadiun Okona, the cocky pilot of a space ship... not unlike a certain space pirate we know, don'cha think? Also, aside from hair color, I think the resemblance between Campbell and Tyler is uncanny. Send him to make-up and fix him up with a scar on his forehead, then get him to the set, pronto!

Elton John as Ustvestia: Not only do they both play the piano, they both apparently like to wear funny-looking glasses. In addition, to top it all off, I'll be damned if they don't kinda look like each other, too! Elton John was simply meant to play Ustvestia. It would be his best movie role since playing The Pinball Wizard in Tommy. And you know what the best part would be? The Nei version of "Candle In The Wind." Get your kleenex now, folks. "Goodbye, Mota's rose..."

David Bowie as The Armor Store Clerk: This is another one of those incredibly obvious castings, but I have to admit I never noticed it until it was pointed out to me by Simehiri on the Phantasy Star Discussion Board. This isn't just a simple matter of the Armor Store Clerk being a dead ringer for Bowie, either -- throughout his career, Bowie has had both some looks and some tunes that definitely could be considered cyberpunk, so he would definitely fit right in with the Phantasy Star II setting. And to top it all off, this isn't just a matter of putting a musician in a role. Bowie has some acting experience, most notably in the Jim Henson/George Lucas team-up film Labyrinth. So this one is definitely a no-brainer; David Bowie is the Armor Store Clerk!

Lita Ford as The Weapons Store Clerk: This one also comes with a shout-out to Simehiri, who suggested the idea. And this is another one that should have been obvious to me a long time ago. The Weapons Store Clerk is the ultimate 80s punker chick -- but in real life, that title goes to Lita Ford, the queen of heavy metal. She mastered the big-huge-hair look that was popular back then, and if you've heard any of her songs, tell me you can't hear her give this role's signature line: "Later, ace!" There's really not much more to say about this role than that... except that she could also provide some killer guitar solos for the movie's soundtrack.

Sally Jesse Raphaël as The Central Tower Librarian: "Sally" is not my favorite talk show host -- that honor goes to the one and only Jerry Springer -- but she sure as hell must be Tohoru Yoshida's favorite, since Sally and The Central Tower Librarian look almost exactly alike. I'm telling you, give the librarian some red-framed glasses, and we're talking spitting image here. I don't think Sally has any aspirations to act (I also don't think she has any aspirations of covering any topic on her show other than unruly teenage kids and women with bad boyfriends/husbands), but screw it, that's why this is a Dream Cast. Get Sally to the Central Tower Library set, and after Nei's death at Climatrol, make sure Sally gets Rolf in touch with the post-show aftercare department, so he can get help in dealing with his issues.

Charlton Heston as The Commander of Mota: What a cameo this would be! "Rolf, go to Biosystems Lab and retreive the recorder. Don't worry about how you're going to get to Climatrol; I'll part the waters for you. And remember, don't eat the Soylent Green... because Soylent Green is made out of people, you damn dirty ape!" Seriously, there's probably other guys who look more like the Commander than Heston does, but Heston... well, he's just meant to cameo in Phantasy Star II as the Commander. So somebody go suit him up! And you want to know what the best part of having Heston in the movie is? We get expert NRA opinion on all of our gun props! Is that cool, or what?

Dark Force created with CGI technology: Just like the Dark Force fought and defeated by Alis Landale, the only way to bring this three-faced demon to the silver screen would be to bring him through the dimensional seal with a computer. This Dark Force, especially, is simply too big to use an actor in a costume, and an audio-animatronic I fear would be way too expensive. Besides, with a costume or a robot, you wouldn't be able to see Dark Force ooze out of the treasure chest, as I imagine him doing. There is some debate about whether or not the lines, "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! This is Pandora's box! It contains all that is evil, all that you call the dark force! This is a present from our world to all of you! Take it!" are spoken by the Earthmen or by Dark Force, but its my opinion that these words belong to Dark Force, and so the vocal talents of Tim Curry will be required, as well.

Uma Thurman as Mother Brain: Right up front, let me state that considering Mother Brain is a computer, I think her on-screen presence should be computer generated. Still, though, we need a model for our CGI, and we need a voice for it, as well. Enter Uma Thurman. Considering the game gives us such a good look at Mother Brain's face, just about any long-haired female can get the job. However, Uma Thurman has shown in her various roles that she knows how to play a femme fatale who can very subtley but very clearly express how dangerous she is, and that, my fellow phanatics, is exactly how I view Mother Brain.

Thomas Ian Griffith as The Leader of the Earthmen: Griffith portrays great villains. He was a vampire in John Carpenter's Vampires but my personal favorite villain role of his is Terry Silver in The Karate Kid, Part III. Terry Silver -- much like Darth Vader, Boba Fett, or The Joker -- is one of those few great villains who are bad to the bone, but also hellacool (a little Eric Cartman lingo, there). As the Earthmen Leader, Griffith would perfectly be able to convey both the apparent friendliness, as well as the subtle deadliness the man who speaks for the humans conveys to Rolf and his friends. And in another one of those little coincidences that make this casting complete, Griffith is from Connecticut, and in my Phantasy Star Ultimate Brief Adventure "The Non-Conformist," I established that Terrick, PSU's version of the Earthman Leader who speaks to Rolf, is also from Connecticut. Yeah!

Finally, Phantasy Star II should feature a very special cameo:

Macaulay Culkin as The "Omigosh!" Guy

				Let's pray that day comes soon then. Because our journey isn't going to be an easy one.
Please send all comments and feedback to mike at ripplinger dot us