Scott Wolf as Prince Rhys of Landen: Scott Wolf already has a history of acting in films based on video games. (You know this if you are one of the ten people in America who saw Double Dragon.) But besides that, Scott Wolf also has a history of being the star of Party of Five, on which his work has been, in a word, phenomenal. The arc in which his character, Bailey Salinger, dealt with alcoholism is some of the most powerful television I've ever seen in my life. When you watch Scott Wolf act, you feel as though you're watching not a movie or a TV show, but a real person's real life. And on top of all of that, he looks a lot like Prince Rhys of Landen, so yippee for us! All we need now is our gopher boy to run back to Sally's Beauty Supply to get us some more blue hair dye. (Do ya think it's possible for us to buy that stuff in bulk?)

Denise Richards as Mieu and Miun: As Carmen Ibanez in Starship Troopers (a very, very cool movie -- I highly reccomend it, and so long as you're a geek like me, I will not lead you wrong when it comes to cool movies), Richards proved that she's not just a pretty face by convincingly playing a brainy starship pilot, and when it comes to the character of Mieu, we definitely need someone with smarts. Aside from brains, though, Denise Richards also has the athletic build necessary to portray the graceful Mieu. Finally, there's the age factor. Mieu is over one-thousand years old, and Richards... well, by golly, she doesn't look a day over seven-hundred! Methinks that settles the matter.

Jeff Goldblum as Wren and Siren: Jeff Goldblum has played lots of different roles during his illustrious career, but I don't think he's ever played a Transformer... until now. The actor in the role of PSIII Wren had better be a good one, since he's got a total of three Phantasy Star roles in his future: PSIII Wren, PSIV Wren, and Siren. Goldblum may not have an Oscar under his belt (but then again, he and everyone else involved with Independence Day did get robbed by the Academy, so screw you, Oscar!), but that doesn't mean Goldblum isn't a great actor, because he is. Do you think we can convince Goldblum to commit to so much work? Well, we do have this bargaining chip on our side: in two of his PS roles, he's one of the few PS actors lucky enough to not need hair dye. How cool is that? And if that doesn't convince him, well, umm... Goldblum hasn't earned a $20 million paycheck yet, and this Dream Cast's pay comes out of a Dream Budget. So there ya go.

David Boreanaz as Prince Lyle of Shusoran: First Sarah Michelle Gellar as Shir, now David Boreanaz as Lyle. What's this, anyone from Buffy the Vampire Slayer has to play a PS character with green hair? What's next, "Xander" as one of the green-haired PSIV Espers? (Just kidding.) On Buffy, Boreanaz plays Angel, who once was a good vampire until he had sex with his girlfriend, and then he lost his soul. (Umm, I think. I like the show, but I'm not, like, a die-hard fan or anything, and I missed that episode.) So he probably hasn't done anything in his past that gives him experience in playing a Layan prince who has the power of the dragon knight, but hey, since when is experience a factor in making a PS Dream Cast? Mainly, you gotta have the looks (and Boreanaz is a very good match for Lyle, I think) and you gotta be the appropriate age (or at least, you gotta look like you're the appropriare age) and of course, you have to be able to act. Boreanaz is my pick to play my favorite PSIII character, the Prince of Shusoran.

Christina Ricci as Princess Lena of Satera: Ricci seems a little bit younger than her fellow PSIII First Generation human characters, but that's okay, because Lena herself seems a tad younger than Rhys, Lyle, and Maia, as well. I see a very bright future for Christina Ricci's career. Her big break came with two hillarous outings as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, and from there, her star has just gotten brighter and brighter. She is a very talented young actress, and with short hair and a pair of nice, shiny earrings, she'd be quite the carbon copy of Princess Lena.

Liv Tyler as Princess Maia of Cille: The role of Maia, though it shall certainly be developed for the silver screen, is, in the game, little more than a cameo. If the movie Maia is the same way, than we need an actress in the role who can , in a very short time, establish a character that the audience will care enough about to understand why Rhys embarks on his adventure. Or, at the very least, we need someone that the, shall we say, "less than brainy" males in the audience can take one look at and say, "Heh, well, if my girl looked like that, then I'd go search for her, too." Enter Liv Tyler. She fits into both possibilities very nicely. As long as her presence in the film doesn't require an Aerosmith song to appear on the movie's soundtrack, then we have our Maia.

Tom Selleck as King Cille: The game itself doesn't give us a good view of King Cille's face, but the PSIII Unofficial Character Book gives us a very clear, very realistic shot of King Cille's face, and Toyo Ozaki must have been watching Magnum, PI when she designed King Cille because he looks exactly like Tom Selleck. Best known as Magnum and for his role in Three Men and a Baby, Selleck was also the original choice to play Indiana Jones. (When his Magnum, PI commitments prohibited him from taking the role, it went to Harrison Ford, and the rest, as they say, was history.) Since Selleck missed out on Indy, and since he's not in Star Wars, let's put him in the final unit of the triumvirate, a Phantasy Star movie. Besides, if he was tough enough to be considered for the role of Indiana Jones, he's tough enough to get his ass kicked over his daughter's hand, right?

Avery Brooks as Landen's Fortune Teller: With Avery Brooks in this role, a cameo appearance just might steal the show. I love the role of the fortune teller because... well... he's right! You don't understand a damn thing he's saying when you first visit him, but later, upon reflection at the end of the game, you understand that everything he said came true. Now just imagine Brooks (best known as Hawk on both Spencer: For Hire and A Man Named Hawk and as my hero, Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) warning in his deep, authoritve, one-of-a-kind voice, "Worlds shall burn if the prince's will falters!" Perfect, isn't it? When he tells Rhys to "Take heed!" the unspoken warning will be, "Or die, prince!"

Gregory Smith as Prince Ayn of Cille: The absolute hardest part about casting the characters of Ayn's quest is that, during the adventure, Ayn is a mere fifteen years old. I know twenty-somethings play high schoolers all the time in the movies, but fifteen is simply too young for your average Hollywood twenty-something actor. You need someone who is actually that age, or close. Enter Gregory Smith, who was born in 1983, so he qualifies beautifully. Smith played the lead character, Alan Abernathy, in Small Soldiers, which was a very, very fun film, and that's where I noticed him. He's Canadian by birth (I wonder if he's a fan of Canada's all-time greatest television show, Terrence and Phillip?), but I think we can easily make him into a half-Orakian half-Layan prince with just a little bit of hair dye and some extensions for Ayn's ultra-cool ponytail.

Danielle Fishel as Princess Thea of Shusoran: My friend Melissa likes watching the show Boy Meets World, on which Danielle Fishel plays the girl with the strangest name I have ever heard in my life, and that counts such Phantasy Star names as Thea; that name being, "Toponga." Anyway, that aside, I think Fishel would very nicely fill the role of Princess Thea of Shusoran. She bares more than just a passing resemblence to King Lyle's daughter, and most importantly, she easily can pass for a girl in her mid-teens, which is what Thea is. So, umm... yeah, we have our Thea! (I hope Fishel doesn't mind jail sets.)

Lacey Chabert as Queen Sari of Landen and Satera: Lacey Chabert is probably best known for playing the role of young violin prodigy Claudia Salinger on Fox's Party of Five. The character of Claudia is usually a very happy, chipper young lass, but when she gets angry... yikes! Watch out, kids! It's that side of Chabert's portrayal of Claudia that prompts me to cast her in the role of Sari. This queen of Landen and Satera is such an interesting character because she seems so fiesty, so bitter. She only grudgingly accompanies Ayn in order to guard the power topaz; because of this, I see Sari as the one Phantasy Star character who actually hates the group's leader. It's an interesting twist, and I feel that Chabert, though young, definitely has the talent required to pull off such a complex role.

Rider Strong as Prince Nial of Landen and Satera: God help me, it's another actor from Boy Meets World. (Actually, wanna hear a secret? I will never, ever admit this again to any living soul, but sometimes, just sometimes, Boy Meets World is a kind of cute show.) Anyway, one day when I was watching Boy Meets... I mean, one day when I was flipping through the channels and saw it was on, I got to thinking that Rider Strong kind of looks like Prince Nial -- I think it's that they both have the same poofy hair... and Strong's is even the right color for the part of Nial! Now if that ain't an endorsement from The Great Light himself, I don't know what is...

Chow Yun-Fat as Ryan: Let me state this right up front: Chow Yun-Fat defines coolness. He is the baddest bad-ass on the face of the Earth. He is the greatest thing to come out of Hong Kong since Star Wars action figures. He rules. So naturally, he has to have a part in any Phantasy Star Dream Cast with which I have anything to do with. However, the lack of asians in the Algo Star System (and all of the games' artwork was drawn by asians -- how weird is that?) limits the number of roles Mr. Chow could play. But Chow Yun-Fat looks his absolute coolest behind a pair of sunglasses, anyway, so the role of Ryan is perfect for him. Now, with Chow Yun-Fat in this role, do you think we could get John Woo to direct the PSIII movie? Or would that turn the Nei Sword into the Nei Double Colt .45's?

Kirsten Dunst as the younger sister Laya: At a very young age, Dunst has already become an accomplished actress. She first made a name for herself in Interview With The Vampire, and since then, her star has only continued to skyrocket. The cool thing about Dunst is that even though she's young, she's a great actress. She also once guest-starred on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ("Dark Page") so you know that makes her cool. Plus, as I understand it, she's also a fan favorite to play the lead role in a Sailor Moon dream cast. Wow, I bet she wishes these dream cast things were real, eh? Anyway, somebody call Miss Dunst to the set, but before she gets there, please remind her to apply her red dot to her forehead.

Megan Parlen as Alair: I first noticed Megan Parlen years ago when she guest-starred on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called "Rascals," in which several members of the crew were turned into children due to a transporter accident. (Don't ask. It was not the series's finest hour.) In that episode, Parlen played the role of the child Ro Laren, and what impressed me about her performance is that she played the role quite accurately; never once did one not believe that she was, indeed, the Ensign Ro we had previously known, simply un-grown-up and reverted into a child. Through the years, I've always noted Parlen whenever I saw her on TV as "that one girl who played young Ro in that one episode," and so based on the facts that I feel she bears quite a resemblence to Alair, as well as the fact that her tremendous acting job at such a young age in "Rascals" is indicative of lots of talent, I officially cast Megan Parlen in the role of Alair.

Paul Rudd as Lune: I was at my local video store (Express Discount Video. If they had a web site, I would link to it, but I don't think they do. They're just a small local chain, but they rule), searching for a couple of prospective rentals, when I looked up at the movie playing on the store's monitors. I didn't recognize the film, but I recognized its star as Paul Rudd -- he played Josh in Clueless and I believe he was also in Halloween 6. Anyway, as I stood there in the action section, I experienced a moment of total clarity in which I said to myself, "Mike, there is no better action film director in the world than John Woo. Oh yeah, and Paul Rudd up on the screen there would make a great Lune." It hit me, just like that. And so, here he is. Most of the roles I've seen him in are "nice guy roles," which means he'll play Lune just fine after Nial kicks his old cryogenic backside, but I also believe he's demonstrated enough range in the roles I've seen him in that I remain confident he'll play a great "bad guy" Lune, too. So, somebody give him a slicer, or something.

Edward Furlong as Prince Sean of Azura: Furlong was first noticed as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Ever since then, he's remained in the business, but he's yet to have another blockbuster role... that is, until his starring role in the $200 million dollar opening weekend motion picture phenomenon known as Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom. Now, like a few other roles, there is evidence to suggest that this casting is simply Meant To Be: further down, you will find that the actor I have chosen to play Orakio is the actor who, in the Terminator films, portrayed Kyle Reese, the father of Furlong's character. So you see, Furlong truly is a "son of Orakio."

Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Prince Crys of Landen, Satera, and Azura: I remember once hearing someone, I don't recall who, dream casting Jonathan Taylor Thomas -- best known from Tiger Beat magazine and his role as one of the kids on Home Improvement (I don't know the Home Improvement kids' names, and I don't care, either) -- as the voice of Myau. I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree with that dream casting. First, I just don't hear Myau's voice in Thomas's, but second, I think that would be kind of a waste considering the strong physical similarities between Thomas and Prince Crys. And now, at this point, I'd like to make my Phantasy Star Dream Cast site a little interactive. I now invite you, the site visitor, to insert your own smart-ass remark here. After all, I can't have all the fun, can I?

Rose McGowan as Kara: To be perfectly honest, the only movie I've seen Rose McGowan in is Scream, in which she played Tatum and got crushed by an opening garage door. What I noticed about McGowan in this movie, however, is that she had a perpetually pissed off look on her face. It never disappeared! Even when her character was supposedly happy, it was there, at least a little bit. Doesn't that remind you of this version of Kara? From what little we see of her during the game, I'm convinced that this version of Kara simply never smiles. This seemingly complete lack of happiness -- or more correctly, the ability to convey this sense on the silver screen -- makes Rose McGowan the perfect choice for to play this version of Kara.

Devon Sawa as Prince Adan of Landen, Satera, and Mystoke: If you've read my homepage, you know I work at Toys "R" Us. Anyway, one of the movies we sell there is Wild America, and so everyday, I would see that movie's cover, with Devon Sawa here on it. With his blonde hair, parted right down the middle... my word, put a red dot on his forehead, and he's Prince Adan! In researching Sawa for this casting, I was a little surprised to find him a tad older than I thought. However, it is my opinion that he still looks sixteen-ish, and so with the age issue not a problem, give the man a black sword and get him on the set as Adan.

Marne Patterson as Princess Gwyn of Landen, Satera, and Mystoke: I would normally never, ever watch a show like Something So Right, but when I'm flipping through channels and I see a glimpse of someone I think resembles a Phantasy Star character, I stop and watch for a while. (You see the lengths I go to in order to better dream cast Phantasy Star movies for you, my fellow phanatics?) Anyway, one day, I saw the above-mentioned Something So Right, as well as one of its stars, Marne Patterson. Not only did I feel she looked like Princess Gwyn, but I also felt she could pass as Devon Sawa's fraternal twin -- at least, they look more like twins than 90210's Jason Priestly and Shannen Doherty!

Joshua Jackson as Prince Aron of Landen, Satera, and Dahlia: Jackson is best known for his roles on Dawson's Creek and in Urban Legend, but I choose him for this role for one reason: brashness. Based on Aron's picture, I've always seen him as quite brash and cocky, and Joshua Jackson seems to radiate this kind of confidence, as well. I also feel that of all the roles I've dream casted, this one is high on the list of actors who most resemble their Algoian counterparts. I suppose all that is left is to call Mr. Jackson in for an audition, to make sure he can accurately portray the sense of wonder and fear as a world-ship travels through a black hole. We all know what that's like, don't we?

Alyson Hannigan as Kara: Take one look at Alyson Hannigan, best known for her role of Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and if you don't see a physical resemblence right away between herself and this version of Kara, you should at least be able to read a few common personality traits on both of their faces: innocence, sweetness, maybe a little fear at what is in store... but determination, as well. I realize that, unlike Kara, Hannigan's mouth is much more than just slightly wider than her nose, but then, I've yet to see a single real, live human being with a mouth as small as those of PSIII's females. However, you know what the coolest thing about Hannigan is? Look at how she spells her first name: A... L... Y... S... "Alys"! It's as if she was meant to portray an Algoian character, isn't it?

Michael Biehn as Orakio and Rulakir: They're twin brothers, so they should be played by the same actor, yes? Michael Biehn is the perfect choice. In Aliens, as Hicks, Biehn showed us he can play a leader -- that's Orakio. In The Terminator, as Kyle Reese, Biehn showed us he can play someone devoted to his cause -- that's Orakio, too, and Rulakir, for that matter. And in The Abyss, Biehn played a psychopath -- I'd say that's the classification the Dark Force-possessed Rulakir falls under, wouldn't you? I originally cast Michael Biehn as Agent Rolf in Phantasy Star II, but I came to realize he was a bit old for the part of the twenty-year old Rolf, and so instead, I think he would best play Rulakir. He certainly isn't too old to play a guy well over one thousand years old!

Mira Sorvino as the elder sister Laya: The picture you see to your left is the only glimpse we see in the game of the elder Laya, the one who fought Dark Force with Orakio 1,000 years before the time of Rhys. So, because that picture gives us such a good look at Laya's face, I decided to cast the role of elder Laya by casting someone whom I think could pass as Kirsten Dunst's older sister. Mira Sorvino, an Oscar-award winning actress for her role in Mighty Aphrodite, fits that bill quite nicely. Also, she proved in The Replacement Killers that she knows how to kick backside, so she'd perfectly portray the archery queen of the Alisa III in Phantasy Star III's prologue/flashback sequences.

Dark Force created with CGI technology: By this time, you know the drill: even if it is possible to bring this Dark Force to life with a guy in a costume, it wouldn't be nearly as cool as it would be if Dark Force broke free from his Sunken Palace prison via a computer. Actually, for the final battle with Dark Force to work, as I vision it, a completely computer generated set would be required, as I view our various heroes fighting for dear life while precariously balanced on debris floating in Dark Force's lava pit. Finally, as there can be no debate that this Dark Force, at least, speaks, Tim Curry's vocal talents will be required.

				I choose you, Sari, as my one true love.
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