Friday Fantasy Adaptation: Hero by Perry Moore

Rare is it these days that I have time to curl up with a book and even more rare that I get captivated by a book to this extent. Hero, the novel by Perry Moore seemed like a logical choice to read since it was a different take on superheroes than I’d previously read and it makes for a great entry into the Friday Fantasy Adaptation group. 

Pros: a gay superhero!, incredibly deft handling of social issues, extremely relatable central character, um did I mention superheroes?, the climax is perfect, great for tv miniseries world building

Cons: HAS to be a TV miniseries, been in development hell for a good long while (bad sign), who do you sell these oddball characters?, kind of retro

Analysis
This is the first time I’ve talked about a book needing to be a mini-series but if anything were set up to be an awesome experience on the small screen, Hero is it. Moore gives you everything you need and more in order to craft a compelling 3-5 episode mini-series. It’s a superhero tale, a murder mystery, a teen romance, a familial relationship drama…literally everything is here. What struck me most about the story was how it dealt with the complexities of superheroes both in and out of costume as well as not treating it’s gay protagonist with kid gloves. The superhero genre could also do with a bit of a shake up, as it tends to get incredibly rote and there’s enough. The main difficulty with bringing something like this to the screen, isn’t necessarily the gay storyline (though that’s certainly a hinderance tbh), it’s that the other characters are so strange. You’ve got all of the carbon copies of Superman and the Flash sure, but how do you rationalize Typhoid Larry? Speaking of the gay storyline, while I’m well aware much of the stuff that happens to Thom still happens, in order to sell this, you’d probably have to set the tale about 5-10 in the past. Will this confuse people? Do people want another version of a coming out story line? And for as great an adaptation as this could make, the development trouble this book has had would give me pause. This material would work best on TV with someone who understood how to expand the world (*cough*like me*cough*).

Casting
In terms of casting, I actually have no really solid idea who could fill the top two roles of Thom and Goran, which I actually find exciting. Those characters jumped off of the page more for their actions than looks. Maybe someone like Ian Nelson, who recently starred as baby!Derek on MTV’s Teen Wolf would be a good fit, but I have no clue what that character really looks like. I also think that for all the wonderfulness that Moore brought with the characters, they are all white. And I mean ALL white, Goran is eastern European. On that standpoint, I’d probably change Goran’s race to Latino, and for that matter Miss Scarlett as well. Hell, why not Typhoid Larry as well.

Ian Nelson as Thom – He’s got charisma out the wazoo and he’s just delicate enough to pull off some of Thorn’s more difficult aspects.

Jake T. Austin as Goran – Looks like he could hold his own against Ian in the physical and acting department, and could convincingly play a love interest with a tough exterior.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Hal Creed – He can conjure enough righteous rage/heartbreak to play the homophobic father and has enough gravitas to understand when to pull back and be sensitive.

Maiara Walsh as Miss Scarlett – She was deliciously bitchy on Desperate Housewives, but would channel Scarlett’s inner turmoil and fury very well.

Ann Dowd as Ruth – Dowd, whose performance in Compliance opened many an eye, would CRUSH it as the chain smoking, future seeing woman who  is harboring a tough secret.

Garrett Clayton as Golden Boy – When I watched Teen Beach Movie (shut up!) recently, he really stuck out. He’s almost inhumanly pretty aesthetically and seems like he’d be up for a round or two of verbal battle with Maiara’s Miss Scarlett.

Denzel Whitaker as Typhoid Larry – This was a spur of the moment choice but he was so great at playing both younger/older than his years in The Great Debators. Plus you need a strong actor to sell this character.

Ian Bohen as Justice – He’s certainly got the face for this role and it would be fun to see him play a Superman-esque character whose facade is hiding something murky.

Scott Eastwood as Uberman – This character is supposed to be a walking wet dream for Thom, so…yeah…

Gina Torres as Warrior Woman – If I can’t get her as Wonder Woman, than she’d be perfect for this part that’s virtually similar.

Luke Evans as Snake – Closeted actor as a closeted villain who shares an interesting experience with Thom? Match made in heaven.