Multiple Man: Keys for James Franco playing James Madrox

With James Franco set to star in Multiple Man, what are the keys to making it successful?

Movie star James Franco (Spider-Man 1-3, 172 Hours, and Pineapple Express) will be playing the mutant known as James Madrox a.k.a. The Multiple Man. CBR.com reported that Franco is pushing for a hard R movie like Deadpool and Logan. Madrox may not be an R rated character, however, this does allow for the story to have the freedom Franco may need to play this character properly.

I’ve had opinions on Franco playing one of my favorite characters, but we’ve all been wrong with casting in the past. We can look as far back as Heath Ledger as the Joker and as recent as Ben Affleck as Batman. Both actors were criticized before they even dawned their costumes. After their performances, both Affleck and Ledger were praised for their performances.

Image source: Marvel Comics

Playing Multiple Personalities

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A character without weaknesses isn’t a strong character. Wolverine wouldn’t be interesting if won every fight. Batman and Punisher with a healing factor would be boring and take away from what makes them great. Jamie Madrox has a plethora of skills ranging from fighting, knowledge of the human body, speaks numerous languages, and more. He has all of these skills and he can produce an army all by himself with all of those skills. Despite all of these skills, Madrox is the most indecisive comic book character ever. But, as Madrox puts it, it’s hard to make one decision when you can go in every direction. A lot of the time Madrox ends up not making a decision until he absolutely has to.

Like most of your favorite solo comic book characters, Madrox monologues. But Madrox does it a bit different than others. Madrox spends a lot of his time talking to himself. Usually, it’s about what decision to make and debating with himself about whether it was the right one. When Madrox’s team X-Factor team was arguing with one another about the Superhuman Registration Act, Madrox was talking to himself an hoping they wouldn’t ask him to make a decision. Of course, since he’s their leader, they did. Instead of answering, Madrox got up a left because he didn’t know what to say. Eventually, with a little help from Layla Miller, Madrox made a decision. But it’s moments like this that are a necessity. The other part of this is that while Madrox is insecure, he also has to be very…

image source: Marvel Comics

Tough

Even though Madrox is insecure and indecisive, he’s one of the more underrated characters when it comes to toughness. Madrox has spent years being a hero with the X-Men and with the U.S. Government. And, as noted, Madrox has sent dupes all around the world to learn different forms of martial arts. He’s gone toe to toe with characters he shouldn’t beat and win. That includes killing a guy with a playing card. These are feats that not every comic book character is going to be able to accomplish.

Maybe as important as everything else I’ve said is making sure Madrox is tough. Franco absolutely has to show Madrox’s fighting prowess, intensity, and toughness. Franco is going to have to balance Madrox’s goofy jokes (that people rarely get) and his insecurities all while maintaining the Noir (a genre of crime film or fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and moral ambiguity) tough guy persona.

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As noted, issues remain with Franco playing Madrox. But, maybe it won’t be so bad and result in something positive. This veteran actor has played numerous roles well, so not only will he be a great selection, but surprise everyone in the process.