10 Movies and TV Shows That Got Fancasting Right

Fancasting—fans naming their ideal performers for upcoming roles—has been part of film and TV culture for decades. Often viewers are disappointed, but sometimes productions pick the same actors audiences wanted and the results stick. Recent examples include Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel in the live-action Tangled and Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia on Netflix's The Witcher, a role he later left.

Patrick Stewart ultimately became Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men after years of fan campaigning, and Jamie Lee Curtis has been cast as Jessica Fletcher for the Murder She Wrote movie. Benedict Cumberbatch's casting as Dr. Stephen Strange and Samuel L. Jackson's turn as Nick Fury are other notable wins—Jackson even discovered the comic character had been modelled on his likeness.

Ryan Reynolds landed Wade Wilson after fan excitement around leaked test footage, and David Tennant returned to Doctor Who as a new incarnation of the Doctor.

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