The Skeleton Key Release Week: Casting List
I’m casting Keys & Guardians: The Movie Series. The rules are, the era doesn’t matter. If I pick someone who is too old to play the character, it means they would play the character when they were the right age. Are you ready for my time-defying dream cast?
Jacklyn Madison: Debbie Ryan
Dark curly hair, round face, beautiful and able to deliver snark-castic lines with the greatest of ease. Debbie Ryan can deliver the most ridiculous lines with genuine emotion and heart. She’s definitely perfect for this role.
Kyp Franklin: Matthew Daddario
Dark hair, dark eyes, tall, grumpy—Matt Daddario would sell the hell out of it. I’ll admit, my Kyp has changed often over the years, and nothing quite captures it like the artistic rendering I commissioned a while ago, but he’s the closest I can imagine.
Gana Madison: Michelle Trachtenberg
We already know Michelle Trachtenberg can play the sister to a hero, but she was only given the opportunity to play the role of a whiny kid sister. Wouldn’t it be fun to give her the chance to play a smartass genius like Gana? I would love to see it, and I think she has the right look. She’d just need to lighten her hair a bit and cut it. Gana was a blonde after all.
Jaina Doswell - Amber Benson
Continuing along the trend of Buffy actresses that I would love to see doing more interesting roles, I would love to see Amber tackle the role of Jacklyn’s mother. I’m not sure why. This is just always how I envisioned Jaina, even in her younger years.
Cassandra Noble - Gabrielle Union
Cass is as beautiful as she is tough. Loyal but never to the point of foolishness. I love her character so much. And while I’ve changed a lot of my brain casts for this character, Gabrielle Union won me over as Cass back in the days of Bring it On.
Kylie Robertson - Peyton List
Pretty, angelic appearance? Check. Looks almost breakable? Check. Ability to play a badass bitch (Cobra Kai)? Check and Check. I would love her for this role.
Ross Ebell - Alexander Ludwig
Sure, he was a teen killer with conviction as Cato in The Hunger Games, but that’s exactly who Ross believes he is. So why not give Mr. Ludwig a role that balances that with a healthy dose of complete screw up.
Lavinia Franklin - Famke Janssen
Ms. Janssen has already proven she can play harsh matriarchs in Hemlock Grove, and badasses with psychic abilities in X-Men. Who better for Kyp’s commanding Mind Key mama?
And now for the new people you’ll be meeting in The Skeleton Key, so SPOILER ALERT!
Raymond Madison - Colin O'Donoghue
Who can do an Irish accent and play loveable, foolish, arrogant, and heroic all at once? Well, none other than Once Upon A Time’s Colin O’Donoghue–and he doesn’t even have to put on the accent! We might have to age him up a little bit, but he’s proven he has The Right Stuff. That was 100% a pun because he was in that too.
And though we technically met Ray at the end of Book 1, he was a major spoiler there, so I’ve been keeping his presence here close to the chest.
Karen Zane - Lucy Liu
Zane is a technomancer, a good friend to Jacklyn and her team, and a romantic interest for Ray. She was actually mentioned in Book 1 as the contact Cass gets the fake identification from. Zane was a fun character to write–a bit irreverent, smart as a whip, but cautious about getting in too deep, she’s known about this battle from the beginning, but only Ray can get her to pick a side. Lucy Liu is not only an amazing actress, but she kicks ass and has brilliant comedic timing—all must haves for this role.
Austin Shelton–Charlie Hunnam
Sure, Charlie’s a British man and doesn’t have a bit of that Texas twang Austin sports, but visually, he’s 100% the guy for this role. Just age him down a little and you’ve got the perfect Austin! So who’s Austin? Austin is the new best friend Jacklyn’s made in her time away from Kyp and Cass. He’s a tough guy with vengeance on his mind and he’s sorely protective of his girl, Jacks. And possibly into her, at least if you take Kyp’s word on the matter.
Drew Clayson–Nadji Jeter
Drew is one of my favorite additions to the Order. He’s clever and kind, and more pragmatic than Kyp can handle. He’s the perfect balance between Cass and Kyp, which is his primary crew. Where Cass is duty and Kyp is wild emotion, Drew is the one who should really be making the decisions here. I’ve seen Nadji Jeter as Drew ever since I saw him in the movie Wonder, and that vibe only intensified with his turn as Miles Morales for PS5’s debut game. Strong fighting skills, but an even stronger sense of heart, I think you’ll all love Drew too.
Okay, that’s my cast! I hope you enjoyed putting some faces to my characters as much as I loved sharing them with you!
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