EMPOWERED casting call: Kicking it off with Elissa Megan Powers!

Whilst trying to think of something interactive to put up on this here Patreon, I wound up pondering, "Why not get some kinda Empowered casting-call dealie a-rolling just for the heck of it?"

For the record, nary a nibble of interest in optioning Empowered has been expressed anywhere since a (luckily) failed MTV pitch 5 or 6 years ago, nor do I much give a crap any more. Still, I get the impression that readers like to discuss casting calls along these lines, as I've periodically seen actors and actresses suggested in webcomic comments and even here on the ol' Patreon from time to time.

While animation would, I think, be an easier way to adapt Empowered, for the purposes of this post let's imagine a (not-gonna-happen) live-action version of the property.

So, to kick things off, a few weeks ago I solicited nominations from the higher Patron tiers for actresses who could—or could have, years or possibly decades ago—portrayed our protagonist, Elissa Megan Powers (aka Empowered, aka Emp.) Note that this isn't a real casting call as such, so Patrons could've nominated vintage icons like, I dunno, Catherine Deneuve or Marilyn Monroe; and in the list below, some of the actresses are being nominated as if this nonexistent Empowered adaptation had taken place a decade or more ago.

The idea, here, is for all Patrons to vote on an actress who could've played Emp; then, at some point down the road, I'll try to work in an art-req sketch-set image featuring the winning actress in Empowered-character costume. Sound viable? Hope so! (We'll work our way through the rest of the Empowered cast in the months to come, never fear.)

So here are our 10 Emp finalists, along with some quick reference images I dug up online. (Note that this selection tends toward largely old-school, Wizard-magazine-style "hair color casting," but what the heck.)

First up is Katherine Langford (Spontaneous, 13 Reasons Why), which is kind of cheating on my part as I'm already planning on doing some Emp-ref life drawing studies from her blonde-dyed look in Spontaneous:

Amanda Seyfried (Mank, Big Love, etc.):

Kathryn Newton (Freaky):

Lily Reinhart (Riverdale):

Chloe Grace Moritz (Kickass, etc):

Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), because why not:

Emily Browning (Sucker Punch):

Hayley Atwell (Captain America, Agent Carter):

I'm tacking on French actress Ludivine Seigner, as I've used images from her 2003 flick Swimming Pool as actual reference for Emp early on in the series:

And finally, we have Maika Monroe (It Follows, The Guest):

UPDATE: Whoops, added an 11th actress to the list, as I belatedly recalled that I had Emp herself state somewhere that she assumed Kristen Bell would play her in a movie. So...

Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, The Good Place, etc.):

(Note, by the way, that what was intended as a fun, quick, throwaway post wound up taking longer to assemble than any other g-d Patreon update I've ever done. Whoops, again!)

So, vote away, Patrons! Who could (or could have) best played Elissa Megan Powers? Lemme know!