2020 Martian Manhunter Movie Fan Casting-- Michael Rispoli as Captain Harding

If I'm trying to focus on the Detective Comics run of John Jones in this casting, Captain Harding is a pretty immediate concern. I hopscotched to Diane Meade on the basis of a thin thread of gender balance, but he's an inevitablity. In all honesty, I thought this might be my first pass, and was prepared to just nod at Ryan Daly's Michael O'Neill selection. It turned out that I actually had cast Harding for my fake 1968 motion picture with Simon Oakland, and it was a pretty darned good take if I do say so myself, but I got blocked and abandoned that project without ever giving him a spotlight post.

The truth is, I don't have strong feelings about Captain Harding, who never got a first name despite appearing in about 75 comics. That says a lot right there, as does his absence from Who's Who or any other common fan reference books. Harding wasn't in the origin story, and he spent a decade being the exposition guy in an unheralded back-up strip. I could have done a race-swap, but I felt like it would be a disservice; another instance of low stakes lip service to diversity. Ultimately, I just Googled for a guy with the right look and a resume that suggests a notable actor willing to take a fairly thankless role. Michael Rispoli is best known for almost playing Tony Soprano, but he's a solid character actor from some well loved productions who could bring the right presence to probably being the story set-up guy here, too.