More casting news today! In an exclusive article, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Austin Butler has been cast as Wil Ohmsford! Click HERE to read about it.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
Austin Butler is going from playing a 1980s heartthrob to portraying an elf.
The Carrie Diaries alum has booked the high-profile male lead in MTV’s adaptation of Terry Brooks’ best-selling series Shannara, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Butler will star as Wil Ohmsford, who is half human and half elf . Self-conscious, he has spent his life trying to hide his pointed ears. Kind, thoughtful, and likable, he has an appealing self-deprecating manner, but his easygoing life is about to be turned upside down when he learns that he is the last of the legendary Shannara family. Charged with finding the Druid who will guide him to his destiny, Wil realizes his dangerous journey is just beginning. When Calls the Heart‘s Poppy Drayton stars as Amberle, the elfin princess.
Butler, who most recently has been recurring on The CW’s Arrow as Thea’s love interest, is repped by WME and Anonymous Content. He starred for two seasons as a young Carrie Bradshaw’s love interest on The CW’s Sex and the City prequel The Carrie Diaries, with credits also including Life Unexpected and Switched at Birth. He next stars opposite Johnny Depp in Kevin Smith’s Yoga Hosers and recently appeared in the Geffen Playhouse’s Death of the Author.
Now, before anyone starts cursing, I will say that Wil does not seek out Allanon in the TV show, just like Ander is not a “wild, party boy.” Keep in mind that the people who write these articles have not read the scripts. Terry has read and worked on the scripts and he will be writing something up about this later today, to be posted as soon as possible.
For now, what do you think about this casting. Looks like Wil to me!
More casting soon!
Stay tuned!
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29 responses to “SHANNARA On MTV: Wil Ohmsford Cast”
“Hollywood” + “Reporter” = “Gossip” – “Facts”
Good to know that Terry is involved in the scripts, I was wondering about that. As far as the look goes, I think that the people who have been cast so far bear a very good likeness to the character descriptions in the book. Not to say that they match up with how I (and most likely anyone who has read the story) have imagined them, but that would probably be just shy of impossible haha. So considering that, very well done!
Wow!! He looks just like I would pictured Wil! Great choice!
Not who I pictured as Wil, but that’s a book for you. I’ve just started on The High Druid’s Blade and I’ve already decided what Paxon looks like, even if Hollywood might disagree.
is this Mark Lawrence?
It isn’t. Likely one of Terry’s other fans.
Remember, the series is not for us devoted fans. It’s for the mass market, who wouldn’t know the difference between a black and blue Elfstone if Tael Riverine were standing right in front of them.
[…] descriptions above might also not be entirely accurate. Shawn Speakman, Brooks’ webmaster, indicates as […]
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter who is cast to play these characters. the choice will be burned into our brains by the time the show comes on tv anyway. I’m just am so excited to see one of my favourite all time stories on the screen, of any size!
I would disagree. I would say the show absolutely hinges on who is cast.
Yup, I would agree. It’s a huge deal.
I know I have posted this on face book but I have to reiterate here also so if this is redundant I’m Kinda sorry, but, they need to cast Allanon with a person that is intimidating not only in personality but also size, Terry stated that he was seven feet tall this cannot be cast with a normal size actor and be true to his character, they really need to look into casting Kevin Nash he has been in multiple movies, the latest was cast with Matthew McConaughey in Magic Mike he’s got chops he’s big and he can be very intimidating. I know you probable have absolutely no say in any of the movie, but, you Know people…
Terry does have say. And they will cast the best person they can get to play Allanon. It won’t be for lack of trying, believe me.
He’s the only character that I’m really worried about, he’s very near and dear to my heart… but that said I will gladly accept whomever they choose cause I am so psyched that it is really happening and the series is almost created for us, and Mark I agree that it is for the nubes but we need to be heard and considered too, thank God Terry is hands on with this.
Terry’s involvement is important. And as a fan who must also keep his mouth shut, all I will say is that things are moving forward in a wonderful way. This show will be representative of the book and if they continue to stay close to the material, it should make for a helluva show. There are some changes but they are tiny and maintain the integrity of the source material.
As long as they show some multiculturalism within the show I am super pumped!
It’s hard not to equate Rovers with Gypsies, so I’ve always thought of Rovers as being very exotic/multicultural. (Although Redden and Rue turned that assumption on it’s ear, their wardrobe notwithstanding.) Elves have never been described as having homogenous features outside of their ears and maybe eyebrows. Some have been fair skinned while others have had darker complexions. Certainly humans and the other races broken off from human survivors of the Great Wars would be multicultural.
If I were a casting director, I would make Eretria a darker skinned woman. Because of what you just said. Adds some levels of cultural complexity to the show that might not otherwise exist.
So far so good with the casting.
Looks like it’ll be a good Wil. Little younger than I imagined him, but good. One question: Why would someone who has never read the script be the one to provide a character summary? Without trying to sound like a naysayer (I am passionate about this story, as it has been a part of my life for nearly 30 years), the “party boy” description and things of that ilk could be enough to turn someone off before even seeing the show. If that is indeed inaccurate, I would suggest finding someone with a better idea of the character to write the summary, if possible, of course.
It’s not a summary. It’s an article written by someone who has no affiliation with the TV show. Hard to stop the creative license these writers have.
Gotcha, Thanks.
Appearance of the actor, to me, is not as consequential as a lot of other things; they’re going to be wearing makeup, possibly wigs, strange clothing, and, in the case of elves, ear prosthetics, and so may look very different from how they appear normally. The “presence” of the actor, his or her willingness to do the research needed (like read the book!), and of course, the actor’s experience, are all more important to me. I watched an interview with the actor and he didn’t seem like a dope, so that’s a start.
The casting for Allanon is the news I’m most interested in; will/have they found someone with sufficient gravitas, even if he doesn’t have the height? I’m looking forward to finding out.
Oded Fehr, the leader of the Magi, from the Mummy movies would make a great Allanon. He has a dark, brooding and commanding presence about him. A mystique that would suit the role nicely.
Lol the books are great wish they would throw in a few side characters as well. Lol not big ones but maybe just enough to keep those of us who have read the books a little bit of mistery but not tamper with the original story line. Add but don’t take away. Like salt and pepper on a stake its got to bring out the flaver of the book.
So I guess since this is the first bit of Shannara most viewers will have any experience with they are giving some of Shea’s backstory to Wil. I’m guessing that for the purposes of the screen, the events of Sword are not part of the recent past. That is, if screen Wil really doesn’t know about his Shannara heritage. Makes me curious if Wil starts off in Storlock, since the significance of the Stors being healers is only important after the fight & flight through the Wolfsktaag in Sword. In all of the other books it is just taken for granted that the Stors are separate from the rest of the gnomes. Why bother with all that since regular gnomes don’t really feature in Elfstones? But if they are going to all this trouble to make Elfstones easily accessible as a starting point for this iteration of the world, why not start with Sword? They could change Durin and/or Dayel to women or find a way to involve Shirl from a much earlier point in the story a la Arwen, or give Panamon Creel and Keltset a new female companion a la Tauriel. If they are getting fast and loose with our favorite fantasy world, its characters and timeline for the sake of the screen, why not do it with Sword first, the one book that will need it the most to come to the screen? Once the world is established to viewers, Elfstones and Wishsong wouldn’t need a whole lot of tweaking to be palatable.
Viewers won’t need a whole lot of exposition about the past anyway. You’ll see. Stay tuned.
Nice, when I first saw Butler in the surname I thought Gerard.
I thought Wil was one-eighth elf. I am certain Shea was half-elf.