HOPE YOU LIKE IT: The Art of DAKOTA ALEXANDER…
By DAKOTA ALEXANDER
A few years ago I had a neat idea. Long before AI was giving us faux early ’60s-style film footage of Jack Kirby panels (no, I will not post any AI pics) I had the inspiration to make a poster for a 1960s X-Men movie. Something in the vein of the sci-fi B-movies of the era.
It was a ton of fun imagining the fantastic world of the original five mutants brought to life on the silver screen in CinemaScope. I knew exactly how it should look — and who I would cast in the roles of these iconic characters.
Now, before I show it to you, I’m going to ask you to do something that might go against your nature as a pop-culture aficionado. You are going to see some actors who might seem a bit old to play teens — but at this time in film history, that was pretty common, so please go with it.
(Besides, none of this is real, anyway.)
Of course, after I made this, I decided to make one in landscape format, complete with photos of our cast members!
Many of these casting choices will seem obvious. I’ve heard rumors that Yul Brynner was the inspiration for the look of Professor X, and Christopher Lee as an imposing, charismatic supervillain is an easy choice. As for our five X-men, I had to dig a little deeper.
John Phillip Law, known for his roles as Duran Duran and Diabolik, had the tall, slim, seriousness that fits our Scott Summers, aka Cyclops.
Aneta Corsaut would bring a personal strength of character to Jean Grey, aka Marvel Girl, much like she did with Jane in The Blob. I’m sure many of you would prefer a sexier redhead like Ann-Margret, but in keeping with the Silver Age tone of the Lee/Kirby book, Aneta just made more sense to me.
Troy Donahue was a teen heartthrob, so his role as Warren Worthington III, aka Angel, was ideal. Mike Henry had the physicality, but I also felt he conveyed a quiet intellect that suits our Hank McCoy, aka Beast.
Finally, we have Mike Anderson as the wide-eyed Bobby Drake, aka Iceman.
So, there you have it! My version of a 1960s X-Men movie!
If you disagree with my casting choices, that’s perfectly fine; this is all for fun. But rather than state those disagreements, please instead offer your own uncanny fancast! I am X-CITED to hear your ideas!
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Want more of THE ART OF DAKOTA ALEXANDER? Come back next week!
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MORE
— The SPIDER-MAN ’67 CARTOON Comic Book We All Want. Click here.
— The 1980s MIKE ZECK Ongoing PUNISHER Series You Never Knew Existed — Because It Didn’t. Click here.
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DAKOTA ALEXANDER is an American artist living in Japan. He’s worked on many projects, such as The Liberty Brigade, The Masters, Charon 13, and G.H.O.S.T. Agents. His latest is his love letter to Bronze Age superhero-horror comics, The Hunter, which is now available at his Etsy, Drums of the Serpent.
May 21, 2026
My late friend Sean Hartter did a bunch of What If? movie posters years ago: https://www.seanhartter.com/art.html
May 21, 2026
Thanks for this, That. An amazing body of work by your friend in both imagination and breadth.
This is more of an express lane to Sean’s posters. Definitely worth the visit.
http://hartter.blogspot.com/2009/11/misc.html
May 21, 2026
Great poster, Dakota. Thank you for sharing. You were spot on with most of your casting. I would prefer Ann-Margret to Aneta, though. That is because Aneta played a pretty irritating character on The Andy Griffith Show.
What about Luciana Paluzzi for Jean? Would her Italian accent put you off? She normally played villains, but she’s a better actress than people give her credit for. I’ve seen her play more subdued roles when the script called for it. Luciana played a doctor in Green Slime, so maybe that would convince you to pick her for Jean.