"Shadowhunters" Casting: Jace Wayland

The Shadowhunter Chronicles is my favorite series, with my favorite of the series within them being The Mortal Instruments. You all know the story by now: the first movie flopped, the second movie got the ax, and just when all hope seemed to be gone, the Shadowhunters were back in black with a TV series. One of the biggest problems I had with the upcoming TV series was the casting. I LOVE adaptations, even if the plot lines get a little wonky, because what matters to me is the characters. If an adaptation has actors that are fantastic at being their characters, then I have no complaints. But with the City of Bones movie, sadly, I wasn't impressed with a few of the actors, including Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace. I love me some Jamie, I remember how fun and entertaining he was during the press tour for the movie, and how he had that lion-esque look to him. I was really feeling him as Jace... then I saw the movie. I thought that a lot of his lines were very stiff and awkward and didn't truly capture the essence of who Jace is. He sounded bored by everything and was deadpan, but Jace is an energetic character. He's got this Stiles Stilinski sense of humor with a Vampire Spike attitude. And I wasn't feeling that at all from Jamie.

So then last week when we were told that we were getting the casting of the great Jace Wayland (and I'm using that name to avoid spoilers) I was obviously wary. There was no actor who would do a television series, who wasn't busy with other projects, and who had the talent to pull off Jace's character. I told myself I'd accept whoever they cast, and that I still had other cast members to look forward to if I didn't like the choice for Jace. But that all went away when in walked our lord and savior: Dominic Sherwood.
I don't know if you guys saw that awful Vampire Academy movie (though judging by the box office numbers, you probably didn't see it) but DOMINIC FREAKING SHERWOOD. He was the only good part about that movie. I went in thinking "Yes! Time for some Rose Hathaway ass kicking" and I left the movie screaming "I WILL FIRE MAGIC YOU INTO ASH!" Christian Ozera (played by Mr. Sherwood) in his small amount of screen time, completely stole the show. He was funny and sarcastic and even though he was dark and broody at times, there was still a commanding presence from him so that my attention automatically gravitated toward him.
And I think that's a really good thing for our new Jace to have because in the books, Jace is the scene-stealer. His presence on the page reels you in from the moment that he appears. And that's what Jace needs to be like in the TV series. With the movie, I felt like Jace/Jamie was kind of in the background and secondary to Clary/Lily and Simon/Robert, who had to carry most of the movie on their tiny shoulders. But with a TV series, Jace needs to be as compelling as Clary. We're automatically Team Clary because we're going through this journey as her companion. With Jace, we need to see why Clary is so fascinated by him and what makes him so special as a character. These stoic male heroes are so played out. We need an actor who can make Jace as interesting and fun as Jace should be. I know that sometimes the script can play a part in how a character turns out, but while I watched the movie, there were lines that could have had more pep in them, but didn't. I just used the word "pep" in a sentence describing the fiercest warrior in the entire Shadow World. Okay then. Moving along.
I know that it's too early to make big judgments on how Dominic will do as Jace, but as of now, I am extremely optimistic. The Shadowhunters TV series could be very well done if they get the actors and characterization right. Next, we are supposed to get our Clary (I have heard rumors of it being this upcoming week, before May first) and then in the couple of weeks after, we'll be getting other cast members as well and starting shooting! I'm excited for how this is all coming together so far.

If you'd like to see our new Jace in action, you can go watch Vampire Academy on Netflix (check here if it's not available on the Netflix your country has)
I will be making weekly to bi-weekly posts about Shadowhunters news and my feels and kitten gifs so stick around here for more of my thoughts and opinions!
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