Summary

• The live-action The Simpsons trailer is sparking excitement online, and its choice of Adam Sandler as Homer Simpson is secretly genius.
• The idea of a live-action The Simpsons movie has fans debating casting choices, but Sandler's performances as a lovable schlub make him perfect.
• Adam Sandler's track record of box office success and ability to play goofy, endearing characters make him the strongest choice to play Homer Simpson.

Recently, a live-action AI Simpsons trailer, shared by Multiverse of AI on YouTube has some questionable choices - like Steve Buscemi as Mr Burns, most glaringly - but in Sandler, I just can't shake the feeling that it's struck gold.

The question of Disney making a live-action The Simpsons movie has always hung around in the background, with fans of the long-running sitcom periodically suggesting their casting picks for a remake. The rise of AI has seen more straightforward live-action remake concepts that tend to transform the animated characters into real world approximations.

Casting a live-action Simpsons movie with established actors always proves more difficult, given how familiar everyone is with Wes Anderson-style Simpsons pitch drew viral attention, but it failed to cast the one character in The Simpsons who would need to be completely nailed. But I genuinely think this is as close to a breakthrough as a Homer Simpson live-action casting is ever going to get.

Adam Sandler's Live-Action Simpsons Trailer Got 2 Things Right

Live-action The Simpsons concepts are always subjective, of course, which opens them up to some fairly wild casting choices. Purists will, of course, suggest that Fox's first family should look the part. The trouble there, though, is that the Simpsons are yellow, four of them have reality and physics-defying hairstyles, and nobody looks like that.

As a Simpsons fan - not lapsed, not cynical - I'd watch a live-action movie almost as enthusiastically as I'd watch the development hell-bound The Simpsons Movie 2. I suspect a lot of fans are in the same position, with the exact same hold-ups: casting would almost have to ignore the original characters for the movie to work. When I watched the Adam Sandler live-action Simpsons trailer, I had an epiphany: he's the perfect answer to doing exactly that.

Way back in 1994, The Flintstones live-action movie cast John Goodman, who looked nothing like Fred Flintstone, but got by on his own charm. His Fred became a towering approximation with bulging biceps, and my image of Fred Flintstone changed forever (positively, I must qualify, I actually like that movie). Seeing Sandler Homer inspired the same feelings, because you can actually connect the dots from Sandler's best movies to Homer Simpson...

Adam Sandler Has Basically Played Homer Simpson Multiple Times

Putting looks aside for a moment, the ideal candidate for Homer Simpson in live-action would be someone who knows how to play a lovable schlub, who improbably succeeds in almost every endeavor, despite his obvious drawbacks. That's also the blueprint for almost every single Adam Sandler movie character, handily.

Sandler's in-movie accolades read like they belong to Homer Simpson: he won a pro golf tour; won a Bourbon Bowl as MVP; he's played in the NFL; disgraced himself in the NFL; he's met Satan, angels, and demons; he has amassed incredible cumulative wealth and also maintained an everyman appeal that Hollywood would bottle if it could. And in almost every movie, he has a stable family (albeit with some dysfunction thrown in), who generally adore him.

In other words, he's well-versed in playing exactly the kind of man Frank Grimes would despise. I don't know how we all missed it for so long. Adam Sandler is the perfect actor to play Homer Simpson.

Seriously, Adam Sandler Is The Perfect Homer Simpson Casting

Simultaneously with those concerns about TV-accurate looks, fan casting choices like Nick Offerman inevitably over-reach on what The Simpsons would be if it were remade. Suggesting Oscar-winners and the highest caliber of available talent would be involved is somewhat laughable, after all. It's too much of a poisoned chalice. In fact, I'd struggle to name a live-action remake of a beloved cartoon that was actually any good. Okay, maybe Scooby-Doo counts.

While he's made some truly excellent serious movies, like Uncut Gems and Punch-Drunk Love, Sandler is inarguably at his best when he's playing characters like Happy Gilmore. He can balance physical comedy with hair-trigger, hilarious rage, which Homer is no stranger to, and he's one of the most likable working actors in Hollywood. I am utterly convinced.

Sandler would also be key to unlocking box office gold. His work has made more than $3 billion at the global box office, and his current Netflix deal basically guarantees a top of the streaming charts position for whatever he makes. Especially when he's making exactly the kind of goofball, endearing comedies that a live-action The Simpsons movie should be.