Yep, video game movies are finally good now. After years of failed adaptations that made gamers wince, the tide has turned—and It Takes Two, 2021’s beloved co-op adventure and Game of the Year winner, is next in line for the silver screen. The same team that turned Sonic the Hedgehog into a box office smash is reportedly behind the project, giving fans a flicker of hope that this won’t be some quick cash-in. The big question now: who on earth could bring the tiny clay-and-wood versions of Cody and May to life, let alone the flamboyant Dr. Hakim or the heart-wrenching Cutie the Elephant? Here’s a dream cast that, quite honestly, the studio should just write down and use.
First up: May. The hardworking mom, burdened by her passion for engineering and her husband’s obliviousness, is the emotional backbone of the entire story. She’s sharp, frustrated, yet entirely lovable. The ideal actress needs a voice that balances warmth, wit, and a dash of British exasperation. Enter Emily Blunt. A few conversations after finishing the game, and her voice just... slipped right into May’s lines. Effortlessly. It’s almost as if the character was written for Blunt’s blend of quiet strength and comedic timing. Picture her in the shed sequence, muttering under her breath while cobbling together a robot—pure magic.
Then there’s Cody, the slightly hapless husband who means well but struggles to keep up. He’s got to be a guy you want to root for, even when he’s bumbling into another argument or accidentally causing a bee uprising. Someone with an innate likability, a bit of goofiness, and the ability to turn on the sincerity when it counts. Paul Rudd is the man. Honestly, who wouldn’t trust Rudd to pull off a miniature man clinging to a DIY magnet while apologizing to his wife? It’s that Ant-Man charm—the underdog who screws up constantly yet somehow never loses the audience. Just don’t let anyone suggest a certain other late-night host. Please.
No discussion of It Takes Two is complete without Dr. Hakim, the intrusive, overly theatrical love guru who bursts into the couple’s chaos with the energy of a psychedelic fever dream. His role demands an actor who can be both magnetic and absurd. Ewan McGregor could bring a Lumiere-like twinkle, of course, but the far better call is Pedro Pascal. At this point, Pascal is a walking golden ticket—Mandalorian armor one minute, post-apocalyptic dad the next, and now a sentient book of relationship advice? Sign him up. One can already hear him drawling, “Ah, Cody, you must learn to appreciate the vacuum!” in that perfectly accented, unflappable tone.
Let’s address the literal elephant in the room. In the game’s most traumatizing sequence, Cody and May decide that making their daughter Rose cry will somehow break the spell—leading them to systematically dismantle and torture Cutie, the plush elephant. Her high-pitched, desperate pleas have haunted players for years, and that voice needs to cut through a theater’s speakers. Kristen Schaal is the only choice. Her unmistakable, slightly shrill yet deeply comedic delivery would make Cutie’s agonizingly funny nightmare scene land perfectly. It’s a compliment, truly—no one does sweet-become-tragic like Schaal.
The supporting rogues’ gallery deserves just as much love. For the raging vacuum cleaner, cast Brian Blessed, whose booming voice could make sucking up dust sound like a Viking battle cry. The Squirrel Chief, a tiny commando making warplanes out of underpants, is just screaming for Andy Samberg. His manic energy from Brooklyn Nine-Nine would transform the rodent rebellion into an all-out laugh riot.
And then there’s one more elephant in the room—or rather, a 300-pound former WWE champion. Back in 2022, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson teased a "big, badass video game adaptation" right around when the It Takes Two movie news first bubbled up. Coincidence? Maybe. But imagine him sitting in a director’s chair, script in hand, leaning forward to deliver Rose’s lines in full earnest. "Daddy, I just want you and Mommy to be happy." The range. The audacity. The internet would never recover. One thing is certain: if even half of these casting dreams come true, game-to-film history might just make its next giant leap—powered by tiny clay people, a talking book, and one very unforgettable elephant.