The Brilliant Casting in 'Edge of Tomorrow'

There are a few movies that Edge of Tomorrow obviously calls to mind. Groundhog Day is the big one, while the movie’s initial battle scene is reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan. The latter would be the more direct visual reference, almost remake rather than homage, but it’s really more than that. Within the plot, the battle is a literal redo of the Normandy landing, so it’s a double-layer repeat for a movie that’s already all about doing things over again. It definitely seems to be intentional, too, that Edge of Tomorrow opens in the U.S. on the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

Another movie relevant to the appreciation of Edge of Tomorrow is Aliens. Both have Bill Paxton and both have an extraterrestrial threat. The casting of the actor here has to be connected to his appearance in the Alien sequel, and he has even stated presumption of as much in interviews. Specifically, though, he tends to mention just the alien link and that he was desired so that he could say, “Game over, Man!” Yet his character never does say that. He doesn’t need to, because there’s enough recall here to have the audience thinking of the line, so long as they’re familiar with the earlier movie and are consciously aware that they’re watching something mimicking video game play.

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To learn more about casting calls please visit the International Truffles Casting Fair