In recent years, the popularity of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars have risen to such an extent that well-renowned, often award-winning actors are joining the fray. For example, Adam Driver starred in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but has also been in several films recognized by the Academy at the Oscars and other awards shows, even earning two acting nominations himself.
More recently, Andrew Garfield returned to play Spider-Man in No Way Home, and was nominated for Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards for his excellent work in Lin Manuel Miranda’s Tick Tick Boom!. DC have had Ben Affleck, who has multiple Oscars under his belt, as well as Joaquin Phoenix in Joker. The list could go on, and highlights how some of the best performers working today are in these franchise films.
With that in mind, it seems that when watching a film not a part of these incredibly popular franchises, recognizable faces still appear. One of these films is The Lost City of Z, a 2016 drama that tells the story of a British explorer going against the beliefs of many of those in his country and his field more broadly to travel to unknown parts of the world to prove the existence of a once advanced civilization and a place filled with gold and treasure. As such, it features several actors that fans of Marvel and Star Wars in particular will recognize, including Robert Pattinson, the current Batman, and Tom Holland, aka Spider-Man in the MCU. Fans should watch The Lost City of Z, not only for these recognizable faces, but for how good of a film it is as well.
The Lost City of Z follows the story of Percy Fawcett, who was a real life British geographer who disappeared in the wilderness of Brazil in or around the year 1925, when he was in his 50s. Fawcett is played by Charlie Hunnam in what is considered by many to be a career best performance from the actor, high praise given the recognition he received for his role in the hit FX series Sons of Anarchy. Fawcett is tasked with traveling to South America on an expedition, where he is told to survey the area for the British Empire, still at the height of their colonizing of other lands at this time.
Fawcett quickly gets sucked into the idea of a hidden advanced society that live in the area, and more specifically in a city filled with gold and treasure. Naturally, Fawcett, desperate to restore the good name of his family, was desperate to discover the city and this secret society more broadly, not only for the recognition but also because he was genuinely curious and ambitious in his career as well. Fawcett ends up traveling to the Amazon rainforest several times in the film, and is accompanied by several famous actors fans will recognize, too.
As stated previously, Fawcett is played by Charlie Hunnam. Although Hunnam is most famous for his role in Sons of Anarchy, he’s also appeared in other high profile projects like King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Pacific Rim, and several Guy Ritchie films. One role that he is constantly associated with but never actually played is one comic book fans will surely know: the Green Arrow. Ever since DC’s cinematic universe began to ramp up in the mid 2010s with the casting of famous characters like Batman, played briefly by Ben Affleck, as well as Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, and more, fans always wondered who would play the archer on the big screen. This speculation was only furthered by the success of Arrow, the hit CW show that started the Arrowverse and played a big role in popularizing the character.
It’s likely that many will have heard the rumor of Charlie Hunnam playing the Green Arrow, and it’s unclear if this was ever actually planned or if his obvious resemblance to the character’s look in the comic books fueled it all. Still, Charlie Hunnam will be known to DC fans for this reason, and television fans more broadly. In The Lost City of Z, Hunnam gives a truly excellent performance, even more impressive by the fact that the character changes so much over the course of the film, and the English actor plays Fawcett over the course of his life brilliantly. Hunnam also nails some of the most emotional scenes of the film which occur towards the end.
Hunnam is joined on these expeditions by Corporal Henry Costin, played by Robert Pattinson. Costin is loyal to Fawcett and is a useful member of the team traveling throughout the unknown regions of South America and the Amazon rainforest, but eventually decides to sit back and stay at home in the U.K. rather than go again. Still, Costin is in a significant portion of the film, played by the actor arguably on the mind of DC fans more than any other right now: Robert Pattinson.
Pattinson is arguably the face of the DC franchise right now, despite not actually being in the broader universe with the other characters, because of his role in the upcoming The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves. Pattinson seems to portray a darker, more disturbed version of the Dark Knight, and is said to be in his second year as Batman in the film. It seems as if Pattinson will be Batman for many years to come, with Matt Reeves recently confirming talks to do a sequel to the film at some point, and many DC HBO Max shows set within this world currently in active development. In The Lost City of Z, Pattinson is often unrecognizable in his role as Costin, particularly when he portrays the character as an older man. It’s a truly transformational performance that Pattinson pulls off well. With The Lost City of Z, Pattinson proves that he can not only shine in a starring role, but a supporting one as well.
After Pattinson opts against returning to South America in the film, Hunnam’s Fawcett chooses his excited son, Jack, to join him. Jack is shown throughout the film as a child desperate to spend more time with his father and interested in the work he does. When Jack accompanies his father to the Amazon, he’s older than he is in most of the film, said to be a young adult. He’s played by Tom Holland, one of the most famous stars in the world right now following the epic Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as his more recent, over-performing video game adaptation Uncharted.
Here, Holland has a very different role than in his blockbuster films. Despite the calibre of actors around him, and the many other franchise actors that appear, this is most certainly a film that is vastly different from an MCU or superhero project more broadly. Rather, it’s a quiet, intimate and reflective film that, as Holland’s time on screen in the third act shows, is ultimately about family. As stated, some of the most emotional scenes of the film come right at the end, and Holland is excellent in these final moments. As well as just seeing Holland in this film, MCU and Spider-Man fans might enjoy the movie beyond that as well.
One final recognizable face to fans is Ian McDiarmid, who plays Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars. McDiarmid isn’t in The Lost City of Z as much as Hunnam, Pattinson, or Holland, but it’s nice to see him in a film like this. McDiarmid famously works in theater often more than he does on camera, especially in recent years, so his role in this film feels like a bit of a rarity and a treat. McDiarmid appears mostly at the beginning of this film and is the first character to introduce traveling to South America to Fawcett.
The Lost City of Z has many recognizable faces for fans of big franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, and DC, but is also a great film in its own right, with an emotional and captivating story that fans might enjoy.