When I first saw this photo of John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe, I thought, “They’re recasting the sequel to Sherlock Holmes?” Because frankly, I liked the movie quite a bit, and I think they should stick to the original cast as much as possible. Plus, even when you don’t like a movie much, the re-cast in a sequel is usually crap, ruining whatever good there was. The only exception I can think of is the re-cast of Katie Holmes by Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight.

Thankfully, this was not the case. Cusack is playing beloved American author (so beloved that this blogger, when asked whom should be placed on a new American coin as a school assignment in junior high, nominated him) Edgar Allan Poe in a new movie, The Raven, which is supposed to be an exciting thriller from the same director of V for Vendetta. That sounds like a fun movie to me—except that I’m not sure that Cusack is the right guy to play Poe.

While plenty of people love Cusack, I’ve never been a big fan. Even in his horror films, like 1408, I wasn’t all that impressed. He’s good looking, sure, but he’s so damn neurotic in nearly every role he plays that it gets annoying. I did enjoy his performances in Con Air and Identity (another horror movie), oddly enough, but everything else—from Must Love Dogs to 2012 and most of the things in between—just left me with an, “Eh.” And then there’s this thing I have where I’m always confusing Cusack with Cage—Nicholas Cage, that is. I know they don’t look alike but they’re always doing similar movies, and they’ve played similar characters, and it’s just one of those weird annoyances I have for no good reason.

Anyway, what is your take on Cusack as Poe? Good idea or a bad idea? And if it’s a bad idea, who would you rather see? Here are just a few ideas I came up with:

Gary Oldman: I think he’d be perfect, and I also think he’s pretty underused. I’d love to see him in another leading role.

Michael Sheen: The look he had as Lucian in the Underworld series would work here, I think.

Crispin Glover: Another underused actor, Glover could probably both look and play this role pretty well.

Cillian Murphy: If a younger Poe were being cast, this guy never fails to exude a creepy vibe—even when he’s not meant to be doing so.