The Expanse has received critical acclaim from industry-types, scientists, and fans alike. First debuting on the SyFy channel, the show moved to Amazon Prime Video for Season 4, much to fans’ delight. It’s currently cruising towards an exciting Season 5 finale, and has even launched a companion comic book series. Still, questions linger about how the show will treat character Alex Kamal as it moves into its sixth and final season. Cas Anvar is out. Could Rahul Kohli replace him?
By now most folks know that The Expanse is based on the series of James. S.A. Corey novels of the same name. It focuses on the adventures of James Holden and his crew: Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, and pilot Alex Kamal. Actor Cas Anvar has up until now portrayed Alex, including through the current season. Amazon Prime Video, however, removed him from the cast for Season 6 after an independent investigation of serious, reprehensible, allegations of sexual misconduct. That leaves the show’s production in a quandary. Alex’s story continues in the books well beyond the events of the current television season. Do they recast the role, or turn to a new character to pilot the Rocinante? If they are to stay in relative keeping with the books, then recasting is the option, and Rahul Kohli could fill the role nicely.
Could Rahul Kohli replace Cas Anvar on The Expanse?
The British actor most recently appeared in Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor. He’s also been at the center of casting rumors, notably in Star Wars. Rahul Kohli even fueled the fire himself with suggestions of a possible live-action portrayal of Star Wars Rebels character Ezra Bridger. A fine actor in his own right, he certainly has the chops to replace Cas Anvar. Sure, The Expanse has already had one recasting disaster. (Arjun Avasarala, anyone?) This, though, could be very different.
Despite a bit of an age gap (Rahul Kohli is 35, Cas Anvar is 54), the actors share enough physical similarities that it could work, at the very least aesthetically. Kohli also has a pretty deep acting range, as he demonstrated in Bly Manor. He would of course have to bring his own touch to the character, but he certainly also has the ability to incorporate the nuances Anvar brought to Alex Kamal, as well. Plus… the odds-on favorite to replace Alex (Bull) just doesn’t quite feel like he’d be a good fit on the Roci once the entire crew reunites.
What are your thoughts on how The Expanse should deal with this issue moving forward? Let us know in the comments below!
I agree the character should be recast. To write Alex out of the script will be more awkward than to just replace him. Despite Anvar turning out to be a dick, the character Alex is key component of the Roci chemistry and they’ve been developing his growth for 5 seasons. Kohli seems like a great replacement and I’m sure there are also other good actors out there with similar physical features and mannerisms. No offense to Bull, but he’s a snoozefest.
Ah well. Looks Like it wasn’t meant to be. The offed Alex in the final episode of S5. Its for the best. It would have been weird and uncanny to have someone who looked like Cas Anvar but only sort of. I was hoping they’d replace him with another Persian guy , but Indian would be fine too, representation wise, Shohreh Aghdashloo is a glorious representation of her cultural heratige (She is Iranian, her character is Indian, and I believe she is very popular with both audiences) though having an Indian replacing a persian actor would complete the circle.