From Fantastic Four to Happy Gilmore 2, summer has been the time to release low-risk sequels.
Building on the success of last year’s dream founder casting, Sifted has drawn up a fresh list of Hollywood heartthrobs we think best to play Europe's top founders and VCs.
With any luck, we could these industry leaders could have their very own The Social Network or Blackberry-style biopic (although maybe that's not a particularly attractive proposition, given such figures are almost universally written as the villains of their own stories.)
In any case, we hope you enjoy our latest dream casting:
Leo Woodall as Lovable CEO Anton Osika
With his flickable hair, Osika has perfected the vibe coder next door look. Leo Woodall has the charm and that certain smidge of (over-)confidence to give this role a good go.
Ollie Proudlock as Quantum Systems chief Florian Seibel
The Made in Chelsea x lethal drones crossover you didn't know you needed.
Young Ed Harris as Dealroom CEO Yoram Wijngaarde
Deep cut alert: Ed Harris's character in the Tom Cruise film The Firm is a ringer for Wijngaarde. Two men obsessed with establishing the truth? It just fits.
Zoe Saldaña as Visionaries Club general partner Judith Dada
After you've won an Oscar for a character who helps a Mexican cartel kingpin transition to being a woman, in the zany Emilia Pérez, the only sensible next step is to play a Berlin-based investor.
Stephen Merchant as Legora boss Max Junestrand
We may have to de-age Merchant a tad but we're dealing with tech wizards here after all, so let's presume it's doable.
Tom Burke as Helsing co-CEO Torsten Reil
That fine actor who you’ve seen in a bunch of things but never got round to learning his name? Yeah, him: Furiosa and Black Bag star Burke would be perfect for the role of Reil.
Alia Shawkat as Project Europe CEO Kitty Mayo
There were a few strong contenders for this one. The Crown's Claire Foy was in the running for a while, so too was Broad City's Ilana Glazer. But Alia Shawkat, so great in Arrested Development, gets our vote.
Will Poulter as Synthesia CEO Victor Riparbelli
Synthesia just started offering actors equity for their avatars. They'll save some bucks on Poulter, assuming CEO Riparbelli's got a few moments spare.
Jacob Elordi as Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch
Mensch has that unusual ability to look slightly different in every photo we've seen of him, so this was a challenge. Irish actor Andrew Scott is our backup.
Walter Goggins as Voi CEO Fredrik Hjelm
We’ll need to give Goggins some more hair for this one, but we can see it.
Sona Movsesian as Plural investor Carina Namih
Conan O'Brien's versatile assistant Sona Movesesian has the likeness down pat here.
Travis Kelce as Aleph Alpha boss Jonas Andrulis
For better or worse, Taylor Swift's boyfriend (and football star / podcaster) is now also an actor (seen most recently in Happy Gilmore 2). Playing a German AI founder is possibly a stretch — but hey, everything is content.
