Since no one mentioned her, Taylor Schilling was by far and away the best Dagny!

(what's wrong with you guys?)

Taylor set the standard. She truly played the part perfectly and had me convinced she was Dagny or at lest could be. Would love to see her again. Bringing in a third person would totally ruin the film and make it less enjoyable to watch.

Taylor was hands down, infinitely more Dagny than Samantha. Samantha reminded me more of Vivian than Dagny. Dagny is supposed to, also, be aesthetically pleasing. This is a not a quality I would apply to Samantha.

Taylor, hands down. I know she won't come cheap, as she has other projects going on right now, but... sometimes you have to remember that quality is far and away more important than cost savings. Think of it this way - would Dagny pay more for tracks made of Rearden Metal or save a few bucks and buy cheap imported steel?

And speaking of Rearden... Grant pulls off the image and feel of Hank. I would say, unequivically, go with what worked so well in AS1. And if there is to be a ASIV, you would probably do well to get a tentative contract commit from them now, rather than re-invent the wheel yet again!!!

i thought the cast should have stayed consistent from the beginning.

Taylor Schilling is the better choice hands down. We also need to get Grant Bowler back to play Hank!

Any serious actress will want to read ATLAS as part of her character research. That's essential, but she does not need to agree with Objectivism in order to deliver a strong dramatic performance...just understand the soul of Dagny and play it 100%.

Taylor was PERFECT! Bring Grant back also! Samantha was OK but I really got hooked on the movie series because of Taylor's performance.

The original cast was so much better !!

Taylor, absolutely. And as much of the original case from Part 1 as you can get. The only exception I would make would be Robert Picardo, he was excelent.

I also love love love Esai Morales.

I completely agree...Taylor Schilling all the way!

Correction: I was disappointed that I was NOT able to see Grant deliver the soliloquy during the trial scene of ASII.

Taylor and the rest of the cast from Part 1.

Taylor Schilling and Grant Bowler ARE Dagny and Hank Rearden. I agree with the others who state Taylor was able to capture the naivete and hardness of the character. I want to add I was very disappointed that I was able to see Grant deliver the soliloquy at the trial in ASII. Please bring him back.

Dagny to me was best portrayed by Taylor by far. But if you could win the Lottery and pick any one I would think Charlize Theron would be my pick. Although maybe a little to curvy for the part I think she could bring the gravitas to the role that it deserves!

One: Taylor Schilling was perfect as Dagny. She is beautify, fiery, and believable to be a COO of a RR with her tenacity.
Two: Samantha Mathis flat out ruined Part II for me. Why would you start a movie looking at her ugly face flying an airplane for 5 minutes?
Three: There is no way whatsoever that Samantha should be re-hired. However, you won't get Taylor back because now she is doing a new series called Orange is the new Black. She would also probably be miffed she wasn't asked to do part II.
Four: Considering the entire series was messed up by casting all new actors for Part II than were cast for Part I, why not get an entire new cast yet again. Maybe you could mix and match some from both movies. I don't know, I just never understood the reason to go to a whole new cast in the first place when so many from Part I were so good. People tend to get attached to characters from movies. It would be like casting Sean Connary as Han Solo in the second Star Wars movie.s You just don't replace Harrison Ford, no matter who it is...

I would like to see a gorgeous brunette this time for the part of Dagny. An actress that can be very corporate and sensual at the same time. I'm thinking of an actress like, Angie Harmon or Bridget Moynahan. Top stars like Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Connely, even Angelina Jolie would be great but probably extremely unaffordable.

Taylor. I hated the change in cast in Part 2. Part 2 should be done over with the case from Part 1.

I like the idea to have three comnpletely different casts for each part. It is more Logical, and it transports the idea that we all here are John Galt to some extent.

Taylor rocked it in Part 1. I bring friends over to watch Part 1 and then warn them that Part 2 has totally different actors that lose the desired impact of the plot. The age of the actors in Part 2 really makes the movie stodgy. Also, not even older people want to see Samantha's cleavage - cleavage for the sake of cleavage is just dumb. And, Samantha needs less of the whiny housewife attitude.

TAYLOR! And Grant Bowler. Unless you can get Daniel Craig to play Hank or Galt, he'd be great ;-)

Having just watched Parts 1 & 2 back-to-back, it was a little bit of a culture shock for me to see Taylor Schilling gone as Dagny. She should come back in Part 3, but my hope is that Esai Morales, who played a far more passionate and relevant Francisco D'Anconia, would be back. I found his performance riveting and intense, as Rand's Frisco would be as the storyline progresses. For me, it's a hard choice as to Grant Bowler or Jason Beghe as Hank Rearden. I thought both were fine in the role but Jason has what I would call the Henry Rearden edge, to his persona. I also liked the way his character and D'Anconia's worked together in Part 2, so my ultimate choice would have to be Jason Beghe. And I thought Graham Beckel played Ellis Wyatt masterfully, as did Richard T. Jones in the role of Eddie Willers. He had a great presence, and seemed to naturally wield Eddie's indispensable sixth sense that Ayn Rand gave Dagny's right-hand operational partner at Taggart Transcontinental. Ultimately, a wise admixture of Parts 1 and 2 actors would make for a strong, unforgettable Part 3.