I assumed MurderBot would not look male or female but look androgynous. Additionally the merging of machine and meat would result in thin limbs, likely they are going to have to do a lot of CGI work in post.
Casting a big name actor in the role, especially a male actor who tends to play tough guys, seems like a mistake. ~80% of the murderbot fans I've talked to, decided they weren't watching the series when they heard that casting decision. Generally the take was: "if that is who they cast, they don't understand why the books worked." I reserve my judgement until the series comes out, actors can act and should not be cast based on audiences expectations, but it does not auger well.
Really? My partner and I and some of our friends thought the opposite. Skarsgård can be tough but in many of his roles he exhibits a fairly unconventional form of masculinity.
My expectation is that he's going to be able to play an ungendered character quite well.
Having never heard of this series until this HN thread, I assumed from context that you meant Bill Skarsgård, who of course is a natural for an out-of-place somewhat-alien a-touch-androgynous misfit, having played that kind of role well before.
It turned out not to be the one I was sure you meant, hahaha. "Iceman" from Generation Kill is rather a twist, but of course, as mentioned, actors are supposed to be able to act....
Casting a big name actor in the role, especially a male actor who tends to play tough guys, seems like a mistake. ~80% of the murderbot fans I've talked to, decided they weren't watching the series when they heard that casting decision. Generally the take was: "if that is who they cast, they don't understand why the books worked." I reserve my judgement until the series comes out, actors can act and should not be cast based on audiences expectations, but it does not auger well.