When casting for a movie or play takes a truly unexpected turn, it can often be for the best. Like when comedy actors such as Steve Carell and Robin Williams went for serious roles in 'Foxcatcher' and 'One Hour Photo' respectively, or when heartthrobs like Heath Ledger and Tom Hardy played supervillains in 'The Dark Knight' trilogy. But will this year's weird choices turn out just as surprisingly awesome?

Charli XCXCharli XCX to star in 'Angry Birds'

1. Charli XCX in 'The Angry Birds Movie' - The last rather unsual casting is the voice of pop singer Charli XCX in the upcoming animated comedy. She's just been announced to appear alongside Peter Dinklage, Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader and others as the voice of Willow, one of the birds. We wonder if she'll have a singing part...

More: Watch the trailer for 'Angry Birds'

2. Harry Styles in 'Dunkirk' - Apparently, there is only one Harry Styles and it's the same one from One Direction who's making his acting debut in Christopher Nolan's war drama. It's not known exactly who he will play in the 2017 movie with Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance, but Nolan is known for bringing on board surprise additions to the casts of his movies.

3. Benedict Cumberbatch in 'Doctor Strange' - This shouldn't have surprised us given how many middle-class English actors find themselves starring in big Marvel blockbusters these days (Tom Hiddleston, Henry Cavill, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ian McKellen to name but a few), but it did even so. After more down-to-earth roles in 'Sherlock' and 'The Imitation Game', it marks an unexpected turning point.

4. Zoe Saldana in 'Nina' - Many people raised hell about the casting of Dominican/Puerto Rican actress Saldana in the Nina Simone biopic, namely the late singer's relatives. She was accused of being too pale-skinned for the role and it was alleged that her skin had been darkened and her facial features altered to fit the African American image of Simone. Many have suggested that this was a huge mis-casting on the producers' part.

5. Noma Dumezweni in 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' - The big screen isn't the only place where we're seeing controversial casting. This Swaziland-born hit headlines when she was chosen to play Hermione Granger in this theatrical Harry Potter spin-off. While author JK Rowling approved of the decision, the public was divided over the prospect of having a black actress play a character that was once taken by Emma Watson, despite the fact that ethnicity was never specified in the book.

6. Johnny Depp in 'Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie' - This Funny or Die parody of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was played by the mysterious, brooding and ruggedly handsome Johnny Depp. Those are three things that Trump most certainly isn't. Depp took his acting ability up a major notch for this short film and much merit should be given to the make-up and prosthetics department.

7. Kim Kardashian in 'Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie' - This 90s sitcom is coming to the big screen for the first time and, while we expected to see a few famous faces given that this show is about two women desperately trying to keep themselves submerged in the world of celebrity and showbiz, we weren't expecting A-list royalty. The most famous people we've seen in the show were ex-Spice Girl Emma Bunton, Lulu, Twiggy and Helena Bonham Carter.