I think it's far more interesting to make them younger girls. They should be no older than 16. In the anime they start out 14, and I'd prefer to stick to that, though I allow for a bit of wiggle room. There are certain girls who become overly confident when they are 16-18. Sailor Moon particularly has to be unsure of herself and clumsy. There comes a point where if the girl is too old this is just sad and not endearing.
By having them younger, you allow time for a couple sequels to be made while the actors are still young and you don't have to have them in college in the second movie.
High school characters are generally played by people in their 20s and 30s. If we cast the roles as 14 year olds, it helps get younger actors to give it more authenticity.
CONS:
Mamoru is in college. Yes, teen girls may be totally enamored with older guys but American society may not want to encourage relationships with such vast age differences. This may mean having to change his age.
Similarly, some may object to the notion of 8th grade girls dating at all, but certainly the idea that they've already dated high school seniors (like Mako did) would raise eyebrows.
I'd want to accurately recreate their henshins, and even though the naughty bits are not seen, how do you deal with the nudity or semi-nudity? Especially when using young teen girls? You run the risk of things being considered child pornography or something, which is insane.
Similarly, putting 14 year olds in those tiny skirts may lead to backlash about how Sailor Moon is just one more thing "sexualizing our girls".
So if they had to be a little older, I'd begrudgingly go along with it, but I'd rather they not be, at least for a first movie. In a sequel, that's fine. Also, there's SOOOOO much out there about high school but not nearly as much that follows the awkwardness of middle-school. Like many adolescent superhero stories, Sailor Moon is as much about the awkwadness of adolescence as anything else. Keeping them young in that confusing period of life helps that.
-TK
"I've always admired atheists; I think it takes a lot of faith." -Dr. Joel Fleischman
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