For what it’s worth, it’s perfect casting, but there’s still something surprising about the news that Dakota Fanning is taking on the starring role in Floria Sigismondi’s film about ’70s girl group The Runaways. As 15-year-old rocker Cherie Currie, Fanning will continue to bait stories about how quickly she’s growing up, though really the part seems both ironic and appropriate for the former child actress. Currie, who fronted the band wearing a lot of low-cut tops and lingerie on the outside (before Madonna!), may have grown up too fast thanks to her sexualized image and early abuses of drugs and alcohol, but just because Fanning will play the part doesn’t mean she’ll be similarly thrust into adulthood. If anything, her masquerade as Currie will be more effective if audiences recognize that Fanning is still a little girl.

Fanning remains on track to be her generation’s Jodie Foster (who, interestingly enough, costarred with Currie in the movie Foxes), rather than her generation’s Drew Barrymore. And at best this could be her Taxi Driver (at worst, it’s actually her Foxes). Unfortunately, Fanning is a young girl in the age of creepy Internet comments and count-down clocks (not to mention the truly terrible examples of pedophilia to be found on the web), so much of the response to her casting is going to be stuck in predictably thoughtless concerns for her fading innocence and joked anticipation of her innocence lost.

Here are some of the blogged expectations for how the role will impact Fanning’s age and image:

• “This could be the mature role that finally convinces audiences that Fanning is all grown up, and ready to be taken seriously,” writes Elisabeth Rappe at MTV Movies Blog.
• Ryan Parsons at CanMag goes for the obvious lead-in: “She’s all grown up. Well, sorta.”
• Nicole at Collider adds, “This is the latest attempt by Fanning to make us forget her adorable child-star origins… because playing a slutty, drug-addled rock star is about as far from ‘Man on Fire’ as she is likely to get.” Also, regarding the problem of Currie’s outfits making their way to the big screen: “…back in 1976 folks were a little hazy on child-pornography laws.”
• Mike Sampson at JoBlo.com calls this “just the next step in the ‘Dakota Fanning Is All Growns Up’ tour that includes her upcoming role a villainous vampire in NEW MOON.” But he also goes for the gold with a sex-image reference:
  

  If you’ve had some weird and slightly inappropriate dream that involved Dakota Fanning wearing a corset and thigh-high fishnet stockings, then you’re probably gonna wanna see THE RUNAWAYS (after seeking psychiatric help).

• “Hmm…kinda wish they got someone a little older that LOOKS young for this part. Not really ready to see Fanning as a s*x symbol sporting ripped fishnets and corsets,” writes commenter “Kevin” on Entertainment Weekly’s write-up.
• “Are you ready to watch Dakota Fanning shoot heroin and sing “Cherry Bomb” in a bustier?” writes Scandalist’s Anthony Miccio, who rushes Fanning’s growing up a bit in print by incorrectly stating the actress’ age as 16.
• Scott Von Doriak at The Screengrab goes for a cheap shot: “Screengrab instant poll: how many months before Fanning turns up in rehab?”
• ThePlaylist notes that Fanning has already got the drunkenness down, via her most recent film, Push, and links to a revealing quote from Fanning from The Vancouver Sun: “I don’t think there’s anything that, as I get older, I wouldn’t do for a movie.”
• Brendan Lemon at Lemonwade sensationally gives us Fanning’s history of aging quickly:
  

  Seems only yesterday that Dakota Fanning was America’s little sweetheart. In the past few years, though, she’s grown up onscreen with a vengeance: she’s been raped, she’s been beaten, and now it’s been announced that, in the upcoming Joan Jett biopic, Dakota will be a drugged-out rock ‘n’ roller. Progress!

• Brad Brevet at RopeofSilicon.com thinks she should stick to little girl parts:
  

  I don’t mean to sound negative, but I am never interested in these young stars playing these hard edged roles…Fanning is a bit too much the sweet and innocent type.

• As does “ilanac13,” commenting at BuzzSugar:
  

  well i think that dakota is really trying to make sure that people don’t realize that she’s all this sweet and whatever..but i think that she should realize that there are enough ‘dark’ actresses out there (i.e. Evan Rachel Wood, Kristen etc) that she could find her niche and be VERY successful in sweeter roles.

And here are some of the better reactions to the news that actually have little to do with Fanning’s growing up:

• Vulture sticks to sarcasm regarding Fanning’s sweet (or lame) image:
  

  Public reaction to Kristen Stewart being cast as Joan Jett in The Runaways, the biopic of the all-girl seventies band, has been understandably less than enthusiastic. It’s wise, then, that producers have now slotted the most rock-and-roll person alive to play Cherrie Currie.

• “In other news,” jokes Richard at Defamer/Gawker, “Haley Joel Osment has just been cast as Steven Tyler and Alex D. Linz will play Bob Dylan in a highly reworked version of Tom Stoppard’s play Rock and Roll.”
• Fark.com’s headline makes fun by predicting Miley Cyrus will be cast as Lita Ford. But that’s not a bad idea. I also think Evan Rachel Wood would make a great addition as drummer Sandy West.