Captain America is American, Red Skull is Main Villain & More!
Feb 6, 2010 by Rob KeyesAfter a long while with no news on the Captain America movie, we’ve got a BIG update for you from multiple sources.
A few hours ago I wrote a speculative piece on what may be two of candidates for the coveted tile role in Joe Johnston’s The First Avenger: Captain America in Ryan McPartlin and Chad Michael Murray and now we have a boatload of updates coming in on the movie, providing new details.
In this Captain America news round-up we’ll touch on the main villain of the movie, the casting process, candidates and plans for the main character as well as more details on the style and what we can expect from the movie.
The Main Villain
Today Drew McWeeny at HitFix was able to interview Joe Johnston, director of The First Avenger: Captain America about The Wolfman but managed to throw in a few questions about that big Marvel movie towards the end.
First up, he talked briefly on the main villain, confirming the expected that the Red Skull will be the main villain of the movie.
“Well, we will see the Captain America villain, the main villain, the Red Skull. But it’s the origin story. It’s how he became Captain America in World War II. There are present-day bookends, but it’s really… it’s his origin story. And we decided you only get one shot at telling an origin story, so you might as well tell it first.”
I’m very curious as to who they’ll cast as Red Skull in the movie.
Captain America Hails From America
For those who were up in arms at the idea of casting a non-American in the role of Captain America, you may breathe a sigh of relief as Joe Johnston confirmed today at the press conference for The Wolfman that they “must” cast an America-born actor for the title role. This issue hit it big upon the surfacing of rumors surrounding Sam Worthington being a candidate for the role (really though, he’s named for every film).
IESB and Collider were present at the press conference today and posted a summary of the key points that Joe Johnston responded to:
- Captain America to be cast by March 1st
- Captain America will be played by an American
- Film will be shot in HD
- Film possibly to be converted to 3D after
- To be shot uniquely, unlike any other Marvel film
- Visual style of comic book but not literal visual adaptation
- Sets have been selected in UK
- Budgetary reasons limited action scene ideas
- A relative unknown will be cast
- Supported by name stars (like with Thor movie)
Continue to Page 2 for Captain America Casting Updates and more!
Around the web:
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I'm a big Ackles fan, but I've never thought he was all that right for the role, and that his chance of getting the part was even slimmer. He came out and denied the rumor that he was Cap by saying that they weren't going to give Captain America to some no-name off the CW.
That said, however, it's obvious they're going for a no name, and he's a much, much better choice than Chad Michael Murray. He's also 32, which just happens to be the top of the age group Johnston listed, so, you never know.
Definitely agreed on the huge difference in character, but he seems to be a good enough actor that that's not an issue. Really though, that's as good an argument for anyone. As long as whomever they choose is a good enough actor, I'm happy
True that, man. It's his persona that really has the problem. As far as the Red Skulls transformation, I can imagine Johnston deviating from the comics a bit.
I hope you are right, but the problem is that it was what Johnston said himself in the LA Times interview: “So he´s up on stage doing songs and dances with the chorus girls and he can´t wait to get out and really fight.”
So I suppose we have to wait how this all turns finally out. But one thing is sure if the Cap movie is in trouble then the Avengers have a problem, too.
Kantstandya
what cable company do u have? I'm trying to find Disney HD but not having any luck. I use comcast so the numbers must be different.
JRose23, that's a fair question, and “book ends” don't necessarily equal sloppy writing. Sometimes, the bookends can be used as a quick fix for a story that is incomplete. Instead of rewriting the body of the story, you slap on a prologue or an epilogue or both. These fit in the information, but they don't necessarily contribute to the true story. In some cases, they can even harm the quality of the overall story.
If you want examples of this within film, then look at “Spanglish.” It's pretty obvious the the bookends to that film were slapped on there, because people just didn't get what that film was supposed to be about. I'd also argue they really don't fit with a lot of the overall film either, they actually hurt the quality of the final product.
“Saving Private Ryan” also uses this technique. I think it does it in a more effective manner, although, I don't think it was necessary for the overall quality of the film.
The scenario you paint for “Captain America” has potential, but I think Cap has to be awake in both parts of the bookends in order for it to work. They might have something else in mind, but we'll see. As I said, it doesn't necessarily mean the writing here will be sloppy. They just have to make sure these bookends contribute to the film's story… not merely provide a lead-in for the Avengers, not if this film is going to stand on its own and win over non-comic book fans. There is soooo much potential for Captain America in film, especially in today's society, and I truly hope they don't ignore that. It doesn't sound like they will neglect that element, so I'm optimistic in that regard.
@a1d2h-As to the SR members picking everything apart, it's what they did before I joined, and will do long after I become worm buffet; this is because Vic encourages active (yet decidedly civilized/non-profane) discussions of film here. If he wanted a Stepford Website, with a bunch of fawning yes-men, he'd have kicked out anybody that disagreed with him or cast aspersions upon his ego.
There are, I'm sure, those who've managed to disagree with him and still keep it friendly…and they're still here, I'll bet…of course, if you (profanely or not) say that an SR member strongly resembles the southbound end of a northbound mule, Vic MIGHT take issue with that.