Captain America Gets A Director

It’s official, folks! Marvel Studios has put out a production update stating a director has been tapped to helm the upcoming corner-piece to Marvel’s Avengers puzzle, The First Avenger: Captain America. So, without further ado, the man bringing us the adventures of the Star-Spangled Avenger will be none other than:

Joe Johnston (???).

For those not familiar, Johnston’s resume includes family adventure films such as Honey, I Shrunk The Kids and Jumanji, inspirational films such as October Sky, a couple of popcorn-clunkers such as Hidalgo and Jurassic Park III, and the upcoming creature-feature reboot, The Wolf Man.

Yes, this is the man Marvel is hanging their hopes on to turn The First Avenger: Captain America into a box office smash. But with a resume as varied as Johnston’s, what kind of Cap movie are we to expect?

Before we tear into him, it should be noted that Joe Johnston has considerable experience with creating some of America’s most treasured cinematic heroes. Johnston started in the movie biz as a visual effects artist, working on a few small films you might remember as the original Star Wars Trilogy and Raiders Of The Lost Ark. The man knows how to turn everyman heroes into indelible legends.

Johnston also has some experience in the superhero-flick business. He directed the 1991 film The Rocketeer, a WWII superhero flick that definitely left a lasting impression on this young blogger. (It also had some of the coolest visual f/x I remember; it truly made me  believe that a man could fly.)

Joe Johnston will Direct The First Avenger: Captain America

Taking all that past experience into account along with the assumption that whatever Johnston must be doing with The Wolf Man has impressed at least somebody around the Marvel Studios offices, I (and likely Marvel) expect Johnston will be able to construct a Cap film that is at once big in scope, furious in action, with an old-time 1930s – 1940s, WWII feel. It will also likely try to appeal to audiences both young and old, who remember what’s like to be treated to quality epic adventure movies. Here’s the movie’s official logline from Marvel:

In the early days of the Marvel Universe, Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America.

Sounds like the standard plot you’d expect; my only hope is that they represent the character of Steve Rogers/Captain America properly. But then, we won’t know for sure what we’re getting until The First Avenger: Captain America hits theaters on May 6, 2011.

In the meantime, what do you think? Is Cap getting the treatment he deserves, or is Marvel selling him short by going with Johnston?

Source: Marvel Studios

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or if you want more frequent updates follow us on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!