WARNING: There could be information here that could possibly be considered spoilers, so read at your own peril.
There were a lot of tidbits about The First Avenger: Captain America that made their way to the internet over the weekend, all of them courtesy of the film's director, Joe Johnston.
The first comes via CHUD.com who are reporting that according to Johnston, not only will The Invaders be showing up, but that they will be appearing throughout the second half of the film. This confirms what Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige hinted at during last year's Comic-Con when he said "In terms of the cast there's a group that [Cap] works with that will have an opportunity for much more international casting." The foreign book office is actually a big concern wit this film. These days non-US box office can be responsible for more than half of a film's take and when you've got a film with a character called "Captain America," foreign box office can be a big(ish) concern for the studio.
In the interview with CHUD, Johnston also revealed that their goal is that Captain America, quite rightfully in my opinion, will be played by an unknown actor.
It has also been widely reported that while doing press for his current film, The Wolfman, Johnston revealed that the main villain in The First Avenger: Captain America will be The Red Skull. We are still waiting on word on whether or not this will be the Middle Management Skull version.
Finally — and I can feel it in my bones that this is going to be the news that you guys are going to focus on — there is the issue of Captain America's iconic costume. Johnston discussed with the Los Angeles Times the difficulty of bringing to life the bright red, white and blue costume without making the character laughable. Johnston's solution? Captain America will start off as a USO performer (wearing the original comic book costume) and when he moves to the battlefield Cap will be wearing a more muted, militaristic version. Johnston says:
"He realizes the value of the uniform symbols but he modifies his suit and adds some armor, it will be closer to the Cap costume in some of the comics in more recent years. . . this approach, it's the only way we could justify ever seeing him on a screen in tights, with the funny boots and everything. The government essentially puts him up there as a living comic-book character and he rips it off and then reclaims some of its imagery after he recognizes the value of it. We think it's the best way to keep the costume and explain it at the same time."
We've discussed many times how difficult it will be to put Captain America on-screen without making him seem too ridiculous to people who don't read comic books. We've speculated that the film might end up using some sort of modified version of Ultimate Captain America's World War II outfit. It sounds like from the above quote that this is the direction they might be going in. When I first heard about the USO angle I cringed, but then when I actually read what Johnston had to say in explanation I found myself much less skeptical and actually thinking that it was a pretty smart way to deal with the costume issue. This might actually be a good way to make Cap's appearance work for the vast majority of the movie-going audience.
I'm really excited for The First Avenger: Captain America. I can't wait for casting to begin!
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I’m even more psyched for this movie. I can’t wait to see it. The tight vs. no tights issue is something that comes up in every superhero comic movie. The only movies that it really worked well was Spider-Man and maybe the FF movies. Tights in the real world do kind of look silly. I don’t kno wif you remember but and the Marvel gathering in New York there was a guy dressed as Bucky Cap that won the costume contest and it looked pretty good. I wouldn’t be upset if they went with some combo of the Bucky Cap and Ultimate Cap outfits.
I DEMAND that Cap uses his shield as the windshield on his motorcycle!!!
Any news on whether Simon and Kirby will get some money/title credit similar to (and hopefully exceeding) what Siegel and Shuster got on Superman?
Great article!! I cant’ wait for more details to surface!!
Maybe after "FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA" he’ll tackle the story of Jolly Jonah Jameson’s son in
"MARVEL STUDIOS PRESENTS: THE MAN-WOLF"
l:D l:D l:D l:D
The costume issues don’t bother me too much, though that’s obviously because I’m a comic nerd. Get the origin right and I’ll go for it.
They need to recast old celebrities for the time period, ala Watchmen. I want Bob Hope to open for Captain America on the USO Tour.
@OttoBott Oh snap, i hope there’s a good dose of pop culture from the time period
I’m a big fan of the uniform decision. I think making him more believable will garnish greater box office yields. I’m also going to assume that most of (if not all of) this film will take place in WW2?
@atto220-That’s what I have heard. We will likely get the beat the Nazis, but fall into the Arctic story. Then, the ‘Avengers’ movie starts with finding his body.
This uniform decision sounds like a pretty good idea.
@whomever What does ‘Middle Management Red Skull’ mean?
There is nothing in this article that doesn’t make me more excited for this movie. Can’t wait for some casting news!
Whatever kind of Red Skull is in the movie, I want Christoph Waltz to play him.
@ vadamowens, its a reference to the Brubaker run where he appears to be wearing a rolled up shirt and tie in some of the panels while he was sharing the body of Alex Lukin.
I also had a knee-jerk reaction at the idea of him working for the USO, but then realized that it doesn’t necessarily mean hes doing tricks for the troops. The USO is all about boosting morale and how could the idea of a super-soldier fighting on your side not be morale boosting? I wonder which Invaders they would spotlight. I would love to see Namor. I wonder if they’ll find a way to explain to non-Marvel Zombies that the human torch in the Invaders is not Johnny Storm.
I think i would watch a entire movie of just Middle Management Skull and how Cap is ruining the Nazi’s productivity.
I admit that I am not a big Cap fan, but of course I will see this. I don’t think his costume would be a problem, actually. Spider-man should have looked ridiculous, but he looked rather awesome in the movies. Maybe a darker blue with maroon and white stripes? Fashionistas, beware!
@biz thanks
I would almost rather see an Invaders film instead of an Avengers film, so this is sort of the best of both worlds.
I dunno if the article Conor posted has this same info, but the one over at /film has the same stuff mentioned above with more mention of the custom, plus a little bit on the casting. Basically the want an unknown for Cap between the ages of 23-33 and surround him with bigger names. An earlier article also mentions Cap. Awesome from Chuck has auditioned but has yet to hear anything.
Cap never had a fleshed out origin. It needs to be fleshed out more, and it seems that they are going in the right direction based on the info. This is going to work.
I want very much to love this movie. That is all.
Wow, the costume pulled me right in. The 616 costume just wouldn’t work. An example
http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/allposters/mg/196524.jpg
@mangaman They don’t say that they are using the Ultimate costume as pictured, but rather a muted militaristic version of the classic costume. The picture is just speculation by Conor. I personally hope they get more of a happy medium between the classic and Ultimate. Personally I think the classic costume could be done well, and I refuse to use that craptacular 1990 movie as a guide for anything.
this bureaucracy!
this movie will either be fantastic or a steaming pile of bad film. we’ll see. the potential for cap is amazing.
The more I read from this article, the more I starting falling in love.
Yes the Red Skull announcement is a bit predictable, but who else is going to be the villain? They’ll most likely set him up to be the baddie for the Avengers film. But Cap in his original costume and Shield? WIN! The Invaders showing up and being an actual team? WIN!
So we’re going to see Namor, Human Torch, Miss America, and a few others yes? Maybe a little cameo from…..The Whizzer!? If only dreams could come true. Shame the Destroyer is technically not an Invader, cause he would be perfect for this film. Still, that is just fantastic news.
Sounds like they’re playing this movie right. I get more excited everytime I hear some news.
I want to see "Brubaker" espionage Bucky, by the way, in film. Please, do not give me "gee golly photographer" and Jimmy Olsen in a uniform Buck, that I’ve seen before.
Looking forward to it
I wouldnt look too forward to their being a "super hero" contingent on the Invaders. Other super soldier types sure. But dont look for Namor, Ghost Rider…err Flaming Skull, etc.. Union Jack on the other hand would be very attainable.
It will probably be a best of the best from all the allies. Union Jack? Sure! Torch? not so much.
Plus Bucky would be a great contrast char when Cap wakes up in our time. Meeting a geriatric Bucky would be very poignant. Ala Ultimates.
@ mcbaker ditto.
Now would they be able to use Torch because of Fantatic 4 rights with those people I forget. I don’t want old man Bucky I think he should still get blown up. I think that having lost someone so close to him like that is why our Cap isn’t an asshole like the one in Ultimates is.
@Unoob: Considering he’s going to be involved with Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and others in the Avengers film later….I can’t see why they couldn’t use the actual Invaders team. I mean when your fighting along side a Norse God, a man who can burst into flame seems pretty tame by comparison.
Isn’t anyone scared that this film might just be a stepping stone for the Avengers and will feel rushed and diluted because of it? I want to be excited for this, but Marvel has hurt me so much before.
The uniform will totally depend on what they make it out of. It should not be spandex at all. Something like the above pic will work. Also: please be good.