captain america Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The hunt for Captain America may be over by the weekend. THR's Heat Vision is reporting that Chris Evans has been offered the part of Captain America. Let me stress the key word in that sentence: offered. He has not yet accepted, and neither Evans, his reps, or Marvel will confirm or deny whether negotiations have been opened.

Marvel would be taken a bigger leap of faith than they did with their other candidates, as he reportedly still hasn't screen tested for the role. But he has a good relationship with the shingle after Fantastic Four, and he's an actor who attracts a lot of buzz for his performances, but just hasn't managed to crack that A-List ceiling.

One thing keeping Evans from accepting could be schedule conflicts. The First Avenger: Captain America is set to shoot this summer, and Evans has already signed for the romantic comedy What's Your Number? The demanding contract may also be an issue. Many actors have balked at Marvel's universe building demands, and any possible Cap faces three solo Captain America movies, plus The Avengers. Most of the Marvel deals have signed actors and actresses for a minimum of 9 films. That's a tough commitment for any young up-and-coming actor like Evans.

Obviously, it's all still in the whispering stages, and it may be a test to see how fandom reacts. I think he'd be a great pick, and is the best candidate so far. What about you?

The Marvel jury may still be out as to who will win Captain America's shield, but we know who he'll be facing off with in The First Avenger: Captain America. According to THR's Heat Vision, Hugo Weaving is in talks to reunite with Joe Johnston to play Cap's nemesis, the Red Skull. It's not yet signed, and Heat Vision cautions that negotiations are in "a delicate stage." As with all the Marvel contracts, actors are reluctant to sign on for multiple films.

I did an enormous breakdown of the Red Skull for Halloween, but in case you don't want to read that many words, here's the short version: The Red Skull has been embodied by a number of men over the Marvel years, but the original was a German named Johann Schmidt. His father tried to kill him at birth, a Jewish girl spurned him, and he just happened to wind up being recruited by Adolf Hitler. Hitler wanted to create the most terrifying Nazi of all, and he had Schmidt wear a red skull mask to enhance his horrors. (Later, an accident with one of Schmidt's poisonous cocktails turns him into a real red skull.) He becomes such an instrument of fear and propaganda that America seeks to create the ultimate American symbol to fight him: Captain America. Red Skull is defeated, but is later found to be in suspended animation, so he's a villain we could see appear in Avenger films. (Hence the multiple film contract.)

Many were hoping Christoph Waltz might be called upon to play another Nazi, but as his star ascended and he joined The Green Hornet, that seemed unlikely. An actor whose voice is the embodiment of menace (sorry, Mr. Weaving), Weaving is a very traditional choice, but that doesn't make it a bad one. He'll be perfect. Now let's hope we can say the same for Cap.

SXSW is coming, so keep your eye on Sci-Fi Squad for the news coming out of Austin's biggest movie (and music) festival. You never know what film might end up being the next Moon. While we prepare for that coverage, we're still talking about the latest and greatest in sci-fi/fantasy news. Here's what's going on...

• Peter Hall discusses the eerily relevant thriller Right at Your Door for the weekly Sci-Fi Squad Movie Club.
• Did Marvel get cold feet on John Krasinski as Captain America?
• Comedian Patton Oswalt brings back Wash for a new Serenity comic book one-shot.
• The Sci-Fi Hall of Fame inducts four new members, including special-FX whiz Douglas Trumbull.
• Three little words to make you stay inside this weekend: Free Godzilla movies!
• Battlestar Galactica is getting into the MMORPG biz.
• How awesome is this Japanese AVP2 poster? Not quite as awesome as this American Mothra one.
• Should Tim Burton be the man to take us to Oz? Vote in our latest poll.

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I'm apparently in the minority, but I was really looking forward to John Krasinski playing Steve Rogers in the Captain America movie. Well, so much for that. On the bright side, though, The Hollywood Reporter brings news of another potential franchise for the TV star. And it's in a genre that more of you are likely to accept Krasinski in than that of superhero movies. Yes, the genre is romantic comedy, which more and more is being deemed by Hollywood as franchise material.

Krasinski is in talks to co-star alongside Ginnifer Goodwin in an adaptation of Emily Giffin's chick lit best seller SomethingBorrowed , about a woman who steals her best friend's fiancee. As we learned two years ago, the film was set up by Hilary Swank and her producing partner Molly Smith. Since that initial announcement, a script has been turned in by 90210 writer/producer Jennie Snyder and The Girl Next Door director Luke Greenfield is set to begin shooting this spring.

Well, the first round of Cinematical Late Night didn't bring out any pitchforks, so it looks like you can expect to find it Monday through Thursday a few times a week. If you've got any news bits you think might fit, please do use the contact form at the top of the page.

- Universal Studios Hollywood has a new King Kong 3D attraction on the horizon for this summer, and so they've begun teasing it accordingly. The video might be a little too Cloverfield-reminiscent, but I'd be game for seeing King Kong flatten Hollywood.

- Wesley Snipes tells MTV what he'd like to see in a hypothetical fourth Blade film while simultaneously taking a swipe at Blade: Trinity. Smart.

- With the screenplay more or less in the bag, James Cameron is now looking around for candidates to direct a remake of Fantastic Voyage. Don't worry, Avatar haters, Cameron didn't write it, he's just producing.

- There's been off and on talk of a big screen continuation of HBO's Rome since its second season ended in 2007, but it looks like progress might finally be settling back into the on position.

- Geek Chic Daily has a fun list of facts about Alice in Wonderland creator Lewis Caroll. Did you know he has a disease named after him?

In the search for a likable, all-American hero that can fill the red, white, and blue costume of Captain America and stand toe-to-toe alongside Iron Man, one potential candidate that hasn't been mentioned is The Office star John Krasinski. Heat Vision just released a short list of candidates for the role that includes Chace Crawford, John Krasinski, Scott Porter, Mike Vogel and Michael Cassidy. They claim most of these guys are screen testing for the role this week. However, Cinematical received word yesterday through an anonymous tipster that Krasinski is all but a sure thing for the role of Marvel's star-spangled Avenger in Joe Johnston's upcoming film The First Avenger: Captain America. Surprised?

It's exactly the kind of off-the-beaten-path casting that reaped huge rewards for Marvel when they put Robert Downey Jr. in the Iron Man armor. Krasinski is charismatic and funny, he's the right age for the part, and he's filled with the sort of wide-eyed youthfulness that plays up Captain America's steadfast WWII-era optimism. Whoever they choose needs to be someone that can realistically muster an equal amount of screen presence as Downey Jr (for that eventual Avengers team flick), and I think Krasinski is better suited to this task than some of the recently rumored names (like Robert Buckley). Some weight training and the right script, and he just might be a perfect, albeit completely unexpected, fit for the part.

If true, it's an inspired choice. I've been around long enough to remember people crying foul over the casting of Michael Keaton as Batman or some unknown named Hugh Jackman getting the role of Wolverine right at the last minute. Remember the fan outcry when they announced pretty-boy Heath Ledger as the Joker? That turned out pretty well, didn't it? I have no doubt that Krasinski would do his best to bring the Marvel character to life, if the rumor holds true.

Do note that as of now this is still a rumor, and negotiations are a tricky animal. Until officially confirmed, file this under a big fat maybe.

Meanwhile, over at CHUD, Devin Faraci learned that The Invaders will be Cap's costars. The Invaders were a WW2 superhero team that boasted Cap and Bucky as members, but the Marvel movie version will be a European team that fights alongside them. The goal is to make First Avenger more of an international film instead of a purely American spectacle. It's not yet known who among the Invaders will be gracing the silver screen, but Johnston hints that they'll be six members strong. If I was a betting woman, I'd put my money on Union Jack being a lock for the team. He's English, he has a cool costume, and he'd be perfect for a spin-off.

While many may be waiting for those first official shots from Thor, the rumor mill has promptly turned its attention to The First Avenger: Captain America, particularly since Joe Johnston is all done with The Wolfman. Little tidbits have been popping up all over our great and wide Internet, and while they don't reveal anything very new, you can comfort yourself that the wheels are still turning.

A few weeks ago, Johnston gave an interview with Box Office that revealed his take on the character. "It's not going to be a Captain America that you expect. It's something different. It is influenced by the comic book, but it goes off in a completely different direction. It's the origin story of Captain America. It's mostly period-there are modern, present-day bookends on it-but it's basically the story of how Steve Rogers becomes Captain America ... He was this 98-pound weakling, he was this wimp, and he's transformed instantly into this Adonis. You'd think he got everything he wanted. Well, he didn't get everything he wanted. The rules change at that point and his life gets even more complicated and dire ... At the heart of it, it's a story about this kid, who all he wants to do is fit in. This thing happens and he still doesn't fit in. And he has to prove himself a hero-essentially go AWOL to save a friend. Eventually at the very end, I don't want to give away too much, but he does fit in. But it's the journey of getting him there that's interesting. And it's a lot of fun."


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