After their big announcement Monday, we now know that Marvel Studios is planning to resurrect Captain America. His first movie isn’t slated for release until May 6th of 2011, but according to our sources they’re already looking for a potential leading man.
One of our long time scoopers dropped us a message tonight to let me know that Matthew McConaughey may be one of Marvel’s leading candidates to slip into Cap’s red white and blue underpants. Our source is a reliable one, but at this point it’s still very early and he’s only one of the actors they are considering for the role.
Physically I can understand why they’d want him. McConaughey has the build of an all-American beefcake type, which is exactly what Captain America is. Aside from his appearance though, he’d be a strange choice. Though he’s made a lot of movies, there’s still been no real evidence that Matthew can really act. Aside from his questionable acting ability, there’s also his public persona as a rarely bathed, pot smoking slacker. The McConaughey we’ve all come to know embodies just about everything that Captain America isn’t.
Though maybe that’s not a bad thing. In the early days Captain America was basically government propaganda. A rah rah, flag waver meant to get everyone excited about killing Nazis. Maybe moving a little bit away from that straight-laced, uber-patriot persona wouldn’t be a bad thing, since as he’s traditionally thought of Captain America is kind of a bore.
UPDATE! New information reveals that whether he was ever in contention or not, McConaughey isn't going to be Cap! Get the details here.
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"Maybe moving a little bit away from that straight-laced, uber-patriot persona wouldn’t be a bad thing, since as he’s traditionally thought of Captain America is kind of a bore."
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I see your point, but does that mean that they have to cast one of the worst actors working today?
Its all speculation to be sure, but still even considering McConaughey doesn't bode well for this production. McConaughey has been in many disasters, and hes more often than not the reason why they are so terrible.
I'm pretty opposed to McConaughey as Cap, I know they might be reluctant to go with a relative unknown but I think Brad Beyer (Stanley on Jericho) might be a real good Captain America.
McConaughey is about 10 years too old for this role. They need to go with someone younger that can fit the build and can act. Good examples might be Scott Speedman, Andrew W. Walker, and Channing Tatum. They have to consider that the character was in his mid-20's at the end of WWII, and there may be sequels. Casting a 40+ actor is not a bright move. Of course, it is Hollywood, and they will make stupid choices just to make a buck. It's time to go find an unknown and turn him into the next big star.
I like the idea of Captain America being propaganda during WW2, to counter act the Nazi propaganda using the Red Skull (the symbol of fear for the Nazis) historically, but I think the pressure of being an American symbol and eventually waking up sixty years later, would give him enough inner conflict to make him interesting. The mainstream Captain America has been treated like Superman, where everyone looks up to him and he fights for a good cause. In the Ultimate series he is much less noble, even unlikable but appealing to those who like the bad asses. It doesn't sound like McCanaughey would fit either one though. I heard a few mention Nathan Fillion from Firefly, and I think he could at least pull the being American without over doing it off.
"Though maybe that’s not a bad thing. In the early days Captain America was basically government propaganda. A rah rah, flag waver meant to get everyone excited about killing Nazis. Maybe moving a little bit away from that straight-laced, uber-patriot persona wouldn’t be a bad thing, since as he’s traditionally thought of Captain America is kind of a bore. "
Here's the thing, though. The post-WWII Cap, frozen in the Atlantic and reawakened in the 90s, is an incredibly complex character. His "uber-patriot persona" is in fact way more based on constitutional American principles and not at all on war-hawk mentality. I think you're misinterpreting anti-Nazi propaganda with what the character has become in recent years, which is a more-often-than-not liberal with faith in the ideals of his country but not in its leaders, incredibly conflicted in the new age of global politics he woke to.
I've read this elsewhere and I tend to agree--casting agents need to be thinking "who can play Steve Rogers?" not "who can play Captain America?" That's what made Downey in Iron Man, Maguire in Spider-Man, and Bale in Batman Begins so great--their abilities to capture their characters, not just look good in the suit.
Please, Marvel: Don't cast him. I've been reading the Captain America comic books for several years and have always thought there could be an amazing movie or two made for this character. I'm excited about the prospect of a film and thank you for that. Please just don't cast Matthew McConaughey. He isn't how I picture Captain America to be, not even close... and I think a lot of Captain America fans probably feel the same way. I know Robert Downey Jr. was thought of as a gamble to some too, but he looked the part and had a reputable acting career full of well-received performances behind him. McConaughey is not the right actor for the job. If you want the Captain America movie to be epic and well-received by the public and die-hard fans then casting him would be a mistake.
McConaughey???? I already don't wanna see the movie!!! How many Razzies does that guy have? Best part he ever had was the couple of times he was on Family Guy!!!
don’t do this marvel. It would destroy all the new found respect that you’ve earned. This would be the worst casting decision since Clooney as Batman.
For the Love of god please don’t ruin Cap. And to anyone who would dare compare Downey’s acting ability to that of McConaughey I can only say this: Downey was Chaplin, McC has been in 2 movies with Kate Hudson.
Holy crap! I'm not alone in thinking Brad Beyer (Stanley on Jericho) would be perfect as Cap! Let's start the campaign here: BRAD BEYER AS CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!!
My vote for Captain America is Tahmoh Penikett who plays Karl "Helo" Agathon on Battlestar Galactica. He's got the build at 6' 2.5", is a competitive kickboxer and his character always is trying to do the right thing.
Check it out here...
http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/cast/index.php?sub=helo
Adam said:
"casting agents need to be thinking "who can play Steve Rogers?" not "who can play Captain America?" That's what made Downey in Iron Man, Maguire in Spider-Man, and Bale in Batman Begins so great--their abilities to capture their characters, not just look good in the suit."
I 1,000,000% agree. Casting characters for the costumes is a horrible trend that I believe Marvel is beginning to rise above, and I am BEGGING them not to revert back to those old ways of Hollywood yore. Casting for the alter-egos is the way to go. When Downey, Maguire, and Bale were respectively announced, we were all like "WTF?!?" but that was because we were used to studios hiring whoever most looked the part. Now, we realize the truth.
PLEASE, MARVEL, DON'T DO THIS TO YOUR NEWLY ENLIGHTENED FANS!!!
Robert Downey Jr was perfect for Iron Man. Ed Norton is a good fit for Bruce Banner. Tobey Maguire WAS Peter Parker. But McConaughey just isn't Steve Rogers. Not even close. And too old. But I'm struggling to think of a "name" guy who is right for the part. Needs to be tall, good build (bulky), fair(ish), square jawed and somewhat wholesome. Scary thought: John Cena is quite a good fit. But that just screams "D-list".
He's a good choice. His bread and butter is shitty romantic comedies, but he's charismatic, really fit, and can act when he needs to. See: A Time To Kill, Frailty, Contact, etc.
The only negative is that he may be too old for the role.
According to imdb.com, Browder is 45 years old, Penikett (Helo on BSG) will be 33 later this month. I think you need to cast someone in their late 20s or early 30s for the role. An origin movie during WWII should be the first pic, the sequel can bring him to the modern era or he can be found by the Avengers for their first movie. For the WWII era film they should take a look at one of the directors who worked on HBO's Band of Brothers miniseries. Just a thought.
I think it's pretty clear that we'll see the Ultimate Universe version of Captain America. In that sense, there's no reason not to see the uber patriotic propaganda machine, at least at first. However, I contend that he was a propaganda machine within the comic universe (during WWII). Although he was created as such, within the comic he was a scrawny guy who was hellbent to do anything he could for his country.
Imagine, if you will, that you are so compelled to fight that you are willing to subject yourself to an experimental serum that could very well kill you. If it were me, I'd be almost certain that if it didn't kill me it would severely screw up my body to the point where I would wish I was dead. But the young Steve Rogers did it without flinching. That's how dedicated he was.
To NOT make him an uber patriot (for his WWII origin) wouldn't make sense, because only an uber patriot would agree to the experiment. He needs to be completely the Rah-Rah gung-ho kind of soldier. It serves the purpose of the reason for Cap's creation, and will provide a stark contrast between Cap's time and the time he wakes up in. The differences need to be there to show just how alien our world is to a guy who's last memories were in 1945. It will help the audience not only see what Cap sees, but also have sympathy.
Bottom line, he should be an uber patriot during his service in WWII, but what will provide interesting cinema is to see how he changes and adapts to our world when he is revived. During his adaptation process in our present time you will see him gradually move away from the uber patriot to a more well-rounded open minded leader.
i would say ryan rynolds but there thinking about ryan rynolds for the flash before he gets to old. but anyways. brad pitt cant do it he might be to busy doing HE-MAN. and is the star of smallville playing superman in The JL
that DBZ movie i hope and pray and pray some more while hoping a little more then i cry and ask for forgiveness and wish on a lucky star that they don't F that movie up, they got the kid that played tom cruise sun in war of the world playing goku i hated him so much in that movie. i don't know if you care. i just needed sum one to talk to.. i swear I'm going to get on my A-game and become a writer and director and make sure my fav comics, cartoons and other things i love dear to my heart don't get F'd up like xmen 3. cuz after that poorly written, heavily and unnecessary Acton packed movie with no fighting between the Juggernaut and Colossus HOW the hell can you let them two not fight that's the main event. i tried to hang myself after that movie but the rope broke because I'm fat and they don't make hanging rope like the did back in the old west days.. and I'm sorry for writing this i know it has nothing to do wit cap but like i said i just need a hug and pray wit me DBZ fans.. and piccolo needs to be the dude who played spawn or my man Wesley snips so lets free blade ..they both got the voice for it more so the spawn actor than MR Snipes and he's better in martial arts than Mr snipes but it don't matter you pick..
If marvel is going to go the route of the "celeb", i'd like to see Brad Pitt in the role. His Ocean's 13 favors owed to his pal Clooney, and his Adoption '08 World Tour with wife Laura Croft aside... and Pitt has the acting chops to pull this off. before he settled for the matinee idol route, he cut his teeth on the most bizarre and as polar opposite material he could find, so that the acting world would take him seriously. (Anybody see the Thriller SEVEN with Morgan Freeman?)
Physique wise, Pitt is ripped, but could stand to bulk up to about 220lbs from his 175-185 range. But He's also believable as an action star, just check out TROY or Mr and mrs Smith.
I dunno guys, the first instinct is to roll eyes, but once u really think about it.. it could work.
My second choice would be Paul Walker of Fast and The Furious fame, but he's a bit slight of build, and tjhe LAST thing I wanna see is a Cap America in a rubber suit with nipples.
Anothger thing I'd like to see done with Cap, is him made to be more of a soldier. A Real soldier, not a GI Joe, Real American heroe action figure. At his core Cap is a soldier, born and bred to follow orders, that means taking on, and taking out the enemy by any menas necessary. Executing with extreme prejudice.
he's not Superman with his Boy Scout m.o. nor is he batman with his maime but don't kill. He's a soldier in the United States of Amer'cuh.. and dammit, when it comes down to an assignment, you'd best believe he'll "Git her done!" The American way. Covert, ands under wraps. he's the U.S.'s top secret against terrorists. The one they send in FIRST ... the one that trains the Special ops forces. Simply put, he's the "isht". The perfect fighting machine. And he's still a soldier following orders, so he'll "Yessir" your ass to death.
All the while, you need him to take out a foreign dignitary? it is after all what we do here stateside... under the guise of terrorism, of course, but sick Cap on em. Let him cut loose.
That's the Cap America film I want to see. the one who'll blindly foloow orders to pr4serve the sanctity of teh greatetst nation alive.. the good old uS of A. Standihg up against naked agression.. and then one day relaizing that everything u grew up belieiving in and about this country, might be a lie... now you start to question orders.. rethink what you;'re doing here..... is this the right thing to do.. i can't believe they want me to do THAT!?!
Now you're a man without a country, like in Civil Wars... yup... that's your Cap America movie right there! A Real American hero, indeeed!
I hope the studios some how learn that what makes the new Batman franchise and Iron Man so good is the talents behind the masks... and McConaughy can't act.
I'd like to see a period piece for Captain America, keeping the story set in the 1940s doing an origin story that makes Cap an American secret weapon against the Nazis and their free lance terrorist Red Skull, who has bigger plans for Europe than even the Nazis can comprehend. Then spin in how Steve Rogers didn't know what he was getting into, he hates the government for doing this to him, but still decides to fight the good fight for America and crush the Nazis, but Red Skull slips away for the sequel. You could write in all sorts of metaphors for contemporary American occurrences.
Brad Beyer would be great. i can also see Matt Damon doing it too.
Alot of people thought Downey would not pull off IronMan. And look what he did. So personally as a comic geek I welcome the choice if they offer it to him. He may surprise everyone.
What about Ryan Gosling? If he put on a few pounds of muscle I think he would be a perfect choice to play Steve Rogers. You know the guy can act and he's definitely young enough to pull it off. Any thoughts?
Just my thought, but if they could get a truely talented editor for the film, doing back and forth scenes from current and WWII times like the original Highlander movie did would be pretty damn awesome.
Also I must say that I have never watched Jericho or have any idea who Brad Beyer is, but I did pull his picture into photoshop and dropped a Cap mask on him and it was dead on! So hey, he get's my vote so far.
We'll see how he does in Journey to the Center of the Earth, but Josh Hutcherson might be good as Bucky, Cap's sidekick. Given the title 'The First Avenger' for the Cap movie, it sounds like it might be set at least partially in WW2. And if you have WW2 Cap, you have to have Bucky in there.
Nooooooooo!! NOT McConaughey. First he's over exposed, second he's too short and last he's goofy-looking.
Captain America should be at least 6'1" and not shorter than that.
Josh Duhamme or Paul Walker is much better than McConauhey.
Whoever's going to play Captain America should not be over exposed like Matthew McConaughey or Brad Pitt. The actor should know how to act, must be a fresh face and PLEASE let it be American and not Canadian or actors from other country.
May I suggest one of the following?:
Josh Hartnett--> 6' 3" (21 July 1978, San Francisco, California),
Charlie O'Connell--> 6' 3" (21 April 1975, New York, New York),
Ryan McPartlin--> 6' 3" (3 July 1975, Chicago, Illinois)
Joe Michael Burke --> 6' 2" (7 September 1973, Illinois, USA),
Josh Duhamel-->6' 3½" (14 November 1972, Minot, North Dakota),
Eric William Dane--> 6' 1" (9 November 1972, San Francisco, CA),
Noah Wyle--> 6' 2" (4 June 1971, Hollywood, California), and or,
Tom Everett Scott--> 6' 2" (7 September 1970, Massachusetts),
I can't believe I found someone else who is pulling for Matt Damon. After seeing the bourne movies, he seems the PERFECT fit. Young, Fit, great actor and action star. Got that all American boy look and does choreography great. Let's see guys like McConaughey go toe to toe with the acting chops of Damon...
Oh my Gosh, Damon doesn't even fit the height requirement not to mention that his face is to square and young looking. Although, Damon can be a good James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes also known as "Winter Soldier". Now for those of you who doesn't even know who he is, PLEASE educate or familiarize yourselves with the Marvel Superheroes characters before recommending any actors who doesn't even come close to these characters.
Make sure you have a single Marvel Comics and know a thing or two about any Marvel Characters and their background. PLEASE stop making silly suggestion and read some Marvel Comics and get to know the Marvel Heroes and their background first.
Damon is a perfect candidate and will have enough time to prep for the "Invaders" as "Winter Soldier". You guys don't worry he'll get his chance to play a Marvel Hero.
Oh my Gosh, Damon doesn't even fit the height requirement not to mention that his face is to square and young looking. Although, Damon can be a good James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes also known as "Winter Soldier".
Now for those of you who doesn't even know who he is, PLEASE educate or familiarize yourselves with the Marvel Superheroes characters before recommending any actors who doesn't even come close to these characters.
Make sure you have a single Marvel Comics and know a thing or two about any Marvel Characters and their background. PLEASE stop making silly suggestion and read some Marvel Comics and get to know the Marvel Heroes and their background first.
Damon is a perfect candidate and will have enough time to prep for the "Invaders" as "Winter Soldier". You guys don't worry he'll get his chance to play a Marvel Hero.
Few more things:
Brad Pitt is their top choice for Thor (Karl Urban is much better though)
and as for Captain America --> NO NO NO NO NO to McConaughey.
you all are spitting out names and names for captain america based on build and a list actors and wrestlers and what not, but in reality it really does not matter what we have to say who we want to be captain america. All the names that were given were horrible choices because of conflicting roles in similar movies. If you want capt. america to be a great movie they need to cast someone who has not been in a superhero movie yet or has been huge in movies. You want somenoe who is young so they can make sequels and the actor can star in the avengers. Here is a problem with every name given and then i will share my choice and the reason y.
Brad Pitt-too old, and he is Achilles-not a superhero
Thomas Jane-is the Punisher nothing else
Ryan Reynolds-Already cast as deadpool
Chris Evans-Human Torch
Damon-jason bourne
Josh Duhamel-Transformers
Matthew Fox-Speed Racer and not blonde
Paul Walker-just not right say no more
If we want this to be a good movie either pick someone from television or from a action based movie but not one that has anything to do with comics or cartoons.
The three choices i put forward are
Jensen Ackles-from supernatural, has played a strong character on supernatural and can pull of the capt role, also has played a lil part of the good guy so he can pull of steve.
Mike Vogel-did a great job as the good guy/boy scout in Posiedon, also did awesome as a leader in Cloverfield. Everyone is stating the height as a negative but in reality in todays industry they can alter that.
Finally Justin Hartley- he was Oliver Queen in Smallville and also Aquaman in the failed pilot for the CW.
These three i believe are the best choices because they are somewhat of unknowns even though Hartley has played superhero roles on tv he has the experience of being the superhero and fits the role, vogel is right for the role but his height is what people are saying is a negative and like i said in the industry today that can be fixed and ackles has dealt with supheroes. These three choices are young up and coming actors and are types that i can really see developing into the part.
Okay, first i wanna go a little deeper into the possibilities of a timeline here...
What if they say F**K the comics and go with a different take on Captain America? Like a Batman Begins type of thing, dark and much more 'real' like say they have two movies one where he's young and then one where he's old? Then you can choose his age for the Avengers movies!!!! Duh.
So i'd say for young captain America, the american man, the one who's buffed and ready to kick some serious ass, it has to be Brad Pitt with short hair. I'm sorry, but he can F**k Thor, who would want to be Thor over Captain America???
Brad Pitt is a good choice, (My personal favorite) but lets see some other options.
Josh Hartnett (See Pearl Harbor)
Dane Cook (If he could act, he's a good build)
Luke Wilson (He needs to buff up though)
Brendan Fraser (Good size, Great Actor)
Matthew Lillard (Not mine, someone suggested it to me, personally i think he's gangly.)
Eric Bana (It will make up for that stupid ass Hulk attempt, he was the only good thing about it)
As for Matt Damon i hate him and he's the worst actor ever. The best role of him was in Team America: World Police (hehe) and even then he wasnt all that good.
Now as for 'old' Captain America. I have two primary choices, although they are a little wierd because both have been in long-running and very popular franchises.
Bruce Willis (He's the best actor ever, he is soo awsome.)
Mel Gibson (Yes he's a wierd guy that likes being tortured but he is also an incredible actor >NO ACCENTS MEL YOU SUCK AT ACCENTS<
Some more Old possibilities include-
Jeremy Irons
Jason Statham (Kinda young.)
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After their big announcement Monday, we now know that Marvel Studios is planning to resurrect Captain America. His first movie isn’t slated for release until May 6th of 2011, but according to our sources they’re already looking for a potential leading man.
May 6th, 2008 at 03:50
"Maybe moving a little bit away from that straight-laced, uber-patriot persona wouldn’t be a bad thing, since as he’s traditionally thought of Captain America is kind of a bore."
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I see your point, but does that mean that they have to cast one of the worst actors working today?
Its all speculation to be sure, but still even considering McConaughey doesn't bode well for this production. McConaughey has been in many disasters, and hes more often than not the reason why they are so terrible.
Suddenly, I've lost interest in the Avengers.