Marvel Wants Emily Blunt For Captain America But Probably Won't Get Her

Now that we have our hero and his sidekick, it’s on to the female lead of Captain America. While in the midst of the Captain casting debacle, we told you about a little rumor that Keira Knightley, Alice Eve and Emily Blunt were all up for the role of Peggy Carter, an American agent with the French Resistance and Captain America’s WWII love interest. Well, according to the LA Times (via The Playlist), Blunt has been offered the role, but will likely decline.

The article points out that Blunt would bring the franchise her overseas fans and a little prestige. Having just been nominated for a Golden Globe for The Young Victoria, she could be very helpful in masking Chris Evans’ less-than-stellar credits and providing the film a Robert Downey Jr.-esque esteem. But Marvel will likely have to look elsewhere, because Blunt is about to put pen to paper for other projects. She was my top choice for the role, but her lack of interest is understandable. I’d imagine her other options offer much more meaty roles than that of a superhero’s love interest. Her initial hope to take the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2 was far more logical, given the top-notch cast including Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow.

That leaves us with Knightley and Eve. Unless Knightley is particularly petrified of life without Pirates, I don’t see her accepting this role either. That would mean Eve is the final choice. With few credits to her name, she could be the perfect option. I doubt she has as many offers coming her way as Knightley and Blunt, yet she’s still a pretty face and has some talent. As long as she can keep that British accent in check, she could make a fine Peggy Carter. Then again, there’s always the chance that Marvel could broaden the search and throw a few more names into the ring.