Rumor: Marvel Wants Leonardo DiCaprio For Captain America. Or Brad Pitt.
If this rumor(s) seems like it originated in the mind of Captain Obvious, we see your point, but it arrived just minutes ago via a very reputable source/friend site, Latino Review. It seems that Marvel has a shortlist of names for their 2011 tent pole, The First Avenger: Captain America, and at the top is Leonardo DiCaprio followed by Brad Pitt (whose name has previously circulated for 2010’s Thor). This continues the trend of studios “casting up” in major summer blockbusters.
Of course, DiCaprio has a plethora of passion projects, most recently pegged to play Atari and Chuck E. Cheese’s founder Noah Bushnell, that could keep him out of the equation. Either way, here are some thoughts spanning the Net consciousness right now: DiCaprio is a good choice, Matthew McConaughey would have blown chunks as Steve Rogers/Capt. America; DiCaprio is too skinny for the role/shield throwing, I mean, he’s a really good actor though; What studio wouldn’t want DiCaprio to play a superhero? Pfffft.
El Mayimbe at LR says that no official offer has been made to DiCaprio or to Brad Pitt, the other A-lister being considered, but he hints that the trades might pick up this same info months from now. With The Incredible Hulk launching this weekend, Marvel Studios is on a rampage the likes of which we haven’t seen before. Personally, I think DiCaprio would be an awesome choice, nicely modernizing expectations for the prototypical American (super)soldier. Pitt would be the more popular choice with fans, I’m assuming, based on build and photos in office calendars. More on this as it develops… If you didn’t check out our post today on Marvel’s upcoming slate/Jon Favreau’s involvement with Iron Man 2, here’s the link.
Captain America To Be Set During World War II
Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige revealed today that the Captain America movie will be a period film, set during World War II. I’ve never read any Captain America, but some of my friends who are really into the series have insisted that a WWII period setting would be the only way to do the story justice.
This basically confirms that Marvel will be sticking close to the original origin story which involved Steve Rogers volunteering to be a test subject in Operation: Rebirth, a top-secret defense project for the U.S. Army. Rogers took a Super-Soldier serum which altered his physiology, turning him into a “nearly perfect human being”. Unable to duplicate the process, the United States government turned Rogers into a superhero who served as “both a counter-intelligence agent and a propaganda symbol to counter Nazi Germany’s head of terrorist operations, the Red Skull.”
The First Avenger: Captain America (and not Captain America: The First Avenger, which sounds infinitely better) is scheduled to hit theaters in May 6th 2011, just weeks before Marvel’s superhero team-up film The Avengers hits screens in July. It’s assumed that the film will likely end with a cliffhanger. In the comic series The Avengers discovered Steve Rogers’ body in a block of ice in the North Atlantic years after his supposed death, and were able to revive him. It’s assumed that a similar situation will probably happen to bridge the two movies, especially considering that The Avengers takes place in modern day. But Feige promises that you won’t need to see any of the other films to understand The Avengers:
“Each of them have to stand on their own,” Feige said. “You won’t have to have seen any of the films to understand The Avengers… but it will help.”
Feige also confirmed that Matthew McConaughey is not in consideration for the film adaptation as was rumored on CinemaBlend weeks back. That should make fans happy. You can read more about Feige’s “State of the Marvel Address” on CHUD.