Spoilers For Cap Film

[savemoony.livejournal.com]

March 1, 2010 is the deadline for casting Steve Rogers. According to wired.com:

Johnston expects to name the film’s star within the next couple weeks, drawing from a short list of six actors up for wielding Cap’s shield. “The youngest is 23,” Johnston said. “The oldest is 32. Most of the guys in the war are just kids, 18 or 19, but we want to go a little bit older.”

BigShinyRobot.com has reported that:

According to MY studio guy, the rumors about Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill), Ryan McPartlin (Chuck), Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) and other unknowns/television actors reading for Cap are true.

Apparently, when the script came in with World War II sequences (featuring the Invaders), the studio heads decided it was beyond their means to make this movie AND afford A-listers like Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.

Sure sounds like everyone’s high on McPartlin, who evidently just lost out on the Superman role to Brandon Routh.

Folks should take the Big Shiny Robot information with a grain of salt. It actually came out before Johnston's interview. McPartlin is 34; meaning if we take Johnston's comments as The Word Of God, McPartlin is out. Moreover, this is the first confirmation I've seen that's Jensen Ackles read for the role. I'm trying to withhold my SQUEEEEEEE. The three all have contractial obligations with television shows, so regardless of who they cast, they will have to work around their tv schedule. Murray and McPartlin would be easier to write out of their respective shows. Jensen and Jared are in every scene of every episode of Supernatural. Working around Jensen's schedule will be most problematic. But, like my friend in the business says, "if Marvel wants him badly enough, they will make it out."

Now... Now onto script spoilers.

The LA Time's Hero COmplex blog interviewed Joe Johnston. Johnston revealed how Steve Rogers gets his mythic costume:

"The costume is a flag, but the way we're getting around that is we have Steve Rogers forced into the USO circuit. After he's made into this super-soldier, they decide they can't send him into combat and risk him getting killed. He's the only one and they can't make more. So they say, 'You're going to be in this USO show' and they give him a flag suit. He can't wait to get out of it."

"So he's up on stage doing songs and dances with chorus girls and he can't wait to get out and really fight. When he does go AWOL, he covers up the suit but then, after a few things happen, he realizes that this uniform allows him to lead. By then, he's become a star in the public mind and a symbol. The guys get behind him because he embodies something special."

There will be more than one costume in the film, too.

In the first USO sequences, the frustrated patriot will be wearing a version that is closer to the classic Jack Kirby-designed costume, but then later as the super-soldier hits the war zone he will be wearing a sturdier, more muted version that he makes himself that is more like battle togs. The stripes across his mid-section, for instance, will be straps, not colored fabric.

"He realizes the value of the uniform symbols but he modifies his suit and adds some armor, it will be closer to the Cpa 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."

Steve Rogers never wore tights you asshat.

Johnston confirmed there will be tie ins to Iron Man and Thor, and the modern will have modern day book ends. IGN (and multiple other sources) are reporting the director revealed that The Invaders will "be in the entire second half" of the film. IGN is also reporting that Red Skull will be the Big Bad.

On a happier note, Robert Downey Jr is awesome. Downey Jr recently told SFX Magazine:

"The Avengers" [is] a culmination of the first four years of movies from Marvel Studios. It's the pinnacle, but only if it's done in the smartest and best and most creatively sound way possible. And I'm not saying we can't get there. I'm just saying it would be better to get there and not stay on schedule than to get everyone what they were hoping for in terms of a release date but not do it correctly. And by correctly, I mean my way," laughed Downey.

Comments

[musemachine.livejournal.com]

Achilles is tough to relate to, at least for a modern audience, because he takes the slight to his honor from Agamemnon (hoo, boy, don't even get me started on that man) so, so seriously, seriously enough that he demands the gods turn the tide of the war against the Greeks so he can have his Big Damn Hero moment to assuage his wounded pride. The issue with Patroklos is easier to relate with, I'd agree, who again gives this remote, godlike hero his humanity back. Odysseus is a smooth-talking snake, whom none of the Greeks can trust further than they throw him and betrays his obligation of guest-friendship to Hekabe. Iason married a woman, then abandoned her when a shiny newer model came along, even though Medea sacrificed everything for him. Numerous Greek heroes raped young girls, and the Atreidai are just a general mess.

Sorry for the word vomit. I'm actually writing a thesis on the changed meaning of heroism between Greek legends and modern-day comic books, with a focus on the Dark Age and Modern Age of comics and the Trojan War.

[kelseyg.livejournal.com]

Okay, but I don't see how the British wearing gaudy costumes and succeeding in pre-modern warfare times has anything to do with this.

The British won *despite* those costumes, not because of them. Having ridiculously superior firepower to all the less advanced places probably was the key victory point.

The World Wars are a different game - by then they knew more about camouflage, and practical battle wear for industrial battles. War had advanced past the idea of "dress up in colorful costumes with flags and march off to the battlefield with a little band", so reverting to that idea doesn't really make any sense.

[valtyr]

I'm puzzled about the shield. I mean, I could perhaps grit my teeth and accept that they send their supersoldier out to dance around in tights (seriously, I don't think a male entertainer in that period would even wear tights) but I don't believe they'd hand him a marvelous, unique piece of metal to do it with.

Oh, probably he has the kite shield in this? And then in the future he gets the awesome one. Possibly after, in the finale of this, chucking his shield to gain advantage at a key point.

[valtyr]

Yeah, we may claim the French are primitive natives, but Napoleon and his forces were not exactly wielding pointy sticks. Your European history could use a little work.

and practical battle wear for industrial battles.

What are you trying to say here? Heavy leather, with a shield to cover the lower torso and steel scale over the upper body and arms, is actually pretty damn good armour by the standards of the day. (Adding the helm, as per Ults, was actually very sensible.) I'm sure it didn't take until the twentieth century for people to figure out bright colours were noticeable.

I never claimed that colourful costumes were some kind of magic key to victory - just that they're certainly not an obstacle to such. The point is that, ultimately, he will be wearing the costume on the battlefield, and it's a waste of precious screen time to spend time coming up with a ludicrous 'justification' for it.

[kelseyg.livejournal.com]

My European history's fine, thanks! I was just quoting you irt: "colonizing less advanced places."

[valtyr]

Given the point of the comment was that they also fought people of similar technology levels with success, I'm not sure what your point was.

[revenant-oozi.livejournal.com]

Is Bucky going to be a part of this? I haven't really looked into it.

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

Per dude at comic con who I forget, yeah, they're pushing Bucky, but at the time it wasn't formal. It's probably formal one way or the other now, but I don't know what.

Given there are the Invaders though, thinking yes Bucky.
Not that I think any of the other Invaders will resemble themselves.

[ani-bester.livejournal.com]

Murrrghhhh, I shouldn't have looked.
This is one of those things that sounds GOD AWFUL in writing, but if I tune down my freaking out, I can almost see the logic in it AND it's all concepts they've used in comics to some degree, even if it was one-shots like The Chosen (in that AU the military did have major issues allowing Steve into combat and he basically went AWOL. actually the idea was in another four part comic too, and that wasn't AU).

He's never been in the USO, but it does explain the outfit, IMHO a lot better than the idea that the military would ever create it. Granted in the four part mini, it was based on Steve's art doodles, but they could still keep that and go with the USO.

Sooooo given that's not much of the plot at all really, I might live with it as a set up.

I'm actually more upset about the Invaders. They won't do them right, so why bother (and by they won't I mean they already said they wouldn't)

[morgulq.livejournal.com]

I do love the differences between the modern day hero and the ancient model.

Yeah, Odysseus is a prick. Telemachus isn't so bad though, must get it from his mother.

I've always kind of though of the majority of Greek heroes as having severe impulse control problems, they do tend to exhibit the extremes of human behaviour.

I can kind of see where Iason is coming from, I mean, Medea's fine until he gets home and all of a sudden he's being looked down on for having a foreign, barbarian wife. Doesn't mean I agree with him and it certainly doesn't stop me from cheering on her (rather extreme) vengance.

Kephalos...I have no idea what he was thinking, he's one of the ones I totally fail to get. I adore Prokris to a slightly ridiculous degree, though. For a mysogynistic society, they had some awesome heroines.

[musemachine.livejournal.com]

Well, the entire concept of the Greek hero is that of a man who is more than a man - larger than life. They're caricatures of Greek society, intricately connected to the whole concept of hubris and atys. It's a weird mix of morality tale and superhero story.

[merianmoriarty.livejournal.com]

Cap never wore tights

you're damn right. he wore ridiculously tight leather pants. <3 MUCH better than tights.

[des-pudels-kern.livejournal.com]

And with SPN about to come to an end (presumably), entering the Marvelverse would set him up for several movies... But, yes, he's not suited for Cap, and too old for Bucky (and I don't think they'll cast two different actors for Bucky if they can avoid it).

[garrideb.livejournal.com]

Very belatedly saying that I like the idea of him chucking the kite shield spontaneously and then getting his iconic shield after that.

[strzyga.livejournal.com]

ffff

not sure how i feel about the majority of the news, here, but you should post this over at ontd_comicbooks, too.

[savemoony.livejournal.com]

Feel free to repost it if you want.

[notrafficlights.livejournal.com]

Blargh. The way I always imagine Cap is much older and way beefier than what they're casting him as. Like, circa Oliver Coipel NOW (omg so much hotness in The Seige mini they've got running at the moment with Cap coming baaaaaaaack). But that just may be my love of Coipel's beefy guys. *sniffles* ;_; Bill, oh why did you have to go and get your arse killed by evil!Asgardians. You were so deliciously beefy and awkward and red-haired.

I hope they do like they did with nu!Kirk and get a relatively unknown in the role. That would be cool and cause less problems with casting, methinks.

Jensen Ackles as Hawkeye though... that I am all over like a bad rash in a weird place, oh yeah. Unf.

[girlnotorious.livejournal.com]

JENSEN ACKLES. OH GOD, IF THEY COULD MANAGE TO BEEF HIM UP ENOUGH THAT IT LOOKS REALISTIC, YES~!