Good News: ‘Narnia’ Writers Will Pen ‘Captain America’
Posted by Dirty Harry on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
You know, even I get tired of being so negative about all things present-day Hollywood. And so it’s nice to report that things continue to look up with respect to the upcoming Captain America film. Good director and now a couple of solid screenwriters:
It’s time to speak up Captain America fans! Here’s your movie: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are writing the WWII-set screenplay and Joe Johnston will be directing. Markus and McFeely previously penned the screenplays for both Chronicles of Narnia movies as well as You Kill Me. Johnston, as we previously announced, directed Jumanji, October Sky, and Jurassic Park III, as well as a few other films. There’s your lead creative team behind The First Avenger: Captain America.
Hard to imagine a better resume for Captain America than the Narnia team. Prince Caspian, especially, is just a stand alone kick-butt adventure film carried on the shoulders of a warm, but not overbearing thematic structure. If they can apply that same touch to CA we could have a real winner.
As far as Johnston directing, October Sky is a beautiful little film and he really beat expectations with Jurassic Park III. Clocking in at 90-minutes, it’s a disciplined, tight, imaginative little thrill ride we all expected to suck.
Filed in General |
Michael Hutchisonon 19 Nov 2008 at 9:28 am 1Joe’s first two films, “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” and “The Rocketeer”, are better than most of the fare made today. JPIII was less cloying than Spielberg’s efforts (though admittedly Spielberg established all the good elements about JP as well) and the ending only sucked because of producer Spielberg’s animal rights nonsense. (Notice that nobody ever kills a dinosaur in his films? Thus, the ending where the military helicopter blows away the spinosaurus got nipped in the bud and we end up with that ridiculous velociraptor voicebox ruse and then a guy in a suit with a megaphone announcing the movie is over. (Don’t blame Joe!)
October Sky? I cry every time.
Stephanieon 19 Nov 2008 at 9:34 am 2Oh this is good. I have a special needs kid sister in law and we are giving her The Narnia movies as presents this year. I am so glad these guys are doing this movie. AWESOME!
Michaelon 19 Nov 2008 at 9:46 am 3Director and writers are both good for this. The next big test — casting!
steevyon 19 Nov 2008 at 10:00 am 4I can remain hopeful but they still have lots of ways to screw this up.Once a cynic always a cynic I guess…..
John McClainon 19 Nov 2008 at 10:11 am 5I liked Iron Man and am hopeful for this. I love the other movies he did. October Sky? The fact that it is true and has the actual footage at the end is icing on the cake.
Die Hard Fan
jimboon 19 Nov 2008 at 10:42 am 6Good directer, Good Screenwriters now all it needs is a good leading man. The casting of this movie will be critical. Im worried Hollywood will politically correct the movie out of fun by casting someone who looks or acts nothing like the comic. Hopefully thats not the case
PerfectTommyon 19 Nov 2008 at 10:57 am 7And they better not do to The Red Skull what those FF4 nuckleheads did to Dr. Doom.
Steve W.on 19 Nov 2008 at 10:59 am 8Amen, PerfectTommy, amen.
NeoConJedion 19 Nov 2008 at 11:22 am 9This is truly good news. Now, hopefully they cast Neil McDonough to be Cap, and we’re set.
Ratherreadon 19 Nov 2008 at 11:22 am 10So who would you choose as Cap?
NeoConJedion 19 Nov 2008 at 11:27 am 11If not Neil McDonough, I think Josh Lucas would do well (but I can’t remember if I saw him in one of those dumbass Obama commercials — it’s hard to like anyone after seeing them in one of those.)
Full Metal Deer Platoonon 19 Nov 2008 at 11:32 am 12Since Marvel’s films now have a little “teaser” after the credits, i can picture what Captain America’s will be: The present day. A Stark Enterprises ice-breaking ship, with Tony Stark at the helm, pulls a large block of ice out of the ocean, with Cap frozen in it, a la Avengers #4.
Michaelon 19 Nov 2008 at 11:56 am 13Mark Valley?
Maryon 19 Nov 2008 at 12:03 pm 14Ha, it’s nice to see I’m not the only one pleasantly surprised by JPIII! I certainly enjoyed it much more than the Spielberg-helmed Lost World. October Sky is another great film, the kind I can watch over and over.
As for casting, I’m surprised how often Neal McDonough’s name keeps popping up, here and elsewhere. I didn’t realize he was that well-known. I like him, but I can’t really see him as Cap. And yeah, NeoConJedi, I kinda liked Josh Lucas, but then something turned me off to him–except I can’t remember what. Probably something Obama-related.
Ryan Phillipe’s name also keeps coming up on other messageboards. I think he’s the one I’m most dead set against. Him and DiCaprio, another popular pick.
Ohio Wolverine Momon 19 Nov 2008 at 12:03 pm 15I second Mark Valley; he’s a vet who graduated from West Point—with the chiseled features and acting chops to pull it off—-who do I lobby?
Michaelon 19 Nov 2008 at 12:07 pm 16Except for the X-Men, many of the other Marvel films have A-List actors as their leading men so it seems unlikely they’ll pick an unknown or a little known TV actor.
I just can’t think of anybody right for this, and if the actor’s not right I’d rather they wait and not do it at all. Brad Pitt is a bit old, though I guess there is enough technology to youth-enize him these days. But he is also kind of small so they’d have to blow him up on screen. Iron Man, Spider-Man and Bruce Banner could all be smaller guys, but Cap was a big, athletic, all-America looking athlete.
His blond hair makes a bit of a problem too, only because if you have become accustomed to seeing an actor with dark hair, making him blond could look hokey or distracting.
Maybe a new face is exactly what’s called for, but so risky if he doesn’t have the right charisma. I said it before, I’d hate to have to ne a casting director assigned to this role.
Wayfareron 19 Nov 2008 at 12:49 pm 17Oh, this is awesome news! Another superhero movie I can get excited about.
Supramom2000on 19 Nov 2008 at 12:59 pm 18If anyone here watches Chuck on NBC, they know of the character that Chuck calls Cpt Awesome. He is blond, chiseled and big. He is good on that show. He would be fabulous!
BTW - someone else on another thread suggested this, so I am just seconding their motion.
Steve W.on 19 Nov 2008 at 1:40 pm 19This idea comes from another website, but Nathan Fillion might be a good choice. He was good in “Serenity”, and while he’s not blond, I don’t think it’s that big of a problem. He’s not so big a star that it would be jarring to see him with dyed blond hair.
Steve M.on 19 Nov 2008 at 1:46 pm 20How about Steve Byers?
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0125847/
He’d need to add a little size, but he looks the part otherwise.
He is, however, a Canadian. He might be more appropriate for a Captain Canuck movie.
Keetson 19 Nov 2008 at 1:46 pm 21What? No Paul Haggis? Dismayed! (yuck.)
Actually, did anyone see the Captain America film from the early 90’s? Cheesy as hell, and I think it went straight to video. And maybe it’s because I was a ten year old boy at the time, but it was awesome! (and cheesy). Fact: It starred the son of author JD Salinger.
Jasonon 19 Nov 2008 at 1:52 pm 22Good news, but that image of Cap is really bugging me. Am I the only one who sees that? I thought this was going to be a PG affair! LOL!
Ohio Wolverine Momon 19 Nov 2008 at 1:56 pm 23Mark Valley is a blonde, and has a strong look….who do I lobby…don’t want a pretty boy like the lead in Caspian.
Wayfareron 19 Nov 2008 at 2:02 pm 24Re: Supramom2000
Capt Awesome?? Maybe.
Re: Steve M
That would be freakin’ awesome. He’s already played the superhero pretty well. I love him in Dr. Horrible.
Enderon 19 Nov 2008 at 2:40 pm 25MEMO TO HARRY: In the parlance of the day, he is referred to as “Cap.” Not “CA.”
Casting is crucial now. Wouldn’t mind an unknown. I like Kevin McKidd (Rome, Journeyman) but he might be a better Thor.
Young Robert Redford would be perfect, though he’d probably insist the flag on his chest be worn upside down.
Maryon 19 Nov 2008 at 2:45 pm 26Ha, I think I might be the only geek out there who thinks Fillion is just okay. (And I feel the same way about Kristen Bell! I might as well hand in my geek credentials.)
Plus, he’s Canadian.
Okay, looking at different forums, there seems to be three areas of disagreement when it comes to Cap’s casting:
1) whether to go A-list, or with an unknown
2) whether to go younger, to be more faithful to the comic, or older, to be taken more seriously.
3) whether the actor MUST be American, or not
Hee, I’ve always loved casting games, so this is fun for me. This one should’ve been easy…but it’s not.
Maryon 19 Nov 2008 at 2:46 pm 27It’s funny, geeks seem more adamant about #3 than the good folks here.
Jasonon 19 Nov 2008 at 2:58 pm 28Ender: Kevin McKidd is a pretty good idea. He might need to work on his American accent a little, but I don’t think it would be terrible having a Brit (or is he a Scot?) play Cap. He’s got just the right amount of intensity and the perfect chin. Then again, I could easily see him as Thor too.
Michaelon 19 Nov 2008 at 5:44 pm 29I don’t care if the actor is American, I just want him to play the role right.
It is clear that Marvel is planning a future AVENGERS film bringing all of these characters together. The actor who plays CAP has to have acting chops and charisma enough to hang with Downy, Norton, Jackson and whomever they get to play THOR. I have not seen the show Chuck so I can’t speak to Ryan McPartlin, (Captain Awesome) but he does have decent look for a young Captain America.
misterdon 19 Nov 2008 at 6:13 pm 30I love JPIII. Admittedly I’m a biology nerd (there are a wide variety of nerd strains running through my nerd) and a dino nerd, and I can’t think of a single movie that could not be made better if it had rampaging dinosaurs eating people (and yes, that includes Citizen Kane, Wizard of Oz and the Godfather).
Something like Captain America doesn’t need a star to helm it - the character will sell it. The helmer merely needs to be competent and undestand the product. Look at Iron Man and Hulk. Favreau and Letterier are good directors, but not A listers (well, Favreau may be now).
As for the Skull… I understand what went wrong with Doom. He’s got one of the most convoluted stories of any comic villain - disfigured not once but twice (the second time by his own inept hand), monarch, science genius, wizard, mom captured by Satan… I can understand the attempt to make him better fit the FF story with a more scifi/superhero story, and in better hands it might have worked.
Thankfully, the Skull is simple - the Nazi version of Cap’n A. Just as the US Army transforms nondescript Steve Rogers into the Sentinal of Liberty (through the wonders of modern science!), Hitler chooses a random boy to become his Ubermensch (through the wonders of hatred and the still unrivaled power of Nazi art design). Since the story (thank God) is set in and around WW2, it should be royally hard to fuck up the Skull.
misterdon 19 Nov 2008 at 6:19 pm 31Fillon is a terrible choice. He’s naturally snarky and too old. Rogers was a college student just prior to WW2, and really shouldn’t be over 30 by the time he gets frozen. I don’t care if Rogers is blonde and blue eyed (actually that’s a little creepy when you consider the ultimate Nazi fighter is their wet dream), but he does need to be someone you can buy as a 40s All American.
Anybody watch Jericho? I was thinking the farm boy could pull it off.
Nicol Don 19 Nov 2008 at 6:25 pm 32Cap is one of my fav characters in the Marvel universe. I really see no A-listers who I would trust with this role so my gut says go unknown. Pitt and Damon kinda look the part but on an ideological level, I scream, no.
I suspect if the Trek reboot is a hit, the Kirk actor (whose name escapes me) will be seriously considered based on looks.
misterdon 19 Nov 2008 at 6:27 pm 33Damon lacks a commanding presence, and Pitt’s too slim.
Cap is brick jawed and has a solid physique, and when he speaks every man in the theater should be ready to follow him through the gates of Bed, Bath and Beyond.
jimboon 19 Nov 2008 at 6:56 pm 34“actually that’s a little creepy when you consider the ultimate Nazi fighter is their wet dream”
Actually thats kind of the point of the character. Captain America has to be a blonde hair blue eyed white man because there is a beautiful irony to a character being the Nazi version of the perfect man yet being on our side fighting against the Nazis. Thats why rumors that Captain will be a minority actor or a foreign actor need to false because if they are true the character will be ruined.
Jack Marinoon 19 Nov 2008 at 7:20 pm 35This is nuts, you see what the liberals have done with making everything so anal when it come to race and appearance. This is all insane.
David A.on 19 Nov 2008 at 7:50 pm 36I don’t think Cap needs to be blonde like in the comics. Brown hair might be fine. Black hair, though, wouldn’t work.
I’ve been watching the American TV show “Life on Mars.” Whenever I do, I find myself thinking the lead actor, Jason O’Mara has star written all over him. He needs to be on the big screen. He has presence.
I don’t think he’d be a good Cap, for he’s not American. But, I can’t help thinking of him as a relative unknown who would fit the role. He looks like a man and Cap is a man–not a boy.
In any event, I hope that O’Mara has his star grow.
Major Grahamon 19 Nov 2008 at 7:52 pm 37At least now that teh one was elected it is OK to make pro-America movies. Sheesh!
chrison 19 Nov 2008 at 8:16 pm 38Jason,
I can’t believe everyone else isn’t noticing it either. Was Captain America Jewish?
Buck Turgidsonon 19 Nov 2008 at 8:54 pm 39Will Reb Brown make the obligatory cameo?
misterdon 19 Nov 2008 at 9:38 pm 40I’m not sure making Cap blonde and blue back in the late 30s (I think - I know it was prior to Pearl Harbor) was an intentional irony, or accidental. It just as well plays into our view of the classic hero.
As for making him black? No. No way in that era would even the most progressive person have suggested making a black man the symbol of our country. Remember, Captain America wasn’t just a guy in a costume like Batman or Superman, he was created by the government as a PR tool.
As for foreigner, I don’t much care if they can do the accent right. Its not as though the character would be Canadian.
Stephanieon 20 Nov 2008 at 6:18 am 41OH GAWD Reb Brown, the beach boy Nam Vet from Uncommon Valor. Dang. And another good Patrick Swayze movie.
Wayfareron 20 Nov 2008 at 7:54 am 42@ misterd:
That was brilliant sir.
Brandonon 20 Nov 2008 at 8:04 am 43I’m absolutely terrified at the idea of Hollywood taking on a project that requires so much patriotism. I’m afraid we’ll end up with some PC piece of garbage called “Captain World” and the bad guy will be a clearly Republican American politician who’s pulling the strings. This is what they did with Ironman so why not do it to Cap.
Maryon 20 Nov 2008 at 11:16 am 44Brandon, I feel mostly confident about this one, mainly because they’re playing it safe with WWII and Nazis. I do think calling it “The First Avenger: Captain America” is their version of “Captain World,” an attempt to make it more palatable. Which is ridiculous and annoying. I’ll also expect some corrupt higher-ups in the military. But I think it’ll mostly be an American guy kicking Nazi ass.
I’ll be very curious, however, when they release the first images of Cap’s costume design!
maatkareon 20 Nov 2008 at 12:00 pm 45Chris, yeah, he seems to have a mighty American package in that drawing…
David A.on 20 Nov 2008 at 7:18 pm 46To Mary, regarding the title of the movie (”The First Avenger: Captain America.)
I tend to think that the title is probably due to the time period of the movie. “The Avengers” were mentioned by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in “Iron Man.”
The producers are probably trying to get the public prepared for the upcoming “Avengers” movie. Since the movie will be set in the present, some may question how Cap would be in the “Avengers” movie.
In a sense, then “Captain America” is kind of like a prequel to the “Avengers” movie.
Also, the title sets up that Cap is afforded special status. He is the first Avenger because he is the leader. He is the first in chronology and in status. He is not equal to Ant-Man or the Wasp.
And “The Avengers” were never really any sort of UN group of multinational individuals, at least not in its original incarnation. So, I’m not sure I’d worry about that.
I admit that these thoughts are not solidified, but merely the granting of the benefit of the doubt.
I could be wrong entirely.
But, I still give the producers the benefit of the doubt, especially with the idea of setting up “The Avengers” movie.
Marty A.on 30 Nov 2008 at 4:23 pm 47I love this suggestion…
“How about Steve Byers?
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0125847/
He’d need to add a little size, but he looks the part otherwise.
He is, however, a Canadian. He might be more appropriate for a Captain Canuck movie.”
Never seen him before which might make it better for the role?
Hopefully he doesn’t say eh after every line. Might make it obvious.