Well the internet has been buzzing about this since it was announced yesterday so I decided to throw my hat into the ring. To start things off, I am a huge Captain America fan, I loved him as a kid for the reasons any kid loves a superhero: because he looked cool. But I grew up and decided maybe i should not be so superficial in my superhero love and decided to read up on him (my superficial superhero love still applies to Ghost Rider in this case). What I read of Captain America only solidified my love of him; I thought the man out of time stuff was brilliantly done when written right, and I loved how Captain America walked the line between extremely moral person and an ass kicking bad ass. The later comics by Ed Brubaker are nothing short of brilliant by playing up Cap's war shell shock as well as his abilities to kick ass like the best of them. So of course with the superhero craze going on in Hollywood, Captain America was long overdue for a (good) movie.
So far 2011 is looking like it could be a great year for superhero movies and could even rival 2008 as far as quality superhero movies go. Thor, The Green Lantern,Captain America and were announced to be hitting mere months apart. While casting and pre-production for both Thor and Green Lantern went underway, things were conspicuously quiet on The Captain America front. Just this past month it seems that Marvel suddenly remembered that it had a movie coming out based on one of their most iconic characters and decided that maybe they should throw something together for it's June production start (that's right, filming starts in June and not one role has been cast). Recently a proposed list of the finalists being considered for Captain America was released online, and several websites claimed that John Krasinki, best known as Jim on The Office was top contender for the role. I, like many other fan boys, was confused and then outraged at this, but something else has also caught my attention. Several other web sites say that the final auditions will take place over the next two weeks and there is a good possibility that they could go even longer if an actor is not found, but more on this later...
Lets look at the first issue, John Krasinski. Now I love The Office though recently I think the show has jumped the shark, but I digress. Jim is one of my favorite characters on the show, and a lot of it has to do with John Krasinki's performance as Jim. But whenever Krasinki has attempted to branch out beyond his cubicle on The Office it seems that he just can't leave the Jim Halpert character behind. One website was defending his possible casting by saying that the unconventional casting choices have always yielded the best results, even citing Heath Ledger, Robert Downey Jr, and Michael Keaten as examples. Now I love out of the blue casting as much as the next person, but when you look at the above examples you see that all three were established and respected actors before they were cast. Both Heath Ledger and Robert Downey Jr. were Oscar nominated actors before they entered the world of comic book movies, and though Michael Keaten was known as a comedic actor before Batman he at least showed that he had range in his comedic roles. Another obvious problem is one thing fan boys have been bringing up as well: the physical difference between Krasinski and Captain America. Now when we first meet Steve Rodgers before he becomes Captain America he is frail and sickly, which Krasinski kind of is. Krasinski could easily pack on the muscle to play the role I really wonder if the short time before filming would allow this, and extra muscle can't make up for a lack of presence. Ah yes, the infamous Captain America "presence". In Marvel comics it is established that not only do many heroes look up to Captain America but they also deeply respect him as a leader and a teacher. Marvel's premiere superhero team The Avengers is made up of the heavy hitters of Marvel comics and for years Captain America has served as their leader, and its no secret that Marvel is building up to an Avengers movie in the near future. Whoever plays Captain America needs to be someone that has the presence needed to make us believe that guys like Thor and Iron Man would actually take orders from him; and I really don't picture the smarmy, passive aggressive Jim from the office bossing around a Norse God and Robert Downey Jr. Now then again maybe I'm doing all of this for naught, in all odds its very conceivable that the John Krasinski rumor is just that: a rumor. Or Krasinski could very well be cast in the role, and if that does indeed come true I hope that I'm wrong about him and that he ends up silencing all naysayers much like Heath Ledger did with The Joker. But casting problems aside, more problems plague the Captain America movie.
As I stated above, Marvel Studios has said that the audition process will take up to two weeks, with possible extensions if a suitable actor is not found. Now if this scenario comes true, we are looking at the title role of a major summer action film being cast a little over two months or less before filming, and still no supporting roles have been filled. Early word on the Captain America film is that it is a big film, The Red Skull has already been announced as a villain, and The Invaders, a WWII era team of superheroes, have been revealed as supporting players, and a "comrade of Captain America who is lost behind enemy lines which causes Cap to go AWOL". Now logic tells me that this comrade could only be Bucky Barnes, Cap's old partner and eventual nemesis. Already this cast is huge and we have no actors to be placed with the roles. It is almost like Marvel IMDB'd Captain America and saw that it had a summer 2011 release date and thought "Maybe we should get on that". As much as I'm looking forward to this movie, I want a good Captain America not a rushed Captain America.X-Men: The Last Stand is a perfect example of what happens when you throw a superhero movie together at the last minute, though Cap has had plenty of time to prepare so hopefully he won't have the script problems Last Stand did. Captain America is one of Marvel's most recognizable characters and deserves an epic, respectable treatment and not a film thrown together at the last minute just to meet a release date. Hell I can wait another year for a Captain America movie if it is done well, and if the character isn't done well... Just look at the direct to video low budget Cap movie made in the 90's...
http://www.joblo.com/paramounts-captain-america-shortlist-full-of-relative-unknowns
http://www.cinematical.com/2010/02/24/exclusive-is-john-krasinski-our-captain-america/
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