Brian Damage
09-08-2008, 08:09 PM
When Marvel announced that “Captain America” was making its way to the big-screen, fans everywhere began speculating who would be donning the famous red-white-and-blue tights. Nothing has been heard since, but during an MTV News interview regarding his role in “Miracle at St. Anna,” actor Derek Luke let slip that a very prominent - and surprising - face could be the star of Marvel Studios’ next blockbuster film.
“I heard they offered Will Smith ‘Captain America,’” said Luke, adding that the intriguing casting rumor “just shows you how times have changed.”
While this word through the Hollywood grapevine is nothing more than a rumor at this point, it should be noted that Marvel hasn’t shied away from changing up the race - and gender - of established characters in recent years. Upon kicking off his celebrated take on “The Ultimates” (Marvel’s re-imagining of their classic superteam The Avengers), Mark Millar changed S.H.I.E.L.D. head honcho Nick Fury from a crew-cut, cigar-chomping, middle-aged white man to, well… Sam Jackson.
The decision, though aggressively debated back when the series debuted, seemed to receive some validation earlier this year when Jackson made his post-credits cameo in “Iron Man” as Fury.
Smith himself is no stranger to the four-color world, having recently starred as a down-on-his-luck superhero in “Hancock.” Given the success of that film however, it seems almost a given that a sequel could be in the offing. That makes the prospect of Smith starring in yet another superhero franchise seem unlikely, especially given the subversive tone of “Hancock.”
Along with providing some fresh material for the “Captain America” rumor mill, Luke also mentioned an interest in jumping into the superhero movie scene himself, and offered up a few characters he’d like to bring to the big screen.
“I would love to jump into Green Lantern,” said Luke. “There are a lot of stories I’m into… [like] Black Panther.”
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/09/08/exclusive-is-will-smith-the-new-captain-america/
“I heard they offered Will Smith ‘Captain America,’” said Luke, adding that the intriguing casting rumor “just shows you how times have changed.”
While this word through the Hollywood grapevine is nothing more than a rumor at this point, it should be noted that Marvel hasn’t shied away from changing up the race - and gender - of established characters in recent years. Upon kicking off his celebrated take on “The Ultimates” (Marvel’s re-imagining of their classic superteam The Avengers), Mark Millar changed S.H.I.E.L.D. head honcho Nick Fury from a crew-cut, cigar-chomping, middle-aged white man to, well… Sam Jackson.
The decision, though aggressively debated back when the series debuted, seemed to receive some validation earlier this year when Jackson made his post-credits cameo in “Iron Man” as Fury.
Smith himself is no stranger to the four-color world, having recently starred as a down-on-his-luck superhero in “Hancock.” Given the success of that film however, it seems almost a given that a sequel could be in the offing. That makes the prospect of Smith starring in yet another superhero franchise seem unlikely, especially given the subversive tone of “Hancock.”
Along with providing some fresh material for the “Captain America” rumor mill, Luke also mentioned an interest in jumping into the superhero movie scene himself, and offered up a few characters he’d like to bring to the big screen.
“I would love to jump into Green Lantern,” said Luke. “There are a lot of stories I’m into… [like] Black Panther.”
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/09/08/exclusive-is-will-smith-the-new-captain-america/