The First Avenger: Captain America – A Villain Update

Director Joe Johnston confirmed the villain, and his name is Red Skull. (I think we saw this coming?) Mr. Skull and Cappy Amerikuh go hand in hand for me whenever I think of either one, so this news pleases me.

The majority of the movie will be set during World War II, and Johnston explained:

“Virtually the entire story except the bookends are in World War II because we all recognize we have one chance to tell the origin story of how he became Captain America, you can’t tell a modern story and then go back and tell the origin story. If you’re going to do it, let’s do it. Let’s do it first. Everyone wanted to tell an origin story. There was a version where it was a modern story and it didn’t work.”

There is no word on who will play the Cappy. Johnston has said he’s going to look for someone American, and someone relatively unknown. The challenge is finding someone who can play weakling Steve Rogers and then turn around and play super soldier Captain America. The chosen actor for the titular character should be announced by the end of February to the middle of March.

Read below for some spoiler-ish details regarding the suit and some plot of the movie.

Johnston is adding a little twist to the costume. No, not in appearance, necessarily, but how the Captain feels about it. After Steve Rogers is made into a super soldier the government doesn’t want to risk their expensive project getting killed, so they force him to perform in the USO and give him a flag suit, which he doesn’t like at all.

“It was never in the comics,” Johnston said, “because they didn’t really need it. In comics, he puts on the costume and the reader just justifies because of the nature of the medium.”

After Rogers does go AWOL and fights, he covers up the suit. A few things happen and eventually the flag suit becomes something he needs. (I realize I’m keeping this as simple as possible, I don’t want to majorly spoil anything for anyone.)  There will be more than one costume.

His first costume in the USO sequence will be close to the classic Jack Kirby-designed suit. As he gets more involved in the battlefield the costume will become sturdier, more like armor, and somewhat more functional.

Johnston says, “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.”

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