Attention every young, white male with a pretty face: Marvel Studios and Joe Johnston are looking for “Captain America.” And a good physique is not a requirement.
Earlier today, Deadline broke the wishlist of candidates on Marvel and Johnston’s list of potential dudes to suit up in the red, blue and white spandex for the lead role of “Captain America,” and we have to say, some of the choices are puzzling to say the least.
Two of the biggest names being considered – John Krasinksi and Chace Crawford – are also two of the wimpiest guys we could ever imagine being donning Captain America’s iconic suit. The stars of “The Office” and “Gossip Girl” (that alone should take them out of contention), we think, are too clean cut and lack the imposing presence and leadership the role requires. While they might be a good fit for the early part of the origin film, before Steve Rogers undergoes his transformation, we don’t see them tackling the post-transformation “psychology” convincingly. And unless these guys get seriously roided out, or “Captain America” ends up being a completely CGI character like Hulk (which isn’t entirely out of the question and seems more likely given the names we’re seeing) we don’t think either of those guys stand a chance doing the physical stuff either.
Some of the other names being tossed around include Mike Vogel (“Cloverfield”), Scott Porter (“Friday Night Lights”), Patrick Flueger (“The 4400”) and Michael Cassidy (who, THR informs us, appeared in “Smallville” and tested for “Superman” when McG was attached). To be honest, none of these names are really jumping out at as us “Yes! That’s Captain America!” choices. It’s a combination of age, presence and yes, the fact that these guys have never taken on a part of this scale (though we’re always ready to be pleasantly surprised).
Garrett Hedlund (“Tron Legacy”) is also being considered, even though his current schedule dosen’t seem to fit and Jensen Ackles is also on the list. Everyone is on a 30-day hold during the testing period from the studio. But don’t count on one of these guys ending up with role. Marvel went through a similar search for “Thor” and ended up going with an unknown (an approach we think would be wise here).
Why are all the actors so young and largely second or third stringers? The simple answer is finances. Marvel has a reputation for being notoriously cheap, and anyone slight older or more experienced will probably balk at the $300,000 being offered for the read role. Plus, they will contractually obliged to appear in nine more Marvel films whether they be full-on sequels or quick cameos in sister films.
As Deadline notes, Marvel’s penny pinching nearly caused Johnston himself to walk away from the project, “….I’m told reliably that ‘Captain America’ director Johnston recently reached an impasse with Marvel and briefly walked off the film when Marvel informed him the budget was too high and he’d have to take a pay cut. They found common ground and he returned to the fold, but it reinforces Marvel’s reputation for hard bargaining…”
So while the rest of the geeksites deliberate over which of those names will get cast, our hunch is that none of them will. For Kransinski and Crawford, who are the most established of these guys, taking a considerable pay cut and then tying yourself down to that character for nine more films doesn’t seem like a great career move. For some of the lesser known guys, it might be a nice gig and easy paycheck but again, our gut tells us they won’t make the grade.
“Captain America” (whoever he is) will hit screens July 22, 2011.