File under Captain Obvious news. What’s with Marvel confirming things way after the fact and after the audience already knows? Despite Dominic Cooper having already admitted that he was going to play the younger version of Howard Stark in “Captain America: The First Avenger,” Marvel is now announcing that Dominic Cooper will play Howard Stark (the father of Tony Stark played by Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man”) in “Captain America: The First Avenger” which is set during the 1940s in WWII-devastated Europe.
“Mad Men” star John Slattery played the older Stark in archival footage played in the mangled mess they called “The Avengers” advertisement — sorry — “Iron Man 2.” Yes, these films will painfully interlock in every way possible and suck the life out of the narrative if at all possible (guys, just tell a story and drop the fucking teaser breadcrumbs — they didn’t work in ‘IM2’).
Tommy Lee Jones is in the film and he was belatedly announced yesterday weeks after a cast member had inadvertently confirmed his appearance in the film. “Captain America: The First Avenger” stars Chris Evans, plus Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Sebastian Stan, Neal McDonagh probably Samuel L. Jackson and Stanley Tucci.
Joe Johnston (the award-winning “Jumanji” and “The Wolf Man”) will sit in the director’s chair and the picture is scheduled to hit theaters July 22, 2011 via Paramount Pictures. Other Marvel Universe films are on the way including “Thor” on May 6, 2011 and “Marvel Studios’ The Avengers” on May 4, 2012 (is that the new official title of ‘The Avengers’??).