Captain America Will be a USO Performer in The Upcoming Movie
The LA Times have interviewed Joe Johnston, the director of Marvel Studios’ The First Avenger: Captain America, who has revealed several details about the plot of the upcoming movie.
In the interview, Johnston discusses how they plan to deal with Captain America’s uniform, which is basically just the American flag, saying:
“The costume is a flag, but the way we’re getting around that is we have Steve Rogers forced into the USO circuit. After he’s made into this super-soldier, they decide they can’t send him into combat and risk him getting killed. He’s the only one and they can’t make more. So they say, ‘You’re going to be in this USO show’ and they give him a flag suit. He can’t wait to get out of it.”
He goes on to say that:
“So he’s up on stage doing songs and dances with chorus girls and he can’t wait to get out and really fight. When he does go AWOL, he covers up the suit but then, after a few things happen, he realizes that this uniform allows him to lead. By then, he’s become a star in the public mind and a symbol. The guys get behind him because he embodies something special.”
Well, that’s certainly an inventive way to deal with the costume. However, I think that the story of Captain America is so well known that an explanation really isn’t necessary. People going to see the movie will just expect Cap to wear the uniform, and will probably care little about why he is made to wear it..
In the interview Johnston also reveals that they currently have five or six people in the running for the title role. The youngest actor auditioning is 23 years old, and the oldest is 32. In the interview Johnston notes that the average age of a WWII soldier was 18 or 19, but this is incorrect, as the average age was more like the mid 20s, and Steve Rogers was actually 24 when he signed up for Project Rebirth. Johnston hopes to have picked his lead by March 1st.
Johnston also revealed that there will be more than one uniform in the movie, with the classic costume being used for the USO scenes, and a sturdier battle suit being used for the war scenes. For example, he notes that the stripes across the suit’s mid-section will be replaced with straps, instead of coloured fabric:
“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.”
Paramount Pictures is set to distribute The First Avenger: Captain America on July 22, 2011. The film is being directed by Joe Johnston, produced by Kevin Feige, with a screenplay is being written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. No cast members have yet been announced.
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