Well, it looks like it’s essentially official now. THR is reporting that Chris Evans has accepted the Captain America gig offered to him by Marvel last Friday.
Evidently the terms of the deal were good enough that Evans was pleased (Marvel drives some of the hardest bargains in Hollywood) and the paperwork just needs to be signed and its a done deal.
A slew of young actors were once up for the role — Ryan Phillippe, Michael Cassidy, Patrick Flueger, Scott Porter, Wilson Blethel, Mike Vogel, John Krasinski and Chace Crawford are some of the names — but reportedly it came down to three actors with Evans beating out Channing Tatum (“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”) and “Gossip Girl” actor, Sebastian Stan.
Not everyone’s happy with this choice. In the Friday edition of Entertainment Weekly (not online), Marvel artist Alex Ross — who redesigned the character for Marvel a few years ago — complained about the young choices that were thrown around.
“We’ve been saying for years, if you don’t sign Jon Hamm to play this part, you’re crazy, ” Ross told the magazine. “Captain America is supposed to be the patriarch of the Marvel universe. To get a guy in his early to mid-20s is only thinking about where the character began, not what he ultimately needs to become.”
“The First Avenger: Captain America” will be directed by Joe Johnston (“The Wolfman”) and will shoot later this summer in Europe. Last we heard, but seemingly still unconfirmed, Hugo Weaving was set to play the film’s lead antagonist, Red Skull. There’s been no developments on who the female love interest is, but the last reports had Keira Knightley, Emily Blunt and Alice Eve (“She’s Out Of My League”) battling it out for the role.
Small Update: Variety confirms that Hugo Weaving will play the Red Skull. Though Variety doesn’t know anything new they say “The Avengers” film set for a May 4, 2012 release date, will also feature Edward Norton. Hmm, we’ll see. No word on the females yet.
