CBR's Kiel Phegley, caught up with Marvel E-I-C for the annual Cup O' Joe, and they end up talking about the casting for The First Avenger: Captain America.
Kiel Phegley: Let's shift topics for a minute to another piece of Marvel news which has been a very hot topic of late: the casting of Captain America for Joe Johnston's upcoming Cap feature film. Chris Evans has been confirmed as the lead, but even before that, this process did draw a lot of talk including multiple reports on what actors were reading for the part weeks ahead of time. Why do you think people are so invested in this specific casting process?
Joe Quesada: Well, all I can say is that last week I was out in LA on a super secret covert mission. Well, it was covert until I mentioned it on Twitter the other day (whoops). And, from what I've seen, I think it's reasonable to say that the search for Captain America left no stone unturned in Hollywood. If you can think of an actor who might fit the role, either perfectly or remotely, I can almost assure you they have been considered and or screen tested for the part.
This has probably been the most exhaustive search for a lead actor since the search for Scarlett O'Hara. But, this makes sense as the role of Cap is such an incredibly special one and really bigger than life. Not only does an actor have to embody the sheer power and charisma of a character like Cap, he must also be able to demonstrate his humility. Add to this the 90 lb. weakling aspect of Steve Rogers and you have a part that is very tough to fill by anyone's standards. The other thing to keep in mind is that while in our comics, Cap is shown as a mature man, perhaps in his early thirties, who has seen a lot of the world – this can't be the case in the Cap movie. Steve Rogers is about 24 when he enlists, and he's not much older than that when he becomes Cap. This may seem like culture shock to fans who have been reading his comics for decades, but when you stand back and think about it for a second, you have to scratch your head and say, “oh yeah, that's right!”
The reason I think fans are so invested in these rumors is because we all have a mental image of what our favorite Marvel heroes look like, and we all hope to see that perfect person who looks like they just walked out of our books and onto the screen. But I think history has proven that what is most important in these roles is finding the right actor or actress first that can embody the spirit of the character and who can give the performance of a lifetime doing so. I think the current batch of leading actors and actresses in our Marvel-produced movies have proven that to be very much the case.
But this is where the casting of Chris Evans is such a homerun. Here you have a guy who absolutely embodies every aspect of Cap, including the look and feel of the character. Kevin Feige was absolutely beaming after meeting with Chris and seeing what he could do, and I've got to tell you, I think he's perfect as well. See, that to me is the beauty of the movies that we at Marvel produce. We know the characters better than anyone outside of our fans, and we know how important it is to cast just that right person. We aren't a bunch of Hollywood execs who don't understand the source material or it's history; it's Marvel guys and gals making Marvel movies, and that's a huge difference.
Chris Evans is going to rock as Cap, as will Sebastian Stan as Bucky, who plays a pretty important part in our movie. The story is epic, the director is a legendary icon and the cast is taking shape in fantastic ways – man, it's great to be a Marvel fan in this new millennium!
Kiel Phegley: I do think that with Captain America, people expect the character to really represent what America means and are far more likely to project upon him their own views. We've seen a little bit of this recently with the "Tea Bagging" incident in the Cap monthly, where folks across the political spectrum seemed ready to label Cap a conservative or a liberal. It seems a movie might take that kind of talk to a much bigger level. Have you and the guys at Marvel Films discussed the political nature of having a superhero called Captain America while preparing the story and thinking about casting?
Joe Quesada: Of course we have, and it's something that we don't take lightly. What's important to note is that this is a guy who wears the American flag, and that flag stands for different things to different people. What is key to us is really more Cap the man than Cap's politics. I think if we focus on that, the movie will avoid any claims of partisanship or what have you. That said, I can almost guarantee you that someone will want to find something in the motives behind why Cap does the things he does. It just comes with the territory and is nothing that we haven't experienced before.
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