First, we have Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes. Stan is best known for his roles in Gossip Girl and the television drama Kings. Bucky Barnes started out basically as Captain America's Robin. Judging by his appearance on the cover of Captain America Comics #1, Bucky seemed to be a pretty light character. However, things took a darker turn for Bucky when he was seemingly killed off during the incident that left Captain America frozen. He was later brought back as the Winter Soldier. After the apparent death of Steve Rogers, Bucky took on the mantle of Captain America. Sporting a new costume and carrying a gun, Bucky as Captain America was very different than what fans were used to with Steve.
Recent stories by Ed Brubaker have reinvented WW2 Bucky as a darker and more serious character than he was originally. The Ultimate version of Bucky Barnes was a childhood friend of Steve Rogers who accompanied Cap on missions as an army press photographer. Steve later meets an elderly Bucky after he is thawed out. With all this, it'll be interesting to see how they choose to adapt this character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One of the most important things that the movie needs to focus on with Bucky is his close friendship with Steve Rogers. While fighting in this war, Bucky and Cap are seeing people they know die every day. It should be clear that these two would put their lives on the line without hesitation to save each other.
Sebastian Stan is currently 26 years old, so it's safe to assume they'll be aging Bucky at least a few years from his teenage comic counterpart. I think for the movie they should combine elements from some of the different versions of Bucky's story. I'd like for them to use the Ultimate story of them being old friends. Although in the comics, they fight together for a few years, the movie doesn't have as much time. It would be easier to make them close friends if they had a history together. Maybe after Steve becomes Captain America they should see each other for the first time in a few years. In this time Bucky has become an expert killer and is one of the most lethal soldiers in the army. He doesn't enjoy it, but he's a gifted soldier and he uses his talents to do what is necessary.
Bucky is an expert marksman, a trained assassin, and a master of hand to hand combat, making him an obvious choice for an elite squadron of soldiers in which he and Captain America are joined by a few others. If they put Bucky in costume, I think it should be something that looks more like the Winter Soldier costume because it's more serious and would probably make more sense. I definitely think they should make Bucky's fate ambiguous so they will have the option of doing the Winter Soldier storyline in one of the Captain America sequels.
Hugo Weaving will be playing the Red Skull. Weaving is probably best known for his role as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy. The Red Skull will serve as the main villain of the movie. I could go into the character's background, but bottom line: he's an evil Nazi guy. He's very smart and very strong so I think we can count on seeing a big fight between Captain America and the Red Skull around the climax of the movie. I'm pretty confident in Hugo Weaving's ability to portray the Red Skull. The guy has already played Agent Smith and Megatron, so he's familiar with the sinister villain type role. Give him a German accent and a good CGI enhanced make-up job and you've got the Red Skull.
Hayley Atwell will be playing Peggy Carter. She's a British actress whose recent works include The Duchess, The Prisoner, and The Pillars of the Earth. Peggy Carter will likely serve as Cap's love interest in this movie. During WW2 , Carter was a freedom fighter with the French Resistance. These days, comic book readers mostly know her as the aunt of agent Sharon Carter who serves as Cap's love interest in modern times.
Samuel L. Jackson will be making an appearance as Nick Fury. This is Jackson's third appearance as Nick Fury, after Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Jackson's Nick Fury is inspired by the Ultimate Marvel Universe version of Nick Fury, which was modeled after his image Obviously, this is pretty different from the classic white Nick Fury. In the comics, Nick Fury was around during WW2 and led a team called the Howling Commandos. His aging has been halted due to something called the Infinity Formula. Because of this, some people are wondering whether the infinity formula is part of the story of the movie version of Nick Fury. Personally, I don't think it will be or should be. It has been confirmed that the movie will have modern bookends. In other words, it starts out in modern day and ends in modern day. What seems likely is that Nick Fury will be leading some SHIELD agents who are looking for Captain America's body at the beginning. The movie will likely end with them finding him.
Tommy Lee Jones will be playing General Chester Phillips. Some of Jones's most notable films include The Fugitive, Men in Black, and no Country for Old Men. General Phillips is known for being the man that recruits Steve Rogers for Operation Rebirth. This is how he becomes the first and only super soldier.
Dominic Cooper will be playing Howard Stark. Some of Cooper's notable roles include Mama Mia!, The Duchess, and The History Boys. Howard Stark is best known for being the father of Tony Stark aka Iron Man. The Iron Man movie established that Howard worked for the Allies during WW2. Both Iron Man movies also showed that Tony Stark was somehow in possession of Captain America's shield. I'm not sure how Significant a role Howard will play, but his appearance in the Captain America movie could suggest that he was involved in operation rebirth and is possibly the person who build Captain America's shield.
Stanley Tucci will be playing Abraham Erskine. Tucci has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Lovely Bones. Dr. Erskine plays a very important, although probably brief, role in this movie. He's the scientist that creates the Super Soldier Serum that transforms Steve Rogers from a frail young man into Captain America.
Neal McDonough will be playing Dum Dum Dugan. Neal McDonough has had roles in Flags of our Fathers and Band of Brothers making him a natural fit for the setting of this movie. Marvel fans may remember him as the voice of Bruce Banner from the Incredible Hulk animated series of the 90's and the 2005 video game Incredible hulk: Ultimate Destruction. In the regular Marvel universe, Dum Dum Dugan is a member of Nick Fury's Howling Commandos during WW2 and is later a top SHIELD agent in the Marvel universe.
Toby Jones will be playing Arnim Zola. Some of Jones's credits include Finding Neverland, The Mist, and Dr. Who. Arnim Zola is a Nazi biochemist so I think it's safe to assume that he'll be working for the Red Skull.
Please check out the video version of this article here. Mostly the same content, but it has more pictures and you don't have to read.
Keep an eye out for my next article in which I'll be talking about keeping the movie grounded.