Those of you who checked my previous fan casts will know for my casts I’ve taken on a bit more a generic view with casting, those of you who don’t, just to make it clear; rather than cast one specific film entry in a franchise I decided to cast of characters I’d expect to be around in a ‘5 year’ window of the Marvel universe/existence of the Avengers (yes, I’m inspired by the New 52), and who will hopefully crop up in Marvel’s future films.
Anyway, I personally was not a fan of Captain America: The First Avenger. Visually it was stunning, but overall I feel it lacked as it could’ve been so much better and missed out on an opportunity to show a different side of the MCU and superhero films that has never really been seen before. Personally speaking, Cap’s first outing should’ve been a cross between Saving Private Ryan, The Rocketeer, Hellboy and Raiders of the Lost Ark- this would’ve allowed for the perfect blend of a gritty and dark yet fantastical superhero film but instead we got something that came off as more cheesy and less Nazi-villain centric. Yes, I know HYDRA ‘worked’ for the Nazi’s but I personally would’ve had the Red Skull and Nazi’s being the main bad guys whilst HYDRA formed after his disappearance in his honour by his loyal followers or something; just grounds Cap a bit more in reality, but oh well.
So, like a lot of people I’m a big fan of Ed Brubaker’s run on Captain America and hope his work still influences whatever incarnation of the character and his universe that is next portrayed on the big screen as like I said above; I like Captain America to be more grounded in reality with little burst of fantasy thrown in every now and then- something which Brubaker captured perfectly with his run on the character.
___________________________ Chris Pine as Steve Rogers/Captain America Original? Admittedly not, but Pine has always been my number one choice for the role. Whereas most people restrict Pine and just see him as a one note ‘Ryan Reynolds’-type actor I think he’s pretty damn underrated and has a lot of potential to do wonders in a role like this; his work as Captain Kirk alone has showcased moments which I think Pine would be able to translate beautifully well as the Sentinel of Liberty. Forgetting that though, outside Pine has been critically praised for a lot of his theatrical work so it’s clear he isn’t just a ‘pretty boy’. End of the day, he’s got the look and the presence and he’s very charismatic so would definitely be able to make Marvel’s Big Blue Boy Scout shine.
John Hurt as Abraham Erskine Hurt is a brilliant veteran actor and always brings a great presence to whatever films he’s in classing it up in the process. I cast him here primarily due to his role in
Hellboy; quite frankly, that should’ve earned him this role in the first place. There he brought the perfect balance of wisdom and fatherly presence and really helped serve as a great emotional weight for audiences to latch on to.
Tom Selleck as Chester Phillips Whilst Selleck doesn’t necessarily have the greatest track record in my eyes it’s still undeniable he’s a talented actor who can bring a great authoritative presence to his roles. Given the fact that he plays a similar role in
Blue Bloods I thought he’d be an ideal choice and the honourable and gruff general.
Camilla Luddington as Peggy Carter Replacing Haley Atwell is no easy feat and it took me a while to find the right actress, but in the end I found Luddington. I’ve seen her in a bunch of things now and whilst none of her roles in particular really stood out to me as an example of what she could do as Peggy it’s clear she’s got a lot of talent and potential but given the fact that she played/voiced the most recent videogame incarnation of Lara Croft she’s won some fanboy points in my book. Put simply, she comes off classy, intelligent and feisty and I think this would work for the role and would love to see her one day take it on; all she’d really need is some hair dye and she’d be set.
David Keith as Timothy Dugan Admittedly Keith is a little bit old now, but I still think he’d be great in the role (though I prefer the character to remain in WWII only). He’s a solid and pretty underrated actor who does great in roles like this; he’d definitely be able to bring the perfect balance of drama, humour and heart. His roles in
Daredevil and
Hawaii Five-0 in particular just sold me on the idea of him in the role.
Denzel Washington as Nick Fury Replacing Sam Jackson? Not an easy job, but if there is one actor in Hollywood who could surpass him as super spy Nick Fury it’s Washington. He’s a badass and has proven himself time and time again and with roles in films like
Training Day and
Safe House in particular showed me what he could do as Fury and I loved his characters in both films so would love for him to eventually get the role.
Anyway, whilst the Ultimate universe Nick Fury is just ‘Sam Jackson’ Fury and the current regular universe version is white Fury’s black kid (really dumb move) I personally would like for the MCU Nick Fury to have been Isaiah Bradley during WWII prior to creating a new identity (Nick Fury) for himself; essentially he was ‘Captain America’ before Steve Rogers was- personally, I think this would add more depth to the character and just make a richer MCU.
Rhona Mitra as Maria Hill First off I just want to say Cobey Smoulders is a hot but cringe worthy actress whereas Mitra on the other hand, is a really great actress. She won me over a long time ago with her work in
Doomsday and more recently
Strike Back. If given the chance I’m certain she could deliver with the role in spades, because let’s face facts; she’s hot, she’s tough and she can act- already an improvement from Smoulders.
Abbie Cornish as Sharon Carter I’ve seen Cornish in a few things now and it’s clear she’s a talented actress. She’s got the look, is a capable actress and most recently from her work in
Sucker Punch proved to be pretty capable with action and look good at it too, so personally speaking I’d love to see her as Cap’s squeeze.
Columbus Short as Sam Wilson/the Falcon Short is a pretty solid actor who unfortunately doesn’t get as many leading roles as he deserves. His roles in
Armoured and
The Losers convinced me he’d be an ideal choice for the role as not only did he showcase his action skills but he proved how capable he was both comedy and drama and even worked well within an ensemble cast. Put frankly, I think given the chance at the role Short would not only elevate the character amongst an ensemble cast but also make the character more likable, especially to people who tend not to care much for unpowered supporting characters.
Jai Courtney as Clint Barton/Hawkeye I’m a big fan of Courtney; I’ve seen him in a bunch of things now and it’s clear that he can play the easy going tough guy with charm in his sleep. His roles in
Spartacus and
A Good Day to Die Hard in particular worked as ‘auditions’ for me but Courtney’s work in
Jack Reacher also showed he’s capable with darker material and characters too. Put frankly, Courtney can act well and do action well and looks good whilst doing it, so I think that covers all grounds.
Alexandra Breckenridge as Natasha Romanov/Black Widow I’ve seen Breckenridge in a few things now and it’s clear she’s a pretty talented and versatile actress. Breckenridge has showcased her skills in both light and dark material and whilst she hasn’t really done anything with action her acting more than makes up for it and I think she’d be an ideal choice for the role especially given that she so strongly resembles the character.
Brendan Fehr as James ‘Bucky’ Barnes/The Winter Soldier A lot of you maybe scratching your heads at this choice but Fehr is a pretty talented and overlooked actor; admittedly he hasn’t done many notable things but I cast him because of his roles in
Roswell and
Nikita. In the latter of the two mentioned shows, Fehr played a pretty badass soldier who was willing to do whatever it took to the job; quite frankly, that more or less is what Bucky does. So, I personally would be willing to give Fehr a chance in the role.
Mads Mikklesen as Johann Schmidt/the Red Skull Casino Royale,
Valhalla Rising and
Hannibal have all proven to me what a great actor Mikklesen is. He can play smart, manipulative, cold, calculating, suave and badass all at the drop of a hat and if given the chance I believe he’d elevate the character and just make him a very memorable and great villain.
Mark Strong as Wolfgang Von Strucker Strong is one of the best actors around today and definitely a pro when it comes to playing villains, so for a role like this it only seemed logical to cast him. He can play cold, intimidating, intelligent, manipulative and badass with ease and can even slightly class up a turd of a film (
Green Lantern), so why not?
Thomas Kretschmann as Heinrich Zemo Kretschmann is a pretty underrated actor; I’ve seen him in a bunch of things now and it’s clear that he’s bursting with talent and is unfortunately very underutilised. He too can play badass, intelligent and cold with ease but also just has a very classy presence to him; I can’t quite explain it but I just get the impression he’d be able to bring a great regal quality to the role.
Tom Hollander as Arnim Zola I haven’t really seen Hollander in much I’ll admit, but his role as the creepy, camp assassin in
Hanna really struck a chord with me. Admittedly, his character there is a far cry from what Arnim Zola is but I still think he’d own the role as he genuinely comes off as very intelligent and it’s clear he’s a talented actor so would be able to translate and adapt his creepiness to this role well.
Yulia Snigir as Ophelia Sarkissian/Viper Snigir is a bit of an unknown actress and admittedly I haven't seen her in anything outside of
Live Free or Die Hard but I really think she could impress in the role. She's a pretty solid actress, capable of just about 'improving' crap material (something definitely made apparent in the aforementioned film), she's hot and has the right kind of European look need for the role. Put simply, I think she has a lot of potential and if given the shot, I'd love to see what she could do.
Christoph Waltz as Johann Fennhoff/Doctor Faustus Waltz is one of the best actors around today. It’s really that simple. He’s a great talent for any film and ridiculously versatile and has a knack at playing intellectual villains and individuals very well, so in a role like this I imagine he’d shine.
Sebastian Koch as Aleksander Lukin I haven’t seen Koch in much but what little I have has shown off his talent. I cast him primarily because of his work in
Black Book, as he proved he can play intelligent and villainous very well, plus he has a certain regal presence and in a role like this it’d only serve to help.
Keifer Sutherland as George Tarleton/M.O.D.O.C./Mental Organism Designed Only for Computing To some this might seem like a bit of strange casting decision, but hell it comes down to Sutherland’s voice. As expected for a role like this it isn’t necessarily physical, however this is hardly a problem as Sutherland perfectly showcased his capability of being a cerebral villain masterfully well in
Phone Booth. If cast and if he plays the character anything like his character from that film I think we’d be in for a real treat.
The only thing I’d say is, as expected I’d like MODOC to get somewhat of a redesign. Whilst I couldn’t really find any images of what I have in mind, I’d like him to still look like lab experiment gone wrong but maybe a little bit more cybernetic if that makes sense…
Joseph Morgan as Helmut Zemo I’ve only seen Morgan in a few things now but it’s clear the guy can play a snobby, elitist villain like a pro. His roles in
The Vampire Diaries (yes, I admit I’ve watched) and
Immortals in particular made me think he’d be able to deliver in the role, so if given the chance I’d be more than willing to see what he could do.
Gemma Arterton as Cynthia Schmidt/Sin Ever since I saw Arterton in
The Disappearance of Alice Creed she won me over. Put simply, she’s a very beautiful and very talented actress who has a lot of potential. Arterton also genuinely comes off a little feisty and I just get the impression she has a bit of hidden edge to her, so personally speaking would love to see what she could do as the Skull’s daughter.
Matt Schulze as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones Schulze may not be doing to many big films or even getting too much mainstream attention these days but frankly I think he’s perfect for the role. He’s a big guy and can play tough assholes with ease; his work in
Transporter,
The Fast and the Furious series and
Blade II more than proved that. Whilst he’s not the most talented actor around it’s clear he can do a serviceablely good job as a bad guy, and in a role like this? Not much more is needed.
Warren Christie as Anthony Masters/Taskmaster This is one casting decision that might seem strange to some of you but given Christie’s work in
Alphas and
True Justice it seems highly appropriate to me. In both shows Christie was pretty badass and showed off his acting and action muscles equally well. Whilst a role like this would obviously such skills to be showcased on a larger scale I still believe Christie’s the right man for the job and think he’d really just do wonders and give audiences a great portrayal of the character to witness.
Ola Rapace as Georges Batroc/Batroc the Leaper Some of you maybe scratching your heads as to who this is, well in case you can’t recall he was the badass assassin from
Skyfall. Truth be told I was only introduced to Noomi Rapace’s other half through the latest Bond film but he left a lasting impression; he was badass, tough, intelligent, resourceful and arrogant- quite frankly if he plays Batroc in a similar fashion he’d make him a credible and memorable villain for Cap to fight.
Josh Holloway as Frank Simpson/Nuke Holloway might seem like a bit of a strange choice for this role, but on casting this the first thing that came to my head was; who can play evil version of Cap? Holloway whilst not necessarily a ‘villainous actor’ came to mind immediately. He’s talented, he’s tough and he knows how to handle drama. Since
Lost ended he’s cropped up in a few things and further proven his talents, but he deserves to be in a CBM and with a role like Nuke I think he could really surprise people and just shine brightly.
___________________________ So, that’s my ideal cast for Captain America. I hope you enjoyed checking it out, and if you did look out for my Iron Man cast!