Stan Lee: Will Smith a "Long Shot" for 'Captain America'

At age 85, Stan Lee is seeing a renaissance of comic book characters he created 30, 40, and almost 50 years ago. Among his superheroes that have made the transition to films are Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men, Hulk, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four, with Thor on the Marvel Comics to-do list for 2010. Moviefone recently chatted with Lee about the past and the future of these characters. He talks about being in the shadow of The Dark Knight this summer, though he says all it means to him is that Iron Man 2 will have to outgross the next Batman movie. And while he says that he's not in the loop on the high-level discussions anymore, he anticipates full cooperation from the current Marvel stars when it comes to The Avengers.

"I would certainly expect to have all the stars back. Downey just has to be Iron Man. And Ed Norton has to be the Hulk. I didn't think that the first movie was all that bad. But obviously the second one was better and Ed Norton's performance had a lot to do with it. Like Robert Downey Jr., he's very believable, he's very credible. I hope Ed gets a sequel, but they don't keep me in the loop on these things."

I agree that I want Edward Norton to get a sequel, I just don't think audiences give much of a rip about the Hulk. I mean, Iron Man has made more money than both Hulk movies combined. Earlier this month, Norton expressed a little frustration over his dealings with Marvel, and one of our readers commented that for The Avengers, it might make more sense just to use a CGI Hulk and avoid Banner altogether. That's not a bad option, really. Lee also addressed one of the more unlikely rumors of the summer: Will Smith as Captain America. For the record, I can't think of anyone better. Marvel needs stars for these roles, and he's guaranteed box office, the biggest star in the world. Does it matter that he's not a white guy? Not to me. I understand wanting to be faithful to the story, but it's not like this would be the first time Marvel fudged its own history to sell tickets (*cough* Spider-Man 3). If you've got a better action hero, go ahead and nominate him. Stan has his opinion, too:

"I would love us to do something with Will Smith, but I don't know that he's Captain America. That would be a long shot. It would be a real leap to make Captain America black ... then again, I don't know. It might be a really smart thing. If Barack Obama becomes President who knows ... suddenly a lot of our characters will be black!"

Hm. Maybe not the best way to phrase that, but the contention seems to be that Smith can't do it because he's black. Personally, I don't buy that, because there's nothing "white" about Captain America, meaning the character's race doesn't determine the character, just as Will Smith's Hancock or Robert Neville doesn't need to be black. It's probably a dead issue at this point, but all the same, it's interesting to hear Stan's take.

Comments

[atticus2288]

i agree that it can't be will smith and it is because he is black and it has to do a lot with the character's origin and where he comes from. he was a military expirement back in the 40's to make a super soldier, and our military wasn't exactly racially open minded back then, still having segregated units. why would a military with racist tendencies give their most powerful weapon to a man they think needs to be segregated from whites. im not saying its right but to have a black man play captain america doesn't make historical sense. lets try to keep some sort of realism with the comic movies.

[Ann-Elizabeth]

How stupid are you, Atticus? If they were making a period film, then I totally see your argument. However, most likely they would set Captain America in contemporary times. It would matter what color he is now. Get your head out of your comic book and go try and find a girl friend you racist pig.

[Ann-Elizabeth]

And that last line is the kicker "lets try to keep some sort of realism with the comic movies." Of course because Iron Man, the Spiderman movies, Superman Returns, The Dark Knight, the X-Men movies were just RIPE with realism.

[Jordan]

Ann-Elizabeth, what are you on? Nothing he said was in the slightest bit racist, and Captain America will be set in the 40's. So shut your ill-informed, presumptuous face.

[Asana]

: sprays garden hose around the room :

There that's a fair shade better I think. Atticus' point wasn't at all racist but it was in sticking to the canon of what Captain America came from in the comic books. While I see the point Mr. Boyd makes in favor of Smith for the role I disagree with it. I've disagreed with his viewpoint on this before so I won't rehash (much) except to say, such casting on the basis of what at best amounts to minor fudging in films that came before (whereas Smith as Cap would be a major fudge) seems more aimed creative license and being politically correct to the times.

Stan Lee's remark that if Obama were to win the presidency that a lot of characters would be black certainly smacks of racial tones and was probably just ill-phrased on his part. It's not bad for Smith to be cast because he's black but rather because the character historically (a major character at that) has not been black, period. Characters that people really have minimal or no prior reference about can be changed and have been changed all over the place without so much as a wince. Major characters however have been kept largely the same but hey if it really doesn't matter let's envision Harry Potter as a black actor. Would that have made no difference too?

[Comix-nut]

Hey!
I think that Will Smith is great, but don't screw this Captain America movie up right from the start. Cap's side kick was The Falcon and he is black. Perfect fit although Will would be a side kick. Will Smith would be great as Falcon or as the main man in "The Black Panther". I'm not being racist just please stay true to he character. Remember Will Smith as James West in "The Wild, Wild West" movie. It just doesn't work,

[Old school brother]

Ok, I'm not sure how old most of you are, but I was born around the time most of these characters were, and as a Black man, I can honestly say that I would be very bothered by Marvel making "Cap" black. Because to me, it would only be because of the box office factor. I hated the idea that Robert Downey Jr. was going to play Iron Man. I thought it was a waist of time, and that he was a waist of flesh. Man was I wrong. But the fact of the matter is that he was put in that part because he fit the character. Will Smiths persona as an actor clearly does not. In fact, I'm not sure he would even make a good Falcon. But let's be frank, hollywood has placed some actors in these roles and somehow they have worked (case in point Halley Berry as Storm. I'm still upset over that, when in fact that part belonged to Iman!!!), but only for box office reciepts, not because she was right for the character. I say leave cap as he is, white. No racisim there. However, what in the "Ham Sandwich," is going on with the Thor Movie??? I think Arnold in his day would have ben great!

[Ernie]

To Ann-Elizabeth: racism is intent, not words. Although words are the most out ward form of intent.
Now I agree with Old school brother, Will should not be Cap, but I think he would be a great Falcon. Only problem is he would out shine whoever played Cap. Give the Falcon his own movie ...maybe. Also I like Halle Berry as Storm, but you are right: it was purely to sell tickets. And when I saw Robert Downey Jr was playing Iron Man I thought: Drug addict playing an alcoholic...perfect. On to Thor. Yes Arnold would have been great, but doesn't anyone remember Dolph Lundgren? Not as Blake of course, but he would fit the role of Thor. Maybe Greg Kinear as Blake. Anyone else have suggestions?