Rumor of the Day: Will Smith as Captain America?

It's nearly impossible to say whether or not this is true (I'm squarely in Camp False at the moment) but there's a rumor that Marvel, at one point, offered the role of Captain America to Will Smith. Sitting down with MTV to talk about his Spike Lee movie Miracle at St. Anna, Derek Luke commented on the rumor, and as far as I can tell, started the rumor as well. “I heard they offered Will Smith Captain America," said Luke. "Just shows you how times have changed." I haven't heard word one about this anywhere else, but definitely something to think about. Cap is an iconic character for Marvel, although he's not the easiest one to suit up for a movie. Smith is the biggest movie star on the planet bar none. So why wouldn't this work? Well, a lot of people would say it's because Smith is black and the character is white, which is like saying Rock Hudson never should have played a leading man to Doris Day because he was a homosexual. Plus, Marvel has already shown a willingness to do the same thing with less popular figures in their Universe; both Nick Fury and Kingpin are white in the comic books, and have been portrayed by African-Americans on film. It's just not a big deal, because the movies are, despite how much of the story they roll into their scripts, interpretations of the original comic books. Removing race from it, who's better than Will Smith for this role? I gotta tell ya: I don't think anyone is. He's a huge star, which is more important in this case than it is with Spider-Man (especially with the lackluster performance of both Hulk movies), he's a very good actor and an even better action star, and he's likable. That's what you need for Captain America, not necessarily a blonde dude. Think about it: Facing a tsunami called The Dark Knight two weeks after its release, Smith's Hancock, which received so-so reviews at best, was still the the number four movie of the summer. Combine his worldwide cash for Hancock and I am Legend, and he's responsible for over $1.1 billion in the past nine months. A purely unfounded rumor? Very likely. But the more I think about it, the more I like it.

Comments

[IamLegendII]

Your are so Damn right !!! I'm squarely in Camp False at the moment but I hope this will happen. Can' t wait for Captain America

[Asana]

"Plus, Marvel has already shown a willingness to do the same thing with less popular figures in their Universe; both Nick Fury and Kingpin are white in the comic books, and have been portrayed by African-Americans on film."

The Nick Fury we saw in this year's Iron Man was taken from the Ultimate Nick Fury of the comics books and that Fury is black and was tailored after Samuel L. Jackson. Kingpin doesn't really matter because in the greater scope of the comics history he just wasn't a big bad villain in the sense of a Dr. Doom or Green Goblin. He was just big and mob like and never really took on the same prominence as more well known villains.

Captain America is of a higher profile than Fury and Kingpin but I'm not so sure how much at this point in time. In fact, I'd be surprised to see a Captain America movie and I'd be even more surprised to see one that did well at the box office. The character just doesn't seem to carry the same weight as a Spider-Man, Batman or Superman does with fans in general. To wit, when Marvel gunned down Cap recently there wasn't nearly the level of interest around it that was seen when DC killed Superman. As movies like Daredevil, Elektra, Catwoman, Punisher and two Hulk flicks have shown... just because you build it does not mean people will come.

Given Captain America's rather low level of popularity compared to certain other heroes it may be fine to let race slip and cast Smith. It'll annoy those who do like the character or who have kept up with comics over time as it goes against canon. If nothing else, Marvel has maintained a rather rigid stance with regards to what can and cannot be done with its mainline characters. A result of their creative control saw some high profile comic book artists abandon ship to start Image comics. I'd say it's a safe bet that no matter what the level of Captain America's current popularity Marvel won't race change him for film. There's just no practical point to doing it with a character that has traditionally been white.

Who better to take on the job than Smith? That I don't know but really a better question might be why even make this movie? Clearly Marvel has been trying to throw everything at the wall to see what sticks but with Captain America's origins being what they are none of it is relevant or compelling today. Arguably this is where "interpretation" comes into greatest play and the character's story would have to be modernized which I just can't fathom being done in any way that comes off as successful. Yes Iron Man was modernized a bit but even with the changes they kept enough of the core story and he's just a more interesting character in his flaws played by an actor well known for his own. Captain America however is more or less just sort of there with nothing to really suck you in not unlike Superman at this point.

Maybe a Captain America with an edge? I still don't see it working but then if I was so smart I'd be the one making millions off of these movies I guess.