Rumor: Will Smith Might Have Been Offered Captain America

Posted by Dr. Cole Abaius (cole.abaius@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 8, 2008

Hot off the news that former Bel Air Royalty Will Smith might be strapping on his Nemes Headdress to star in The Last Pharaoh, another rumor is (soon to be) spreading through the tubes of the internet like something that moves incredibly quickly.

According to MTV’s Splash Page, Smith may have been offered the blue and red tights for Marvel’s upcoming “Captain America” adaptation. The quote comes from actor Derek Luke during an interview regarding his new movie Miracle at St. Anna:

I heard they offered Will Smith ‘Captain America.’

That’s about as direct as it gets, but as far as whether the quote has any weight, it seems to have just enough to get fans talking. Of course, it seems rational – Smith is a giant star that can carry a brand, he’s appeared in tights before, and he’s got the sort of handsome, square-jawed look that would work really well for playing Captain America.

Reportedly, he can also hurl a magical, discus-shaped shield over three miles. Enough to earn him an Oscar nod.

So at this point it’s only possible that the offer was made, but even so, it would be really cool to see Smith play Steve Rogers. I’m not sure who else out there would make a better or more high-profile choice.

Besides, wouldn’t it be cool to see Hancock clean up his act and go all Silver Age on us?

What do you think? Any interest in seeing Smith play Captain America?


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  • Komikon
    I really respect Will Smith and I think that he's a fine actor, but this is a little bit ridiculous. This would be like having Michael Clarke Duncan play George W. Bush in a biopic-- it makes no sense.
  • Ryan O'Brien
    Why? Because Captain America/Steve Rogers was written in a day when nobody would write
    a black hero? Why can't they be black? I'm white and I think this. yeah sure he won't look
    exactly like the guy in the comics but its about the idea and the character
  • Theopolis
    Oh, come ON. Do we really need to be THAT politically correct? Can't we just have a movie that is faithful to the source material? This is stupid. Will Smith is already so over-exposed. Every time i see him I either think of the Fresh Prince or the MIB guy. I can't take him in a serious role. (I assume this is going to be a serious movie, right?)
  • mts
    You might as well dig up Jack Kirby's grave and punch him in the face.
  • Derek Luke's probably mistaken... Smith was offered Superman, but (rightly) turned it down before accepting Hancock.
  • Sam
    Smith impressed me with his role in I am Legend, at least for the first half when he was the only person on screen. He could probably pull it off.

    That being said, when captain america was invented (and when the character became captain america), there was all that annoying racism running around. So sure, people might be so PC now that its all good and well for a black man to play captain america, it just doesn't ring true unless they change his entire backstory to be something forged out of the iraqi war... or something.
  • Uhh....
    Making Cap black completely destroys his bio. If you haven't read the comics, take a second to think about Cap. Blonde hair, blue eyes, almost superhuman, and fought during WW2. Remind you of anyone? A master race, perhaps?

    SPOILERS!:

    Cap is the culmination of Nazi experiments funded by America in an attempt to create a true master race. He had a tough time dealing with that when it was revealed to him by the Red Skull.

    So, you know, making Cap black is kind of nonsensical.
  • Ryan O'Brien
    Tony Stark went to Afgahnistan in "Iron Man" vs Vietnam in the comics. You can reboot
    things. Plus look at it this way, if you roll with that Nazi Experiment stuff, the description
    fits the other rumor I heard for the part, Matthew McConaghey.
  • Don't think for one second casting Will Smith is about casting a black man, it's about casting Will Smith, a bona fide superstar that has only made like 4 movies, ever, that didn't reach 110+ million.
  • Uhh....
    Tony Stark became Iron Man for essentially the same reason, though. If you "update" Cap, you're getting rid of the entire "Man out of time" aspect of his character. He's supposed to have "outdated" values. Everyone he knows is supposed to be dead or on their way out.

    If it's updated, what's going to happen? He went to Iraq, got buried in sand and 3 years later they dug him out and everyone he knew and loved died just because? From what I can recall, they're sticking to Cap fighting during WW2, getting frozen, and then being found, which leads directly to the Avengers film. The point of the Cap stand alone is to get his origin tale out of the way.

    It just doesn't make sense for him to be black. Cap is the physical manifestation of everything he fought against and hated. Yes, he decided to use his powers for good, but its still something that haunted him for a time.
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