Last week we talked about the burst of activity for Thor. And I even forgot to mention that he’ll also be featured in the Avengers cartoon due in 2011, in conjunction with the movie of that name. However, since they’ve since announced a separate Thor cartoon, I’m not sure if that replaces the Avengers cartoon, or will be in addition to it. In any case, it has to be better than the last Avengers cartoon:
So Marvel’s going all guns still a’blazin’, even if Lionsgate ate a big turd sandwich this weekend with their Punisher movie. Iron Man II and Thor are in 2010, and while we haven’t heard who’s working on the Avengers film that will bring all the heroes together, details are starting to come out about the 2011 Captain America film that will proceed the big team-up. No word yet on any cartoons or side things for Cap, although he too would be featured in the Avengers cartoon if they follow through with it.
The good news is that Marvel is still showing amazing intelligence in the directors they choose for these projects. Jon Favreau was clearly perfect for the Iron Man films, it’s hard to argue with Kenneth Branagh for Thor, and now they’ve apparently hired Joe Johnston for Captain America. In some ways, Johnston just seems like an ordinary choice, as he’s a solid director who’s handled f/x movies like the pretty decent (and thankfully short) Jurassic Park III, Jumanji and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. He’s currently burnishing his genre cred with next year’s remake of The Wolf Man, a film I have actual hope for.
However, the movie that undoubtedly nailed him the job was the very fun 1940s period piece The Rocketeer. Given that (thank goodness!) the Cap movie will detail his adventures fighting the Ratzies in WWII, Johnston’s Rocketeer background makes him a perfect choice for the film. I really can’t think of a better guy for the gig, at least off the top of my head.
Again, the most important thing is that The Rocketeer was fun. If he can pull that off for Captain America—and really, a sense of fun was what made Iron Man so great—we’ve got a shot at a really good movie here. I realize the film will need some gravitas—it’s about a world war, after all—but Raiders of the Lost Ark (Johnston won an Oscar for his special effects work on that film) involved a guy fighting Nazis and heaven knows that film was pretty enjoyable.
Moreover—damn, I’m not kidding, Marvel actually seems to be thinking this stuff through (and when did anyone in Hollywood start doing that?)—they’ve hired Christopher Markus to write the screenplay. Markus wrote the screenplays for the two Narnia films, so he’s a guy who can handle fantasy and war on a vast scale without miring the film in pretentiousness and arty nihilism.
Congrats, Marvel, you’re really doing things right. (Now, if you’d just consult me on what you’re doing wrong with your original animated films….)
By the way, if you want to see Cap done write, this stuff is the bee’s knees:
