I don’t know how true this is, but supposedly Anthony Mackie is in the running to play the Falcon in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which reminded me that Marvel, in my humble opinion, has missed opportunities to introduce or use African-American characters before.
And I get that the Ultimates version of Nick Fury happens to be black. If anyone’s counting, there’s also Blade, before some idiot let David Goyer murder the franchise.
Another example is Heimdal, played by Idris Elba in 2011′s “Thor.” That was an interesting bit of casting, considering the character was generally portrayed as white, which made for a bit of controversy at the time.
In “The Avengers,” considering all the damage that the aliens were doing, that they wouldn’t have brought in War Machine didn’t quite make sense, if only because I was left wondering to myself: If Rhodes wasn’t there, where was he, and what could have possibly have to do that would have taken priority over an alien invasion of Earth?
A missed opportunity, if you ask me.
And yeah, I get that Joss Whedon was juggling quite a few characters, though it would have been at least cool for him to have at least been mentioned.
Another instance involves one of Spider-Man’s friends, Hobie Brown, who happens to be the Prowler. Now, the origin of the character in the comics is mildly offensive (he happens to be a window washer, despite having the engineering skills to design pneumatic devices that have offensive and defensive capability) though if it’s to take place in this economy, I guess whatever job pays–and is legal–is a good one.
Samuel Jackson at ComicCon. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
The New York Times has a fascinating interview with Samuel Jackson, who plays Nick Fury in “The Avengers.” If you’re unaware of why he’s known as one of the hardest working men in show business, this article should clear that up.
The Times is behind a paywalll, though they do allow you to access ten articles a month for free.
Edited 7/24 1729
Here’s a little something to tide you over till Monday.
The Black Widow, Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk, Hawkeye, and Captain America make up The Avengers, and the introduction of what is known as The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An interconnected series of films–”Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Thor” and “Captain America”–that lead to the massive event that will be “The Avengers.”
Here’s some art, courtesy of Marvel.com, of the heavy hitters that will be gracing the silver screen in 2013.
I should mention that Nick Fury–seeing that he’s the head of S.H.I.E.L.D (Strategic Hazard Intervention Logistics Directorate)–is technically not an Avenger, though he did get the ball rolling, so to speak.
