MTV is reporting that Will Smith is rumoured to have been offered the lead role in the forthcoming Marvel Studios film adaptation of Captain America, due in theaters in 2011.
That’s a little surprising, what with, you know, Captain America being, well, white and all.
Granted, Mark Millar changed Nick Fury’s race and turned him into Samuel L. Jackson for The Ultimates, but this is Captain America. A change of race for him would overshadow everything else about the film. I like Will Smith and don’t doubt he could do an solid job, but I’m not sure this would go over particularly well.
That being said, people scoffed when producers turned Starbuck into a woman, and that turned out well. And hey, I’d rather see Will Smith as Cap before seeing Leonardo DiCaprio play him.
