Will Smith could portray the "original" Captain America whose story was told in Truth as the successful black test subject.

In fact if they wanted to go for real Stunt Casting they should get Eddie Murphy. He could also play The Green Lantern, Braniac, Superman, Hulk, etc all in individual movies and have the mother of all cross over movies later on.

As shit as this sounds, it can't be any worse than Meet Dave

Seriously, is Spike Lee directing?

For Cap, you would not only have to re-write the comic book character, but also re-write American history (unless there was a civil rights movement in the 30's and the government covered it up)

My god, it seems like National Review Online spends more time talking about Star Trek, Lost, etc. than this place does sometimes.

Yeah, how 'bout that? Matt Damon as T'Challa, how 'bout that? OHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Doesn't f*&kin' SOUND TOO RIGHT, DOES IT?!!? Hold on, I got another one -- how 'bout Antonio Bandaras as Power Man (Luke Cage) -- OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Doesn't SOUND TOO RIGHT, DOES IT!!!????

Keep the characters who they are, for Pete's sake!!!! I mean, if Richard Gere was to portray W.E.B. DuBois, THERE'D A PROBLEM, RIGHT????

F*&k Smith in this role. What? He gotta be in EVERY movie?

Only fanboys know who Capt. America is anyway. Hell, Iron Man is more generally known than Cap is. But everybody knows who Will SMith is. Want to put Cap in the spotlight, put Will Smith in the red, white, and blue...

Barack Obama. Will Smith. Captain America. I'm liking the idea more and more...

That out of the way, I believe Smith or any non-caucasian actor is a poor choice because it throws away what little history remains in the Captain America story. Cap is a white man because only a white man would have been considered as the symbol of America. The idea of throwing race into Hitler's face wouldn't have occurred to the scientists, government types and military brass in 1940. For one thing, most of them would have considered blacks inferior - up to and including President Roosevelt. It's simply lacking in logic. If Cap is black, Hitler could be Polynesian - the son of an Austrian preacher who moved to the islands and fell in love with a native girl! Yeah! Max von Sydow as Hitler's dad and some youngish type as mom! (There's a joke there if you know your films. Not much of a joke, but a joke.)

If Captain America is black, the Joker may as well wear makeup. Yeah, I thought that was a disaster, too, no matter how good Ledger was.

Why not 2 Captain Americas?

Cap N Cap, Back to Back!

Stop DESTROYING classic superheroes with this incessant IDIOTIC POLITICALLY CORRECT CASTING!!! GAHHHH!!!! >:O

Not only is Captain America well-known to the general public as being White, but this is supposed to be a PERIOD PIECE set in WWII! There's NO WAY — despite Marvel retcons whitewashing history — the U.S. Government in 1941 would've chosen a sickly Black man to be the lucky recipient of a Super-Soldier formula that would make him their heroic military figurehead to fight the Nazis! Black men had to fight just to be able to battle in the same brigades as their White counterparts, and now we're supposed to believe a Black man was picked to be this nation's HERO in the 1940s???

Complete B.S.!!!

This is the SAME sort of crap that was pulled when they cast Will Smith as James West in Wild, Wild West! A big reason why that film flopped was because it was preposterous to believe that a Black man would be chosen as the premiere "secret agent" of the U.S. in the 1870s. It simply would not happen.

Hollywood simply refuses to GET IT... STOP trying to shoehorn 21st century mores into period films and SCREWING UP comic book history! Captain America WASN'T Black and would have never have been given the formula if Steve Rogers WAS Black. That may not be nice, but it's a FACT and trying to shove a 39-year old Black actor into a role made for a 20-something White guy is simply a recipe for losing A LOT of money, the respect of your audiences and the potential profits from the Avengers film that supposedly going to wrap up the entire Marvel "crossover experiment."

Take the damn pistol AWAY from your temple, Marvel and just hire a DAMN WHITE GUY!!!! >:O

DAMN, they're STUPID!!!

Eckhart could work. But if this Movie is relying on "star power" from it's lead to get Box Office then it's in trouble already.

I just don't get that vibe from Smith. He was a captain in Indpendence day yes, but a Pilot not someone who looks like he has been through hell in WWII.

Gravitas is needed and Smith never really pulls that off as he is always a touch too jokey in his roles.

Plus, in the new movies, the Super Soldier serum comes from the Incredible Hulk, which doesn't happen until the present. That means a movie Capt America who fits in with the RDJ Iron Man and Norton Hulk will have to be a new player, as opposed to some white guy who goes into suspended animation like some cheap Austin Powers rip-off, which means people arguing against Will Smith because he would never be a WWII icon have no argument. But, I guess if they start bringing in Thor, "reality" kind of goes out the window doesn't it?

Speaking of irony, Smith ruined what could have been a nice note of irony in i, Robot of a black man being a bigot against the slaves/robots with his sweet potato pie, sneakers and aw hell naw bullshit. The whole thing is pretty much a racial allegory and the 'street' stuff ruined it (it wasn't there before he and his writers touched the script).

Then all will be well in the world.

Here's a suggestion: go with Vince Vaughn. YOU are an undiscovered talent!

Whoever said 90 % of the people don't know who Cap is doesn't have a clue. His death was a big news item.

And in response to another comment... no one said "black people can't be superheros"... just don't change the race of established characters (particularly characters with THIS long of a history, and ties to actual history to boot).

He never struck me as the one who was constantly throwing out one-liner gags and putdown to villains which is really what Will Smith would be more suited for. Spidermans usually the comic relief.

So if the Avengers film really is the destination for all these films then they must surely cast with the other actors already signed up in mind.

Though lets face it if Will Smith IS onboard that just makes the film a complete logistical nightmare for scheduling all the actors in the Avengers film.

Pure electricity... in my pants.

Harvey Birdman thy name is Genius. ;-)

Just as these times would call for any biography on Jessie Owens to examine the double standard of making him our hero and second-class citizen, these times would read a fictious take on a similar scenario (black symbol of America) for the deep contradictions in it.

Imagine if this was a few years back and the last thing you'd seen him in was Kinky Boots, not Redbelt... Tools.

Now execute order 66.

I, for one, wouldn't mind seeing Thomas Jane in a re-imagination of Blade and if you think a white guy couldn't do that role then you're obviously a racist. What's the big deal after all?

Nothing was funnier than LiberalWarrior saying that the gloves are off, and then spewing obscenities as if they were the equivalent of a bare knuckled punch.