'Captain America' Team Dishes On Marvel's Newest 'Avenger'

By Michael Lopez

Get ready for a whole lotta Marvel movies. We've already seen box office successes with Thor, The Incredible Hulk, and the Iron Man franchise, and now the comic company's biggest heroes are teaming up for next summer's Avengers. But before that happens, Marvel is introducing The First Avenger (aka Captain America) and the filmmakers have revealed plenty of juicy tidbits about the project.

"Captain America is one of the most famous characters we have," Marvel president Kevin Feige (pictured below) told Tr3s at an exclusive press conference. "He is also one of the most important characters we have and has one of the best origin stories."

You will be able to see the origin of "Cap" (as he is affectionately called) and the maniacal Red Skull when Captain America: The First Avenger arrives on Friday. Not your usual super hero, Cap doesn't hail from Krypton and spew spider webs. Rather, he starts off as a scrawny young World War II soldier, who comes in contact with a very powerful serum.

"Cap is a normal person," screenwriter Christopher Markus explained. "He runs faster and he's stronger than your average Joe, but he's not a Norse God and he doesn't have a green ring. At any moment, he could get run over or get shot. He is relatable to most of us."

One of Marvel's first super heroes, Captain America was created back in 1941 and much of his history is rooted in World War II. Kevin reflected on that particular fact quite a bit during the conference, and whether or not to set the Cap movie in the 40's or present day.

"In the beginning, we developed the script half in the 40's and half in present day," Feige said. "But it felt like both sides were getting short-changed. And since there are so many other comic book movies out there [set in modern times], we felt having it in the past would help it stand out. Plus, it's an origin story so it just made sense.”

Director Joe Johnston went on to say that modern-day period films greatly influenced his approach to Captain America.

"Raiders of the Lost was a model that we used," Johnston said. "It still feels contemporary today. I wanted Captain America to feel like that. Not that it was a film made in the 40's, but a film about the 40's made today."

Which of course will leave you wondering…If Captain America is set in the 40's, how will the character join the modern-day Avengers? You'll have to watch the movie to figure that one out, but don't think that Cap won't possibly return for his own sequel.

"There are certainly unseen Captain America adventures," Markus went on to say. "If we want to, we can go back and explore them later."

Look for Captain America: The First Avenger in theaters this Friday.

Are you planning on watching the Captain America movie? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Captain America, Captain America: The First Avenger, Christopher Markus, Comics, Exclusive Entrevistas, Hot Stuff, Joe Johnston, Kevin Feige, Marvel, Movies & CineMás, Tr3s Exclusives