CBR: OFFICIAL: Hugo Weaving is The Red Skull

[CBR News]

Marvel Studios has officially announced that acclaimed actor Hugo Weaving has signed on to portray nazi villain The Red Skull in "The First Avenger: Captain America," confirming long-running rumors.


Full article here.

[Jettison]

This is good news! I really hope Evans does us proud.

[1USAgent]

"In the early comics, Johann Schmidt was drafted into loyal service of The Third Reich and renamed “The Red Skull”. The character will be updated for the feature adaptation."

Updated? This makes me nervous.

[Matt Spatola]

On the updating thing I am not worried. I think we all know that there will be tweaks in the story and characters for film. What I like better is that the film is now called Captain America: First Avenger. Waaay better title.

[brundlefly]

"In the early comics, Johann Schmidt was drafted into loyal service of The Third Reich and renamed “The Red Skull”. The character will be updated for the feature adaptation."

Updated? This makes me nervous.

Yeah. That was the part of the article that bothered me too. The Skull doesn't need any updating. I'm concerned that he'll end up "re-imagined" as a Middle-Eastern terrorist in order to "connect to modern audiences." Bleh.

[Kid Kamikaze10]

Hopefully, that updating isn't turning into a Italian Fascist like last time, or anywhere near that stupidity...

[Matt Spatola]

Yeah. That was the part of the article that bothered me too. The Skull doesn't need any updating. I'm concerned that he'll end up "re-imagined" as a Middle-Eastern terrorist in order to "connect to modern audiences." Bleh.

Being the movie is set in WWII I don't see them doing that, would make no sense.

[artiepants]

excellent casting.

[TheGoose]

Great casting. I know Weaving will be a great Red Skull. Though, I hope they don't update him to anything else, but a Nazi.

And hopefully we won't get have Weaving do his Agent Smith voice:

"Caaaaaaptain America."

[hotrodimus]

i can already tell he's going the to be the main star of the movie. this is hugo weaving. he'll upstage chris evans easily. like he does in most of his movies

[IronStarks]

This just made me so much more excited for this movie

[Phil Clark]

I wonder if the Red Skull won't be around in WWII at all, and instead be a neo-nazi in modern day who discovers long lost plans of Hitler's to create his own soldier to fight against the Amerikaner Hero Captain America. But the war came to an end before those plans could be implemented. So instead this Neo-Nazi resurrects the long dormant plan and ends up becoming the face of the new Third Reich. The Red Skull.

Now that would work, and keep from stretching incredulity too far by having two characters cryogenically frozen for so long.

[Mr. Nox]

I wonder if the Red Skull won't be around in WWII at all, and instead be a neo-nazi in modern day who discovers long lost plans of Hitler's to create his own soldier to fight against the Amerikaner Hero Captain America. But the war came to an end before those plans could be implemented. So instead this Neo-Nazi resurrects the long dormant plan and ends up becoming the face of the new Third Reich. The Red Skull.

Now that would work, and keep from stretching incredulity too far by having two characters cryogenically frozen for so long.

I may be mistaken of course, but I believe that the whole film is meant to take place in WWII with maybe something at the end to serve as a lead in to The Avengers. That probably means they are at least keeping him in WWII. They might streamline aspects of his origin at best, but I would be surprised to see some sort of modern update.

I'm curious though as to how they might keep him as a villain in any future movies since to actually kill him off for good would be rather diappointing.

[Matt Spatola]

I may be mistaken of course, but I believe that the whole film is meant to take place in WWII with maybe something at the end to serve as a lead in to The Avengers. That probably means they are at least keeping him in WWII. They might streamline aspects of his origin at best, but I would be surprised to see some sort of modern update.

I'm curious though as to how they might keep him as a villain in any future movies since to actually kill him off for good would be rather diappointing.

Right on the time.They have said the movie takes place in WWII. So a lot of the speculation here in this thread is way off.

[kalorama]

Great casting choice.