CAPTAIN AMERICA Details Revealed!

Director Joe Johnston must not be too enthusiastic about his latest film, The Wolfman, as he's spent most of the weekend talking to journalists about his next project, The First Avenger: Captain America.

Among the tidbits that have made their way to the web:

• The Invaders, a WW2 team of superheroes will appear in the entire second half of the film. The team will consist of 6 members (Cap, Bucky, Union Jack, Human Torch and Namor?)

• An American actor will play Captain America (sorry, Worthington). Ideally, a complete unknown will be cast. 5 or 6 guys between 23 and 32 will be tested. Chuck's Captain Awesome, Ryan McPartlin has auditioned for the part (and since Mark Valley is 46, it looks like he's not strapping on the shield). Casting will be completed by March 1, 2010.

• The Red Skull will be the film's villain.

• The film will shoot in the UK and in HD.

• The costume will initially be similar to the original Jack Kirby design. At least initially.

According to Johnston, "The costume is a flag, but the way we're getting around that is we have Steve Rogers forced into the USO circuit. After he's made into this super-soldier, they decide they can't send him into combat and risk him getting killed. He's the only one and they can't make more. So they say, 'You're going to be in this USO show' and they give him a flag suit. He can't wait to get out of it. So he's up on stage doing songs and dances with chorus girls and he can't wait to get out and really fight. When he does go AWOL, he covers up the suit but then, after a few things happen, he realizes that this uniform allows him to lead. By then, he's become a star in the public mind and a symbol. The guys get behind him because he embodies something special."

Later as Captain America enters the war, he will wear a more muted, combat ready version of the uniform. "He realizes the value of the uniform symbols but he modifies his suit and adds some armor, it will be closer to the Cap costume in some of the comics in more recent years . . . this approach, it's the only way we could justify ever seeing him on a screen in tights, with the funny boots and everything. The government essentially puts him up there as a living comic-book character and he rips it off and then reclaims some of its imagery after he recognizes the value of it. We think it's the best way to keep the costume and explain it at the same time."

The First Avenger: Captain America will storm theaters on July 22, 2011