Comic Movie News and Rumors: Reboots and Casting

There have been rumors for quite awhile now that Fox, in danger of losing the celluloid rights to the "Daredevil" franchise, has designs on rebooting the vision-impaired hero, after time has soured fanboys on the Mark Steven Johnson-helmed Ben Affleck-fronted version of 'Ol Hornhead.

Now word has come down that the news is official that Daredevil will in fact be reborn and reconceived. This of course is the newest, hottest trend in comic book movies on the heels of "The Incredible Hulk" undoing that Ang Lee debacle from 2003, and a reboot is officially going forward with Spider-Man (captained by "(500) Days of Summer" director David Webb) as well.

It's hardly surprising, given the James Bond nature of comic book heroes to begin with. Over the years they've been rebooted, reset, reinvented, and revamped repeatedly, so why not do it with movie franchises?

Speaking of the Webhead, word on the street now is that Logan Lerman, star of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," is in talks to play Peter Parker. It's an interesting rumor, but is there teeth to it, or is it just "Percy Jackson" hype?

Personally, given my druthers, I'd choose someone a bit older. I'm not a huge fan of bringing Spidey back to high school, personally. I'd just as soon see him as a young adult of nonspecific mid-20s age, so that even if this isn't a direct sequel to the Raimi pictures it at least doesn't seem like a cheat, or that they're trying to take the franchise back to formula in a misguided attempt to start over. Why not just have another movie without all of that baggage?

But the latest casting rumor is for Captain America, which is set to come out July 2011, but hasn't even announced a star, much less started filming (Thor, by contrast, coming out the same summer, has a full cast set and is filming now). Everyone from Will Smith to Matthew McConaughey to Matt Damon to Leo DiCaprio have been rumored to be donning the Star Spangled Avenger's costume.

The current hot rumors, though, are they'll cast a CW punk in the role. Jensen Ackles ("Supernatural") is a current hot rumor, but so too are stars like Jeremy Renner, Jensen Ackles, Chris Pine, Alexander Skarsgard, Chris Pine, and Jon Hamm.

One name that has surfaced recently is Ryan McPartin, who played Captain Awesome on NBC's "Chuck." I know little to nothing about him other than he's young, has a square jaw, and is relatively ripped, so at least on a superficial level he fits the bill.

Everything hinges on the timeframe they're going for with Captain America. If they're doing an origin story (which seems likely), a younger actor might suffice (and Pine, rough as it may be to see him as TWO captains), would be among my personal top choices. But if they want an older Cap who will be a leader to the Avengers the following year, they need someone a little more seasoned. Pine would work, but what about someone a little more established?

One name I haven't heard bandied about yet is Patrick Wilson, who fanboys know as Nite Owl from the "Watchmen" film, and film connoisseurs know as Kate Winslet's boy toy in "Little Children" or the maybe-maybe not pedophile killer from "Hard Candy." Wilson has the look and the acting talent to carry the film, the physicality (and physique) to pull it off, and he can be believable as both a young Cap and as a leader when "The Avengers" rolls around in '12.

And lest we leave DC completely in the dark, joblo.com has some interesting concept art from the upcoming "Green Lantern" film starring Ryan Reynolds. I'm not totally sold based on that art, but who knows? We'll have to see it actually on screen.