Last month, we brought you the first the trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger, which gave us our first look at The Howling Commandos, and featured a very brief (blink and you would miss it) shot of Hugo Weaving (The Key Man) as The Red Skull.
Now, thanks to Paramount Pictures we have the first, official, high resolution, full costume photo of Weaving as the villainous Johann Schmidt / The Red Skull. Check it out below, along with some words from director Joe Johnston about the film via EW .
[Click Image To Blow Sh!t Up]
Upon the release of this photo of Hugo Weaving as The Red Skull, director Joe Johnston spoke about what makes Captain America such a relatable character:
“What I like is he’s not a superhero in the true sense of the word. He becomes a superhero but doesn’t have any super powers. He is just the best possible, human specimen. Imagine the fastest, strongest Olympian athlete. Add 30 percent. That’s Steve Rogers. The thing that appeals to me is he is everyman. He’s a 98-pound weakling. All he really wants to do is the right thing and serve his country and [at first] nobody wants him because he’s too weak. He’s been picked on all his life. But he’s a guy who never gives up. That’s his trademark.”
The director also talked about why stopping The Red Skull is personal for Steve Rogers/Captain America:
“For Steve Rogers it’s a very personal thing. At one point he says, “I don’t like bullies, I don’t care where they’re from.” He makes a complete physical transformation to a perfect human specimen. But inside he doesn’t change at all. It must be tempting to go back and say “I’m going to get that guy who beat me up in high school.” He does get revenge in the film, but on the Nazis – not on people who maybe picked on him. Before he gets the injection, the doctor tells him: “Whatever happens, stay who you are.” He was created as propaganda tool, but he soon became much more than that. There are all these incarnations over the decades, but the film is not a flag waver. It’s about a guy who wants to do the right thing, and that transcends all nationalities and borders. He’s going to do the right thing no matter what flag is on his chest.”
Johnston commented on the studio’s decision to alter the titled in other countries by removing “Captain America” and just calling it The First Avenger:
“There was some concern [the name] Captain America will not play in certain countries. If it were up to me I wouldn’t thread the needle so carefully. I’d call it Captain America, since that’s what it is.
Johnston also commented on connecting his film to director Joss Whedon‘s forthcoming team-up movie, The Avengers:
“Because this was a period film, because this was the origin story, I didn’t have to worry about The Avengers which was a present day story. We have present-day bookends and bring Cap back at the end and then I basically hand him off. And The Avengers is its own thing. The fact that they are all so different is what will make it exciting. You bring these elements together and they all have different outlooks and come from different worlds. I think there is an opportunity for conflict within the group. There’s gotta be. It’s not the Boy Scouts. [Laughs] There’s going to be rivalry and certain amount of infighting and conflict. Like I say I’m going to be there as an audience member like anybody else.”
Captain America: The First Avenger starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Neal McDonough, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell and Toby Jones is slated to hit theaters on July 22nd, 2011.
