The Marvel universe is a very crowded and busy place.
There are hundreds of characters just hanging around, hoping for their big chance at the silver screen. Most of them aren't fleshed out enough to ever nab their own franchise, but they could be strong supporting characters like SHIELD's trusty Agent Coulson.
Marvel is doing their best to work in as many of those guys as possible, and Captain America: The First Avenger is proving to be fertile ground.
The Invaders and the Howling Commandos are both tipped to appear, and we finally have our first Commando in Neal McDonough. According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, he's in talks to play Dum Dum Dugan.
Dugan is probably the most colorful of the Commandos. Before acquiring his dubious nickname, he was Timothy Aloysius Cadwallader, a Boston native who worked as a circus strongman before joining the British Army. He was invited to become second-in-command of the Howling Commandos after helping Nick Fury and Happy Sam Sawyer out of a Nazi-filled jam. Dugan lacks superpowers, but he's very strong, and quite good with a rifle. He also wears a bowler hat. Perhaps if he throws it hard enough, he can kill people with it. It's a perfect role for McDonough, though fans already seem miffed he's not a redhead.
Captain America won't just have Dum Dum for back-up. Last week, Hayley Atwell confirmed to Leicester Square TV that Tommy Lee Jones has indeed joined the cast. His role is still unknown, but fans are betting he's playing the leader and recruiter of the Commandos, the gruff and gray Sam Sawyer.
Also, Jeremy Renner has been talking to Marvel about playing Clint Barton for some time, and now the actor is in “final negotiations” to join The Avengers as Hawkeye.
Renner’s star rose considerably over the last year after his Oscar-nominated turn in The Hurt Locker, which opened up such opportunities as Peter Berg’s adaptation of Battleship and Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled opus on religion. Renner seems to have passed on Battleship, and the Anderson film could take awhile to come together, so the actor remains a free agent ready to don Hawkeye’s purple bow.
The ensemble cast required for The Avengers, which Joss Whedon (Firefly) will direct, is approaching completion. There’s Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man (of course), Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Scarlett Johanssen as Black Widow, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
(Of course, the big missing piece is Hulk — no deal has been made with Edward Norton to reprise his role from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.)
Heat Vision reports that, to keep the budget under control, Marvel has talked all the featured players into a paycut.
This is all shaping up pretty fantastically. Renner is a great get, and if there is any legitimacy to the Josh Holloway rumor (as Ant-Man, perhaps?), fans would apparently be at a loss for words.
For those unfamiliar with the character, here’s a short bio:
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Clint Barton was an orphan, and ran away from the orphanage as a pre-teen to join the circus as a carnival performer, where he was trained in the use of the bow and arrow by the Swordsman and Trickshot. When he discovered that his mentors were both criminals he rejected them, leading to a beating by Swordsman which left Barton badly injured and hospitalized. Years later, he saw Iron Man in action, and was inspired and decided to become a costumed hero called Hawkeye.
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