Joe Johnston finally talks Captain America (and Jurassic Park 4)

The CAPTAIN AMERICA movie has long puzzled me, as despite its release date mere months away from THOR, we’ve heard almost NOTHING about the project to date. Well, director Joe Johnston is finally talking, and though we’re not getting any casting news at this point, what he does give us in an interview with Box Office Magazine is a pretty damn detailed plot synopsis of just what the CapAm movie will be.

“It is influenced by the comic book, but it goes off in a completely different direction. It’s the origin story of Captain America. It’s mostly period—there are modern, present-day bookends on it—but it’s basically the story of how Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. The great thing about Captain America is he’s a super hero without any super powers. Which is why this story, among the hundreds of super hero stories, appealed to me the most. He can’t fly, he can’t see through walls, he can’t do any of that stuff. He’s an every man who’s been given this amazing gift of transformation into the perfect specimen—the pinnacle of human perfection. How does that affect him? What does that mean for him emotionally and psychologically?”

“He was this 98-pound weakling, he was this wimp, and he’s transformed instantly into this Adonis. You’d think he got everything he wanted. Well, he didn’t get everything he wanted. The rules change at that point and his life gets even more complicated and dire. For me, that’s the interesting part of the story. It’s got some great action sequences in it and some incredible stuff that we’ve never seen before. But at the heart of it, it’s a story about this kid who all he wants to do is fit in. This thing happens and he still doesn’t fit in. And he has to prove himself a hero—essentially go AWOL to save a friend. Eventually at the very end, I don’t want to give away to much, but he does fit in. But it’s the journey of getting him there that’s interesting. And it’s a lot of fun.”

Sounds like he’s got a pretty good handle on the type of film he should be making, as this is one origin story that could actually be worth telling. Sure, “superheroes without powers” isn’t exactly a “new” concept per se, as we’ve already seen how Batman began, and this year we’ll also have the equally powerless KICK-ASS in theaters, but at least Johnston has his head on straight for the direction of the film.

A small footnote of the interview is Johnston briefly touching on the rumored JURASSIC PARK 4, which he maintains IS happening, despite previous uncertainties.

“Well, there is going to be a Jurassic Park IV. And it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve seen…It breaks away from the first three—it’s essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It’s going to be done in a completely different way. That’s pretty much all I can tell you.”

Another whole trilogy? Man, I can’t even comprehend that at the moment. It’s going to be a bit sad to see the animatronic robots all go the way of CGI though.