Clarke
At the end of August, reports had surfaced that casting officially went underway for the new female lead of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Among the trio of shortlist names such as Anna Kendrick, Imogen Poots and Felicity Jones, it was Kendrick who was reportedly the frontrunner of the trio. With a production start set for early next year, it’s clear there is still some time to zero in on what new actress will be taking the torch from Hayley Atwell. Now, the latest round of talk regarding who will be at Chris Evans’ side has hit with actresses from Game of Thrones and Community testing for the role while a woman who has already held her own against earth’s mightiest heroes will be back in Cap’s follow-up.
First up, Deadline reports that Scarlett Johansson will be back as Black Widow for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Though exactly where she would fall in Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was certainly a large question as Marvel still unveils their next round of films, the synopsis that revealed S.H.I.E.L.D. will be a part of Captain America’s next stand-alone adventure led to plenty of speculation for Johansson’s return.
As for other agents Colbie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Renner, nothing has yet been revealed. Johansson joins fellow confirmed co-stars Evans, Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie in those cast thus far.
Deadline then followed up the casting with the news that Emelia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Jessica Findlay Brown (Downton Abbey), Alison Brie (Community), Teresa Palmer and Imogen Poots are all currently screen testing to take over as the new female lead for the sequel. Though the character has yet to be revealed, it’s been heavily hinted that the role each woman is aiming for happens to be Sharon Carter, the descendant of Peggy Carter from the original film. Rumors tonight have reciprocated this information, but with a report claiming Sharon will be Peggy’s sister. Whether or not this is true has yet to be determined.
Poots is the only actress of the five to carry over from initial casting reports, and there’s no indication of exactly why the other two names fell through. There’s no word on exactly who is in the lead to take over, but if star power may be what Marvel is going for than Clarke or Brie are certainly big names to grab. Though Clarke could be a huge fan-loved casting choice, Brie may just have some edge on the competition due to her involvement with the directors Anthony and Joseph Russo thanks to her Community lead.
Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy, has yet to be confirmed to appear in any capacity though it was revealed she was still alive in a deleted scene from The Avengers. While it’s expected she’ll at least return to bid goodbye and effectively close out her storyline, it’s just another element to watch in the coming months.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier hits theaters on April 4th 2014, with production set to begin in March.
