It seems actor Jake Gyllenhaal has a tough decision to make, much like Morpheus’ proverbial choice of the Red Pill versus the Blue Pill. The only difference is, either route leads to a massive payday. New Line is reportedly in talks to get the actor on board to star as Captain Marvel in their next feature Shazam!. Unfortunately, Spider-Man producers are also looking to cast Jake as Tobey Maguire’s replacement. Who will win in this battle of the bucks? Time will tell.
The question is, which role is better for Gyllenhaal? And more importantly, which role will result in a movie consumers will pay to see? Unknown actors, with less time in the limelight tend to be more successful in comic book adaptations. The last successful comic superhero adaptation to hit the screens (no not 300) was Batman Begins, which took in $205,343,774 at the box office. Batman edged out his heroic counterpart; Superman Returns earned $200,081,192 in box office sales. Batman’s major selling point was actor Christian Bale. Outside of his role in American Psycho, Bale was still a relatively obscure actor to the mass public. Superman Returns starred Brandon Routh, another Hollywood unknown. In contrast, Daredevil, which starred Ben Affleck, was an absolute flop. The movie only took in a meager $102,543,518, not even half of Batman’s ticket sales.
Spider-Man which has already had a successful run, may suffer the taboo of declining success with a new actor. Link recently compared Spider-Man to the original Batman movie series which experienced a precipitous decline after Michael Keaton.
So, would he be better off as the fresh face of Captain Marvel. Comic lovers doubt he’d be able to pull off this role. Why? Captain Marvel doesn’t simply put on a cape and cowl and transform from Bruce Wayne into Batman, nor does he just switch up hairstyles and add some heel lifts like Clark Kent into Superman. After doing so digging - and I’m not a comic fan in any sense of the word - the original Captain Marvel storyline involved a teenager named Billy Batson, who turned into an Captain Marvel when he said the magical word “Shazam!” Billy would then quadruple in size, much the way Bruce Banner transformed into the Hulk, except without the green skin and the bad attitude. Oh and by the way, Captain Marvel and Billy Batson look nothing alike. So, is New Line planning to have Gyllenhaal play only Billy Batson and then pull the ol’ Lou Ferrigno swicheroo at the last minute when he transforms into the Incredible Hulk?
Oh and a little side trivia for you. Even though he’s named Captain Marvel, Shazam! is actually a DC Comics superhero. Ha! Take that Bag Man.
So, let us know what you think? Spider-Man or Captain Marvel or Pass all together?
Captain Marvel’s a boring character. He better take Tobey’s role