It looks like Marvel's shortlist of ten directors for Captain America 2 is now slightly shorter. Deadline reports that F. Gary Gary is in talks with New Line to direct Straight Outta Compton the NWA biopic which would conflict with the Cap sequel. The rest of the known directors include George Nolfi (Adjustment Bureau) and the Russo brothers best known for the NBC series Community. I'm curious to hear who the other directors in the running are because these ones don't really inspire hope for a quality sequel.
Well it looks like Joe Johnston's next Marvel film might actually be a Winter Soldier film as the director isn't returning for the Captain America sequel. Vulture reports that Marvel Studios is now looking at new ten directors to helm Captain America 2. Some of the candidates include F. Gary Gary, George Nolfi, Anthony and Joseph Russo which is an interesting group of directors. The latter two are best known for the NBC comedy series Community. Nolfi was a screenwriter handling films like Oceans Twelve and Bourne Ultimatum before making his directing debut with the Adjustment Bureau. F. Gary Gary has been able to handle rather large films with projects like the Italian Job, Negotiator and Law Abiding Citizen. The names of the other six directors haven't been released but I assume this could be drawn out search.
It's expected that the sequel will be released in the summer of 2014 as previously stated by Chris Evans. Currently the script is being worked on by First Avenger writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus. I think if someone like Nolfi is hired to direct he could boost the action set pieces with his own rewrites. The Russo brothers could also inject some humor into film which had some decent wisecracking moments in the first film. Marvel is an odd bunch as they could very well end up hiring a director only to replace them later on. For my money I think F. Gary Gary is solid choice as he's an excellent action director when given a good cast and script.
LatinoReview has yet another interesting story this time focusing on G.I. Joe II: Revenge of Cobra. Stephen Sommers who directed the first film had previously left the franchise. It was expected as he struggled to get his vision of the film made while making Paramount nervous beyond belief. While the studio did make money from the movie they were ultimately unhappy with the final outcome. That being said Paramount has hired the screenwriting duo of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool, Venom, Zombieland) to work on the sequel's script so they're already moving in the right direction.
LatinoReview reveals that three directors are in the running to helm the sequel F. Gary Gray, Jaume Collet-Serra and John Chu. F. Gary Gray is the best of the bunch mentioned as he an extensive resume of action films some good and some okay. They include The Negotiator, Set It Off, The Italian Job remake and Law Abiding Citizen. Gray was also in talks to direct Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx in Kane & Lynch but seems to have moved on. Jaume Collet-Serra is rising director as he's just been tapped to direct Harker, a new take on Dracula for Warner Bros. His previous films include House of Wax, The Orphan and the upcoming thriller Unknown. Chu on the other hand is laughable as a candidate as he's only known for Step Up and the Justin Bieber film Never Say Never.
