By Assuming Captain America is a smash hit this weekend, and early buzz suggests that it may very well be, Joe Johnston will be free to do whatever the hell he wants in Hollywood. Pretty good for the man that started his career with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Contractually, Johnston has two more films to make with Marvel. Obviously, nothing’s confirmed or announced at this point (though expect news on whether or not he’ll do a Captain America sequel next week, I’d bet), but word from the man himself suggests he’s got a notion what Marvel character he’d like to adapt next, along with an out-there choice outside Marvel Studios that I’d see in a heartbeat.
First off, Johnston expressed his desires to make a Winter Solider film for Marvel. You folks that haven’t followed Captain America’s comic the past few years won’t know that his sidekick Bucky was recently retconned into a slightly older teen, doing a lot of Captain America’s wetwork and stealth assassination missions and later gets brainwashed by the Soviets into a super assassin code-named Winter Soldier. That story alone wouldn’t really work as a film, but it’s a decent character, and I could see Johnston making something work, if it’s even just folding Winter Soldier into the Captain America sequel.
Hit the jump to see the other character Johnston’s interested in, and my thoughts on the matter.
[Via /Film]The Rocketeer director also wants to make a film centered entirely around nigh-wordless, fan-favorite Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett, who Johnston helped create when he was the visual effects art director on Empire Strikes Back. He mentioned no details on this prospective project, other than that he was trying to convince George Lucas to allow him to make the film. I know I’m certainly one of those people that loved Boba Fett, despite a minor appearance, very few lines, and going out like a total bitch, but there’s such an undeniable cool about a guy in a rad-looking helmet with a jetpack and wrist-mounted weaponry. The chances of this film happening are slim to none, so I wouldn’t expect much more on the prospect, but hey, who’d have thought we’d see a Thor and Iron Man movie ever? Marvel Studio’s very existence is testament to the fact that nothing’s impossible.