Will Smith as Captain America?

G4 reports rumors that Will Smith has been cast in the role of iconic Captain America for the far away release, The First Avenger: Captain America.

Will Smith is a good actor, but his last few movies have been passable to outright stinky. I'm thinking of I Am Legend and Hancock here. And casting a black actor for this role is about as 180 as you can go. Steve Rogers in the comic iteration is blond-haired, blue-eyed, corn-fed white meat. Which makes me greatly afraid of Smith playing Caps as a home-boy. I just can't envision Captain America flinging his shield to the background rhythm of 50 cent or a Diddy. If Smith eschews The Hood and plays him more mainstream, then it stands a chance of succeeding. Even then, I'm worried that the race cast will prove too distracting to the movie overall. Like getting hit with a thick wet fish every time Will Rogers appears on screen, bludgeoning the story and action right out of the audience.

What about Matt Damon in the role? His brofriend Affleck got Daredevil, Damon as Caps would tie them up. And Damon can do action, as he's proved over and over again with the Borne series. He's got the look, chiseled features and a physique that once effectively modeled Calvin Klein underwear. He's as good an actor as Smith and rather than distract from the role and the movie as a whole, would accentuate a good story and highlight its action elements.

But that's just me. I'm sure some Hollywood genius added all this up and came up with the sum Will Smith. If it's the same bean counter that did Hancock, I'll wait for the DVD.