First Look at Bucky from ‘Captain America’

By now, fans of Captain America have seen the official Super Bowl trailer of the upcoming comic-based flick and even caught a glimpse of the official movie poster, but one thing I’ve been curious about is how the movie would portray  the hero’s loyal side-kick, ‘Bucky.’ In a recent interview with director Joe Johnston over at the L.A. Times, it turns out that James “Bucky” Barnes, played by actor Sebastian Stan  (“Gossip Girl,” “Kings”), will have a decidedly darker personality than fans of the comic may be used to.

In the interview, Johnston comments on how Bucky’s personality will receive a Hollywood update:

“Sebastian brought something really interesting and slightly on the dark side and really compelling to watch — when he’s on camera, you’re fascinated by watching him. You know, he was originally up for the lead, for the Steve Rogers role, but he didn’t have quite the same earnest, I-want-to-fight-for-my-country aura that Chris has for this role. Sebastian has a little bit of the bad boy, he’s a little bit of the James Dean type and that goes somewhat counter to the general perception of Steve Rogers. He wasn’t quite right for Captain America,  but I think he’s perfect for Bucky because, really, he can have a little bit of that dark side.”

Certainly an interesting development and somewhat understandable as the boy-wonder-esque sidekick character is unlikely to be received so readily by an audience in 2011. And it certainly seems that the writing team on ‘Captain America,’ including Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and Joss Whedon, didn’t merely go part-way when putting their own spin on the duo’s partnership. Instead, they practically reinvented it.

Johnston elaborates a bit on this different take on the duo’s relationship:

“We took some liberties with the relationship between the two guys. In our story, Bucky is already in the service, he’s already joined up and is being sent overseas while Steve is still struggling to get in the army. That’s different than what you may have read in the comics. It adds a nuance to the relationship that pays off later. They’re closer in age, too — they’re virtually the same age. That’s not the case at all if you go back to the old comics.”

Quite an interesting insight on how the writers are putting their own spin on this long-running comic franchise. I, for one, can barely wait to see this flick in action later this year. Are you as excited as I am? Or do these sort of character shifts elicit only groans of disappointment? Be sure to sound off in the comments section!