Captain America? Why not?

Heat Vision is reporting a list of actors who are being considered for the role of Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America. Here are the names they have of the actors who have either tested or are set to test in the next week.

• John Krasinski (”The Office”)
• Michael Cassidy (”Smallville”)
• Patrick Flueger (”Brothers,” “The 4400″)
• Scott Porter (TV’s “Friday Night Lights”)
• Mike Vogel (”Cloverfield”)

Also possible: Chace Crawford is set to be in talks about auditioning, but nothing is set yet; Garrett Hedlund was invited to test, but has had schedule conflicts, same for Jensen Ackles. They may be seen at a later date, though.

I always appreciate Marvel’s willingness to go off the beaten track rather than tread the pretty boy, standard action hero route. That’s why I like the John Krasinski option. Sometimes the people you least expect turn out to be the best casting (Latino Review was not as enthused, saying, “What, is he gonna beat someone up, say something sarcastic then look at the camera?”).

All of this said, the final choice may be someone who isn’t even on the list. Heat Vision reminds us all that “Thor” initially passed on its eventual star Chris Hemsworth, and it took a second round of looks before he was cast. So someone even more obscure or offbeat might yet pop up.

Can David Goyer help Superman defeat his troubling film rights ownership issues? 

A few weeks ago, we heard about how Christopher Nolan has been brought in to “mentor” a revival of the Superman franchise for Warner Brothers, and how it’s important to the studio to get a film in progress before the rights to the character revert to the creators’ heirs. Well, now Latino Review is reporting that David Goyer has been chosen to write the new film.

Heat Vision says no deal has been made, that only meetings have taken place so far, but Latino Review seems pretty confident and has some details about what we could expect from a Goyer script.

• Neither Brandon Routh nor Bryan Singer will be involved, but that’s not much of a surprise.
• Goyer’s story will go back to “the John Byrne incarnation.” I have no idea what that means, but the LR source sounds pretty excited about it, so I guess I should be too.
• The film will be called “Man of Steel.”
• It’s not an origin story, but “assumes audiences already know about Lois, Clark, Jimmy and Perry…the Daily Planet is struggling due to the Internet…it sets up a huge Kryptonian mythology.”
• It involves Luthor and Brainiac.

Well, I would say that’s an impressive array of details. Will it happen this way? Like we said, something has to happen–WB has to get a Superman film going or there will be big trouble. Will they give Goyer a hard time about a script that might be more off-the-beaten track than what the non-comic aficionado expects from Superman? Possibly, but they won’t allow any trouble to linger too long. It’s all about trying to prove that something is seriously in development. That’s all that matters to WB.

Mickey Rourke looks like he could have fathered Conan. 

The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog is confirming an earlier report from Latino Review that Mickey Rourke will play Conan the Barbarian’s father in Marcus Nispel’s “Conan.” Jason Momoa is playing the title role (let’s hold back on all Team Coco jokes), a character originally created by Robert E. Howard. Arnold Schwarzenegger played Conan in 1982’s “Conan the Barbarian.”

Latino Review first reported Rourke’s interest in the role in January, but the deal temporarily came apart over money (what a shock). Rourke knows that he needs to make hay while the sun shines; he’s not going to let the career revival he’s gotten from “The Wrestler” go to waste. So while it’s important to lock down money, he also isn’t going to let things pass him by. Since “The Wrestler,” Rourke’s finished up “Passion Play,” “The Expendables,” and of course, “Iron Man 2.” One or two more gigs and he’ll have worked more in the last year than in the previous ten. And that’s good news. It always was a shame to see his talent go to waste. Plus “Conan” is set to begin shooting in Bulgaria in March. I had to do some research about Bulgaria last year and it’s one of the untapped travel gems of Europe. He’ll have a great time.

Permit me a smile as I report that Martin Scorsese’s stellar *Shutter Island* is the No. 1 box-office movie in a nation that has been previously content to throw out good money after bad (*Dear John*) and brutally awful (*Valentine’s Day*). Taking in a hefty $41 million in its opening weekend, *Shutter Island* reps a personal best opening gross for both director Scorsese (bigger than $27 milion for *The Departed*) and his star Leonardo DiCaprio (bigger than the $30 million for *Catch Me If You Can*).

Has the moviegoing public suddenly developed an itch to see smart, cinema-literate entertainment? Sadly, I don’t think so. My hunch is the trailer sold the piece as cheap horror. Having bought a ticket to see *Shutter Island* again this weekend with “real” people instead of reviewers, I witnessed a rapt audience being interrupted by loud fidgeting and bitching on the order of “What the hell is happening in this thing”? Next week’s grosses could take a hit.