'Captain America' Lands A Leading Lady: Hayley Atwell
British actress Hayley Atwell has won the coveted role of Peggy Carter in Marvel Studios' [movie id="390379"]"The First Avenger: Captain America,"[/movie] Heat Vision reports.
The "Brideshead Revisited" actress will play the love interest of Steve Rogers, the scrawny soldier-turned-superhero [article id="1634469"]played by Chris Evans[/article] in the movie. Joe Johnston is directing from a screenplay written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
Heat Vision reports that Atwell won the role after a screen test held in London last week. Johnston's "The Wolfman" collaborator Emily Blunt allegedly declined an offer from Marvel to star in the film. Other rumored contenders for Carter included "She's Out of My League" actress Alice Eve and "Pirates of the Caribbean" star Keira Knightley.
In the Marvel Comics series, Peggy Carter is a soldier fighting alongside the French Resistance during World War II. She eventually forges an alliance with Captain America and his soldiers in an effort to defeat the occupying Nazi forces led by the ruthless Red Skull. During their partnership, Rogers and Carter strike up a romantic relationship.
Rogers later emerges in modern times after spending several decades frozen in the arctic. He meets and falls in love with Sharon Carter, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the niece of Peggy.
A Marvel Studios press release posted by Superhero Hype indicates that the character of Carter "will be updated for the feature adaptation," but there is currently no word on which details will change.
Atwell is best known for her performances in Julian Jarrold's "Brideshead Revisited" and Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream." She'll next be seen in "The Pillars of the Earth," an eight-part miniseries airing this summer on Starz.
The actress stars in "The First Avenger: Captain America" opposite the previously cast Evans and [article id="1635329"]Sebastian Stan as sidekick James "Bucky" Barnes[/article]. Hugo Weaving is in negotiations to play Red Skull.
Check out everything we've got on "The First Avenger: Captain America."
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