Yesterday, poster artist Ciara McAvoy sent out a Tweet indicating that Marvel are in the process of casting Captain Britain for a new TV show. Created in 1976, the character is far from one of the comic book publisher’s most popular heroes, but a live-action adaptation has the potential to be pretty interesting.
After all, his origin story is tied into the mythology surrounding Merlin and his powers let him travel between alternate dimensions. As a result, he would make for an exciting new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (though, as the brother of X-Men member Psylocke, it’s unclear whether he may have been sold to Fox as part of those rights).
Sadly, as fun as Captain Britain has the potential to be, the show is not happening. Despite McAvoy’s claims, TV Line states that, “well-placed sources” assure them “that the rumor is not true.” We’ve seen denials like this many times in the past for unannounced projects of course, but it’s hard to imagine Captain Britain being a priority for anyone at the current moment.
He is, after all, one of Marvel’s most obscure heroes, and an entire TV show based around what many might perceive to be a Captain America ripoff could fall flat on its face. If it does happen, however, Marvel would be wise to turn to the work of Watchmen scribe Alan Moore, as his Captain Britain run was absolutely superb.