Joe Johnston. Really? Huh.
The man who came on to save The Wolfman for Universal has evidently been in Captain America talks with Marvel for a long time. THR says that much of what we can expect to see in the film, which doesn’t yet have a writer, originated in those talks.
The trade quotes Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige being enthusiastic about Johnston’s pre-directorial work, but when he’s been in the driver’s seat Johnston has never turned out anything fully convincing. Moments of October Sky and The Rocketeer, perhaps…OK, there are plenty of moments on Johnston’s CV that work. But how many of his films do you want to watch again? How many do you jones for?
I hope The Wolfman will prove to be a late-breaking turning point. But this sounds like Marvel hiring someone that will do exactly what they need done for their Avengers assembly to work properly. Proper casting could still ignite interest in this; plenty of folks wouldn’t have been excited about Favreau’s Iron Man without Robert Downey, Jr.