Is the search for Captain America over? According to Heat Vision Marvel has offered the role to Chris Evans.

Sources tell us the actor has been offered the role of Captain America. Marvel has not confirmed the development and CAA, which reps the actor, declined to comment.

Evans’ offer would include starring in up to three “America” movies plus “The Avengers” movies and appearances in several other Marvel movies. While an offer to star in “America” may seem like something you don’t have to mull over too long, one possible complication is that Evans is committed to co-starring in the Anna Faris romantic comedy “What’s Your Number?” Both are scheduled to shoot this summer.

I think Chris Evans would be a good choice for the part, although its not the first time hes played a superhero. Evans played The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies, a guy with telekinetic powers in Push, and will be appearing in The Losers and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World this year. Both of which are based on graphic novels and comics (and I thought Ryan Reynolds playing Green Lantern and Deadpool was over doing it).

What do you think? Would Evans be able to hold his own on screen with Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson?

It may actually be easier to just list the names of the actors Marvel haven’t approached to play Captain America. Earlier today we heard that Ryan Phillippe was being considered for the role, and now according to Deadline Marvel have sent out a call to Channing Tatum to see if he’s interested.

Tatum’s Dear John has made nearly $80 million on a $25 million budget, and it claims the title of knocking Avatar from the number #1 spot after 8 weeks. He was also in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra last summer which made enough for Paramount to green light a sequel. His recent box office run may be of interest to the guys at Marvel. He is one of the only contenders who’s had some mild success leading a film.

Deadline say that he hasn’t tested for the role yet, however he is in the mix along with Ryan Phillippe, Chris Evans, Mike Vogel and Garrett Hedlun, and Generation Kill’s Wilson Bethel.

If Tatum decided to try out for Captain America it wouldn’t be the first time he’s audition for one of Marvel’s superheroes. Tatum tried out for the role of Thor and met with director Kenneth Branagh, but apparently they were “looking for someone more Nordic-looking”. Chris Hemsworth eventually landed the role and is currently filming Thor as we speak.

Marvel were aiming to have their Captain America cast by the beginning of March but they have yet to make a final decision, and it appears they are throwing more actors into the mix. According to HitFix Ryan Phillippe (Crash, Flags of Our Fathers) is the latest actor to be considered to play Steve Rogers.

Phillippe joins Mike Vogel, Garret Hedlund, Chris Evans, Scott Porter, and John Krasinski who have been screen-testing for the role over recent weeks. The fact that Marvel keep trying out other actors means that they obviously haven’t found what they are looking for yet, but we should be getting an announcement before the end of the month.

Out of the actors list above, who would you like to see land the role?

I love days like this. This morning, we posted a story about “The Office” star John Krasinski being the frontrunner for Marvel’s upcoming Captain America adaptation. Only a few hours later, it looks like that report (initially from Fox 411) has been disproven and some new information has come to light.

Deadline has the exclusive report.

Marvel has slightly expanded its search — adding actors that I’m told include Chris Evans, who already logged Marvel Comics superhero time as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in two Fantastic Four films. Of the original contenders, two are still in serious contention: Mike Vogel (Cloverfield) and Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy). Hedlund was on Marvel’s original wish list but didn’t test at first.

They also mention “it’s not going to work out for the other actors” who screen tested for the role of Steve Rogers, and count Krasinski as one of the unfortunate few. What a difference a few hours can make.

Given this new spin on Joe Johnston’s film, I must say I’m pleased with the remaining choices. Chris Evans (as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch) was the best part of the Fantastic Four series, and I’ve been quietly pulling for Hedlund all along. After the incredibly strong debut of the Tron: Legacy trailer yesterday, perhaps Marvel is looking at the actor through fresh eyes. What do you all think about this development? Are you happy that Krasinski is out, and if so, who would you like to see suit up in the red, white, and blue?

Just over 2 weeks ago we got a list of actors who were apparently screen testing for the lead role in The First Avenger: Captain America. From the lack of any official announcements it would appear Marvel and director Joe Johnston are still looking for their Steve Rogers, and according to 411 there is one actor in particular who may be in with a shot of claiming the role.

John Krasinski is getting even closer to nabbing the role that could propel him into action hero stardom … Captain America!

Insiders at the Marvel compound tell Fox 411 that he is close to landing the superhero gig of his life. John, who plays Jim on “The Office,” has appeared in front of producers repeatedly since the start of the new year and since rumors began in February.

“John has read 4 times and is doing screen tests,” our source tells us. “He has screen tested 2 times so far. It’s very likely that he will be the new Captain America. He is a favorite among the key decision makers and has been asked to come back for more this week.”

At this point, Krasinski is the main focus at Marvel. “The big bosses are having him read with multiple actresses up for the female leads. They want to lock down the role and then they will narrow down everyone else.”

One wouldn’t have guessed a TV comedy actor would be the likely candidate to play Captain America, a guy who’s strength, endurance, agility, speed, reflexes, durability and healing are at the highest limits of natural human potential, but I guess Krasinski may have something that the guys at Marvel are looking for.

We should be expecting the final casting decision to be revealed in the very near future as filming is due to begin in a few months time, and whoever lands the role will probably have a strenuous training schedule ahead of them.

It’s about time we got a new one! According to Futon Critic Robert Downey Jr. will be appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards on Sunday, and he’ll be introducing the second trailer for Iron Man 2.

Host Jimmy Kimmel welcomes two-time Academy Award(R)-nominated Robert Downey Jr. and a musical performance by Grammy Award(R) winner Keith Urban to the fifth consecutive “Jimmy Kimmel Live: After the Academy Awards”, SUNDAY, MARCH 7, immediately following the late local news (12:05-1:05 a.m., ET, approx). Downey will introduce the world premiere of the new “Iron Man 2? trailer only moments before Urban performs his new hit single, “Til Summer Comes Around,” from his 2009 album, “Defying Gravity.”

The trailer will no doubt make its way online at some point over the weekend, so keep your eyes peeled!

You can watch the first Iron Man 2 trailer below:

As Marvel Entertainment had no tent-pole movies released in 2009 it’s not surprising to see that they didn’t make as much money this year, and they are reporting a 60% drop in profits from the 3rd Quarter of 2009. However, they did make quite a lot from the release of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk last year, with DVD/Blu-ray, merchandise and TV sales flowing through to 2009.

Despite the drop in profits the report from Yahoo! shows Marvel have nothing to be worried about. As we all know Iron Man 2 will be released next May which should top up their bank balance (Iron Man made $580+ million worldwide). They also have Thor and Captain America starting production over the upcoming months for 2011 releases, and then The Avengers in 2012. Marvel are also developing games with Sega to coincide with the release of all these movies. Lets not forget Spider-Man 4 in 2011 either.

Should all the above movies flop (which is highly unlikely) they still have TV shows such as a second season of Wolverine and the X-Men and Black Panther in the works. They also have a Spider-Man Broadway musical opening sometime next year, DVDs and games such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 which has already started bringing in revenue.

So an average end to 2009 for Marvel, although the best is yet to come (which is probably why Disney bought them earlier this year.)

Marvel are assembling quite a cast for their next big superhero outing. Thor will start filming next year so they now finalizing the cast, and now according to Heat Vision the latest member to join is Sir Anthony Hopkins who will play Odin, Thor’s father. Odin is also the ruler of Asgard, which Thor gets cast from and he then finds himself on Earth among the humans.

Chris Hemsworth will be wielding the hammer and Natalie Portman will play Jane Foster, his human love interest.

Anthony Hopkins will next be seen playing Benicio Del Toro’s father in The Wolfman which will be released in February.

Remember that court case that told us we’d be getting a Superman movie in the next few years because otherwise Warner Bros would be open to a bunch-o-legal-claims from the Seigel (one of Superman’s creators) estate? Well, it looks like another hero of comics is going to see his creations go to court based on the actions of his living family members: Jack Kirby.

And you know what sucks about that? Jack Kirby had a hand in creating most of the successful Marvel properties and Marvel treated him like crap when he worked there, including a well-documented fight over artists owning their original work.

Now, reports Bleeding Cool, the Kirby estate has seen Marvel sold to Disney and is ready to make some money:

The estate of Jack Kirby, co-creator of Captain America, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Avengers, Iron Man, Hulk, The Silver Surfer and Thor and has sent notices terminating copyright to publishers Marvel and Disney, as well as film studios that have made movies and TV shows based on characters he created or co-created, including Sony, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures.

Just as the Jerry Siegel estate has done so with rights to Superman, so Kirby’s estate is looking to regain his share of copyright in the characters and their use in comics and other media. the estate is using the same lawyers as the Siegels, Toberoff & Associates, who have been fairly successful in their case against DC/Warner so far.

Such claims, if found valid, would begin from 2014 and, as always, its worth noting that Marvel/Disney will still own the trademarks of the characters in comics, and the studios in movies. The likelihood is that, if successful, the Kirby estate would enter into negotiation with Marvel over terms to continue publishing comics based on his work.

This is going to be an interesting process, as the Kirby estate needs to strike a balance between accepting a low-ball offer the conglomerates will undoubtably begin with and strangling Marvel near-to-death by stripping characters or Kirby-created aspects of the characters from the comics/film zeitgeist.

The good news for us is that this process is probably going to take between 7 and 10 years of the Kirby estate actually tries to reclaim the copyright. Every Marvel superhero film you are looking forward to should still come out on schedule.

If you weep at the thought of having to wait until 2012 to see a group of superheroes battling it out in The Avengers, then you will probably want to purchase Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. It’s a sequel to the 2006 game and it contains just about every Marvel character you could want. There’s Iron Man,, Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, Storm, Deadpool, Hulk, Human Torch, Luke Cage and loads more. The game allows you to choose four characters to work your way through different levels and scenarios. Characters can combine powers, level up and even change their outfit.

Here’s the trailer:

The game is available on just about every gaming platform and will be released on September 15th. You can order the game by clicking here!