Joe Johnston to Direct Captain America!

Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III, Hidalgo) has signed a deal to direct First Avenger: Captain America, Marvel Studios' take on its classic comic book character, says The Hollywood Reporter. Marvel's Kevin Feige is producing. 

No writers are on board, but the studio, which is hearing pitches, expects to hire shortly. 

"This is a guy who designed the vehicles for 'Star Wars,' who storyboarded the convoy action sequence for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' " Feige said. "From 'Rocketeer' to 'October Sky' to 'The Wolfman,' you can look at pieces of his movies and see how they lead to this one." 

Created in 1941 by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon for Timely Comics, Captain America is the heroic alter ego of Steve Rogers, who is rejected by the Army for being too sickly and undergoes an experiment that takes him to the pinnacle of human form. Paired with an indestructible shield, he became a symbol of the war effort, in and out of comics. 

The character disappeared in the 1950s but was revived during the early era of Marvel Comics. He was reintroduced as part of the Avengers, the absence explained by having him being in a state of suspended animation during a war mission until found by the superteam. 

First Avenger: Captain America is scheduled for a release on May 6, 2011. It will be a World War II-set movie, and the character will appear in the modern day-set The Avengers.