The sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger, the one that will pick up with a contemporary setting following this summer's The Avengers, has a release date now.  So it would probably be pertinent for Marvel Studios to find a director (or directors) to actually take charge of the tentatively-titled Captain America 2.  It appears that the directorial field has gotten a bit smaller, as F. Gary Gray has dropped out as a candidate.

Right now, all eyes are on The Avengers, but while the public waits for the first cinematic superhero team-up of its kind, Marvel Studios is busily assembling its roster of solo sequels.  First among those is Iron Man 3, continuing the adventures of billionaire-genius-philantropist-superhero Tony Stark.  With production set to begin early next month, it seems Marvel has found an actor to play Stark's new nemesis, as Ben Kingsley is in final negotiations for the role.

We've known full-well that Chris Evans would hurl a red, white, and blue shield for a third time in a sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger, we just didn't know exactly when.  Today that changed, as Disney and Marvel Studios announced a release date and a basic logline for the Captain America sequel, and also dropped a new still of Cap in The Avengers.  The tentatively-titled Captain America 2 will be the third post-The Avengers Marvel adventure.

After all their superheroes get together for a sleepover, truth or dare, and makeout sessions in this summer's The Avengers, Marvel Studios is going right back to the individual franchises, all of which are taking on new directors.  Iron Man 3 is being helmed by Shane Black, while Thor 2 falls to Alan Taylor.  Now, we have some idea of just who might oversee the Captain America sequel, as a shortlist of of the final three candidates for the job has emerged online.

While we've all got our collective undies in a twist over The Avengers, Marvel is, of course, looking to the future.  The studio has already set Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 as the first two features following the big ensemble team-up.  Both of those are hitting in 2013, and they'll be followed by two mysterious Marvel features set for April 4th and May 16th of 2014.  It's long been assumed that one of those two as-yet unknown features will be a sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger.  Today, Neal McDonough, who played Dum Dum Dugan in that film, has supported that assumption, and also added to the notion that we might see Dum Dum team up with Nick Fury in an eventual SHIELD movie.

If Marvel Studios were a person, and you ran into that person on the street today, you'd probably be like, "Oh hey, Marvel.  Haven't seen you too much since Captain America: The First Avenger.  Nice work on that Avengers trailer though.  So what's up with you these days?"  The gender-nonspecific person named Marvel would reply, "Ugh, Thor 2 is busting my entirely-figurative balls all the time, but you know I can't really say much," because he/she generally plays some stuff pretty close to the vest.  In an awkward pause during the ensuing conversation, though, Marvel would casually mention changing the release date of a mysterious project, then jump right to The Avengers being a 3D release, which you've long suspected to be the case.

Actor Neal McDonough is absolutely no stranger to playing a superhero. The actor’s first comic book connection came in the mid-‘90s when he voiced the Marvel villain Firebrand on the Iron Man cartoon. This eventually led to a larger Marvel role as the voice of Dr. Bruce Banner on The Incredible Hulk cartoon series in 1996. McDonough jumped the Marvel ship in 2010 and went over to the other side with his brilliant portrayal of DC Comics’ emerald archer, in the short film DC Showcase: Green Arrow. But the actor has now comeback to the “House of Ideas” for his first ever live-action role as a comic book hero in Captain America: The First Avenger, which is available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning October 25^th.

In the film, McDonough plays the beloved Marvel character Dum Dum Dugan who was a valuable member of the Howling Commandoes, an elite group of soldiers who aided Captain America in his fight against Hitler, the Nazis, HDYRA and the Red Skull during World War II. Dugan is a former circus strongman, and best recognized by comic book fans for his trademark bowler hat and handlebar mustache. When Captain America (Chris Evans) must recruit a team of soldier’s to help him defeat the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) he chooses the Howling Commandoes, which consists of Dugan, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Gabe Jones (Derek Luke), Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi), James “Union Jack” Montgomery (J.J. Feild), and Jacques Dernier (Bruno Ricci). Under Captain America’s leadership they are able to defeat their enemies together and bring an end to WWII.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with actor Neal McDonough about his work on Captain America: The First Avenger, as well as a few of his other projects. In part two of our conversation, McDonough discusses the research he did in order to play Dum Dum Dugan, growing the character’s signature mustache, shooting his favorite sequence in the film, bonding on location with his fellow actors, and returning to the role for Cap 2, Nick Fury, and beyond.

Marvel Studios second superhero film of the summer, Captain America: The First Avenger not only introduced the world to Steve Rogers and his heroic alter ego but it also gave us our first look at another fan-favorite group of heroes from “The House of Ideas” … the Howling Commandoes.

The Howling Commandoes first appeared in the comics as an elite special unit formed in World War II by Nick Fury and the team consisted of Corporal Timothy Aloysius Cadwallander “Dum Dum” Dugan, Private Gabriel Jones, Private Robert “Rebel” Ralston, Private Dino Manelli, Private Isadore “Izzy” Cohen, and Private Jonathan “Junior” Juniper. However, in the film the team closer resembled The Invaders, which was essentially a WWII era version of The Avengers that first appeared in the comics in 1969. Captain America, Bucky Barnes, and Montgomery Falsworth (better known as Union Jack) are all Invaders members who were included as Hollowing Commandoes in the film, while Dugan, Jones, Jim Morita, and Jacques Dernier were actual Howlers from the comics who rounded out the movie’s team.

One of the most beloved members of the Howling Commandoes by far is the bowler hat wearing Dum Dum Dugan, who was played by actor Neal McDonough (Minority Report) in Captain America: The First Avenger. In the comics, Dugan survived WWII and would eventually go on to become Nick Fury’s second in command at S.H.I.E.L.D. It should also be mentioned that McDonough is no stranger to playing superheroes having recently voiced DC Comics’ popular character Green Arrow in the 2010 animated short film, DC Showcase: Green Arrow. On Friday, I had a chance to speak with actor Neal McDonough about playing Dum Dum Dugan in Captain America: The First Avenger, which will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 25^th.

While talking about the film, McDonough said this about playing the role of Dum Dum Dugan. “It was a blast to play him and I still look forward to Cap 2, Nick Fury or any other films in the future.” This comment peaked my interest and I decided to follow up asking McDonough specifically about his involvement in those two upcoming projects. While we won’t be running my conversation with the actor about shooting Captain America: The First Avenger until closer to the films home media release, I wanted to let you know what he had to say about Captain America 2 and Nick Fury. I also took the opportunity to ask the actor about the recent announcement that he will be playing the villain in season 3 of the hit FX series Justified, as well as the possibility of reprising his role as Green Arrow in a live action feature film based on the emerald archer.

Chris Evans has a lot going on at the moment.  This month, he has not one, but two movies arriving in theaters, with the drama Puncture in limited release this Friday and romantic comedy What's Your Number? going wide at the very end of September.  While promoting Puncture, a true story in which he stars as a drug-addicted lawyer crusading for safer medical needles, Evans has addressed endless questions about the future of Steve Rogers, who he played in this summer's Captain America: The First Avenger.  Having just wrapped up work on the Marvel crossover event The Avengers, Evans provided his thoughts on when exactly the planned Captain America sequel will materialize and whether or not we'll be seeing him cross-pollinating other Marvel franchises like Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, and Samuel L. Jackson before him.

In the last week, we've seen release dates announced for sequels to both Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man and Lionsgate's The Hunger Games, despite the fact that neither film is anywhere near finished.  Such is the imperative need for studios to stake out prime event movie real estate well in advance, ensuring the biggest possible opening weekend for would-be blockbusters.  Keeping that in mind, an update to the ever-reliable Box Office Mojo release date schedule shows that Marvel Studios and Disney have set "Marvel Untitled 1" and "Marvel Untitled 2" for May 16, 2014 and June 27, 2014.  But what are these mysterious Marvel movies?