U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012.  REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov  (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Reuters Photojournalism

Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography.  See more | Photo caption 

Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012.  REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Fleet Week

The U.S. Navy takes Manhattan for a week.  Slideshow 

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The SpaceX mission

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"Matrix" bad guy eyes "Captain America" villain

Cast member Hugo Weaving poses at the premiere of ''The Wolfman'' at the ArcLight theatre in Hollywood, California February 9, 2010. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Cast member Hugo Weaving poses at the premiere of ''The Wolfman'' at the ArcLight theatre in Hollywood, California February 9, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:34pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Australian actor Hugo Weaving, who played bad guy Agent Smith in the "Matrix" franchise, is in talks to join the "Captain America" movie as the villainous Red Skull.

The Marvel Studios project remains in search of the actor to play Steve Rogers, Captain America's alter ego. It will be directed by Joe Johnston, who recently worked with Weaving in "The Wolfman."

In the Marvel comics, Red Skull has been Captain America's archenemy since 1941, when he engaged in espionage and sabotage as Hitler's right-hand man. In his final battle with the superhero, he was buried under the rubble of a bombed building but -- as would occur later with Captain America -- fell into a state of suspended animation. Both were revived in modern times. The character was the villain in the low-budget 1990 "Captain America" movie.

Weaving is also known to genre fans as elf ruler Elrond of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

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