Hollywood Dumps 'America' From New 'Captain America' Film

It turns out that a movie called "Captain America: The First Avenger" wouldn't go over big in international markets, and thus Paramount Pictures and Marvel Comics have decided to alter the movie's title to just "The First Avenger" in countries such as Russia, Ukraine and South Korea to try and sell more tickets, the LA Times reports.

Those involved in the decision are being careful to frame the move as a matter of brand management and consumer awareness and not as a decision tilted by cultural or political winds.

In private, Marvel insiders said that early on in the project’s planning there was talk that the title might need to be changed in numerous international markets but that there was a ”pleasant surprise” — the brand recognition of the comic-book superhero was so strong that it overrode those considerations in many places. That was not the case in Russia, South Korea and the Ukraine.

It’s not uncommon for American films to undergo name changes for overseas to suit the international variables in taste, translation and temperament.  Still, this particular title tweak might not sit well with those pundits and purists who frowned on comments last year by the film’s director, Joe Johnston, that suggested that Captain America and his alter ego, Steve Rogers, would be more measured in the way they saluted their country.

“He wants to serve his country, but he’s not this sort of jingoistic American flag-waver,” Johnston told Hero Complex. “He’s just a good person. We make a point of that in the script: Don’t change who you are once you go from Steve Rogers to this super-soldier; you have to stay who you are inside, that’s really what’s important more than your strength and everything. It’ll be interesting and fun to put a different spin on the character and one that the fans are really going to appreciate … the idea that this is not about America so much as it is about the spirit of doing the right thing,” the director said.

“It’s an international cast and an international story. It’s about what makes America great and what make the rest of the world great too.”

The story of Captain America revolves around Marvel comic-book hero Steve Rogers, a sickly young man-turned-super soldier by an experimental serum created to bolster American forces during World War II.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" is due in U.S. theaters in July.