Captain America – Cooper to play Howard Stark

Dominic Cooper is set to play Howard Stark‘s dad in the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger? Well that’s the latest rumour doing the rounds on the internet.

If true this will mark the third on-screen iteration of Tony Stark’s father with the An Education star joining Gerard Sanders (depicted on newsreel in the original movie) and Mad Men‘s John Slattery (featured extensively in IM2).

Given Stark’s role in the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D, and the fact that John Slattery (saving some sort of Professor X type CGI “youthening”) is too old to play a 30 something Stark, it was always inevitable that the part be recast. Cooper’s not a bad choice either as he has a certain bravado that while not matching RDJ’s should suffice for his dad.

Cooper would join the already impressive cast of Chris Evans as the star-spangled hero, Hugo Weaving, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Atwell and Toby Jones. Director Joe Johnston is set to start shooting in London next month for the July 22nd, 2011 release.