As The First Avenger: Captain America gradually rolls into production, it sounds as if director Joe Johnston is trying to make the least cheesy movie possible.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex blog, Johnston offered this little nugget of info regarding Cap’s origin, which deviates slightly from the comic book, but might explain why a grown man would run into a war zone dressed as an American flag.

"The costume is a flag, but the way we're getting around that is we have Steve Rogers forced into the USO circuit," Johnston said. "After he's made into this super-soldier, they decide they can't send him into combat and risk him getting killed. He's the only one and they can't make more. So they say, 'You're going to be in this USO show' and they give him a flag suit. He can't wait to get out of it."

"It was never in the comics," Johnston said of the explanation, "because they didn't really need it. In comics, he puts on the costume and the reader just justifies because of the nature of the medium."

It sounds like The First Avenger screenplay will continue the real-world approach taken by Iron Man, but just who will yield Cap’s mighty shield? "Well, we're testing five or six guys," Johnston said. "The youngest is 23, the oldest is 32. Most of the guys in the war are just kids, 18 or 19, but we want to go a little bit older. We have to have somebody locked in before I leave March 1 for London."

The First Avenger: Captain America is set to start filming in London at the end of June. Johnston went on to say that he’s looking for a complete unknown, but that the actor will definitely be American. "I hope it’ll be somebody we discover and whose never been in… well, he’s probably been in something [but] you won’t know who he is or recognize him. We’ll surround him with more prominent names. That’s who we’re looking for. Will we find him? I don’t know. It’s tough," he said.

Johnston also took part in a recent press conference for the film. The following is a run-down of additional details (courtesy of Collider), some of which may have been previously reported:

• The First Avenger: Captain America will be shot in HD, and if it’s released in 3-D, that will be done in post-production.
• The film will be shot in a different way than any of the other Marvel pictures have been shot.
• Most of the film will be set in the UK because the movie takes place in Europe.
• The Invaders (Marvel’s World War II-era characters, back when the company was called Timely) are a big part of the second half of the film.
• Captain America will wear two costumes during the film: The first is close to the Jack Kirby’s design, while the second is a sturdier, more muted version.
• Finally, according to AICN, Johnston said the villain is going to be the Red Skull, Cap’s longtime nemesis.