About a month and a half ago we reported that Derek Luke’s name appeared on a Captain America: The First Avenger poster and ran through a little speculation as to what his role would be – the general consensus being that he would portray the Howling Commando, Gabe Jones.
Well, the official word is in, and it looks like Derek Luke will in fact be playing Gabe Jones!
Since there are only a few African American comic book characters from the Marvel universe during that time period, Blackfilm.com exclusively confirmed through a reliable source that Luke will playing Gabe Jones, an original member of the elite Howling Commandos combat squad of World War II.
As the first African-American to serve in an integrated unit, Jones, who was also known for carrying his trumpet into battle, is one of the close confidantes to Sergeant Nick Fury, who would later become the head of the organization S.H.I.E.L.D. Jones would later join him as an agent. -BlackFilm
So there it is! Looks like Mr. Vice’s tingling geek-sense was dead on on this one!
Captain America: The First Avenger is set to open on July 22 and is directed by Joe Johnston