It seems Marvel have been watching their sports entertainment as of late. After the casting of former WWE star Dave “Batista” Bautista as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, Latino Review are claiming that current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre has been cast in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as Georges Batroc aka Batroc the Leaper.

The story has since been backed up by wrestling and MMA news site Wrestling Observer / Figure Four Daily.

Probably not the most known of Marvel villains, Batroc the Leaper made his first appearance in 1966′s Tales of Suspense #75. Batroc doesn’t have any superhero abilities per say, but he’s known for his mastery of martial arts – which makes St-Pierre’s casting quite ideal.

St-Pierre has previously starred in Death Warrior and Never Surrender, both directed by Hector Echavarria.

Captain America: The Winter Solider will be the third film in Marvel’s Phase Two before Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers 2. Returning to the movie will be Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and Toby Jones as Arnim Zola. They will be joined by Marvel newcomers Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / The Falcon, Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow / Crossbones and Robert Redford in an as-yet-unrevealed role. The movie is set for release on April 4th, 2014. (Source)

Marvel’s Phase II is moving along quite swiftly, with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World arriving in theaters later this year. Next in line is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with Chris Evans returning as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Marvel executive and producer Kevin Feige recently spoke about the superhero genre being a “fad,” and teased an intriguing political element of this upcoming sequel.

“If it is a fad, it’s one that lasts 30 to 40 years, as the Western did, because each one is so different. There’s an opportunity to graft almost sub-genres onto them. Our first Captain America film was a World War II picture, and the next is a political thriller. They all have their own textures and patinas, and that’s what is exciting about it.”

The film is based on Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting’s 2005 story arc that is set in present day and features the return of Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, who is transformed in to the villainous Winter Soldier. Anthony Mackie also stars as Falcon, with Frank Grillo portraying Crossbones. Marvel’s The Avengers stars Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Cobie Smulders are also reprising their roles as Nick Fury, The Black Widow, and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes to theaters April 4th, 2014 and stars Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Sebastian Stan, Toby Jones. The film is directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo. (Source)

Toby Jones is set to return for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. SuperheroHype (via HeyUGuys) reports that Jones will reprise his role as Arnim Zola, one of the villains of the sequel. He will join Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan from the first film.

In the comics, “Zola was a genetic engineer who created clones and various monstrosities for Hitler. He also captured his own mental self, inserting it into a robot, and survived the war.” In the first Captain America, fans were briefly given a glimpse of the blueprints for the robot, so we may actually see Zola as a robot in the sequel.

Anthony and Joe Russo will direct franchise newcomers Anthony Mackie in the role of the Falcon and Frank Grillo as Crossbones. Also along for the ride are characters from Marvel’s The Avengers, including Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Cobie Smulders. The film arrives in 2D and 3D theaters on April 4, 2014. (Source)

Captain America may or may not be reunited with his lost love Peggy in Captain America: the Winter Soldier, but even if he does, she won’t be played by actress Hayley Atwell. Atwell, who played Peggy Carter in Captain America, has revealed that she will not be in the sequel to the popular super hero film.

A major aspect of Captain America was the romance between Steve Rogers (Played by Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Played by Hayley Atwell.) The two sweethearts were parted when our hero went into suspended animation. It’s possible they may meet again in Captain America: the Winter Soldier but she’ll be played by a different actress, and most likely an older one. Although the good Captain has remained youthful since WW2, Peggy will not have. If the character does appear in the sequel film, she will be 70 years older than she was in the original and will probably be portrayed by a more elderly actress.

Atwell originally indicated that she expected to be in the sequel, although her official answer when asked was “I’m not allowed to say yet”. Apparently, she was too optimistic. Recently, in an interview with Time Out, she revealed that she would not be in the film.

Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed the Avengers, said that he’d written a “beautiful and poignant scene” with Steve meeting an aged Peggy in the present. The scene was omitted from the script and never flmed. Maybe such a scene will be included in a future Marvel film. The Captain America sequel will focus on Captain America’s continued adjustment to the modern world and his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as the return of his old friend Bucky as the Winter Soldier.

Fans of the comics know that Captain America becomes involved in a long-term relationship with a younger relative of Peggy’s named Sharon Carter. It’s possible that Sharon will be in one of the future sequels, but that’s unconfirmed. In the meantime, Captain America: the Winter Soldier will have Chris Evans; Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury; Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow; Cobie Smulders as Agent Hill and Anthony Mackie as the Falcon. (Source)

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone familiar with the timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but along with the news that Frank Grillo will play Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (and the previously annoucned news that Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow would appear), Variety reports Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders will reprise their roles at Nick Fury and Maria Hill in Cap’s second solo adventure.

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Captain America: The Winter Soldier also stars Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan and is set for release April 4, 2014.

Since the set up of this story will take place in the present day with Captain America, in New York, where S.H.I.E.L.D. sometimes operates out of, this news makes a lot of sense. Just how extensive the roles will be, and questions of whether they’ll assist Cap or tie in to the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show are all still up in the air. (Source)

Walt Disney Studios has announced a release date for Marvel Studios’ Captain America 2, the sequel to the blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger, on April 4, 2014.

The second installment will pick-up where the highly anticipated Marvel’s The Avengers (May 4, 2012) leaves off, as Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) continues his affiliation with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and S.H.I.E.L.D and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world.

It is unknown if Cobie Smulders’ character, Maria Hill will be featured in the movie. But we can hope!

Marvel’s The Avengers comes to theaters May 4th, 2012 and stars Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Robert Downey Jr., Cobie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson. The film is directed by Joss Whedon.