Pitting Chris Evans’ Sentinel of Liberty against Robert Downey Jr.’s Shellhead, Captain America: Civil War is surely the ultimate superhero smackdown. Forced to confront the tragic consequences of their often-reckless actions after a routine operation goes badly wrong, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is virtually divided in two with the likes of Ant-Man, Vision and Falcon lined up as either Team Cap or Team Iron Man, following the implementation of the so-called ‘Sokovia Accords’ that requires all heroes to officially register with the government or retire quietly into the background.
Stephen Jewell met the stars of the film, and came away with ten crucial takeaways.
1. Civil War is Marvel’s Most Successful Comic Book Crossover.
Written by Kick-Ass/ Kingsman creator Mark Millar and drawn by Steve McNiven, Civil War is the first Marvel crossover/ summer event book to make the transition to the big screen. With comparisons made to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic Watchmen, the seven-issue mini-series first hit the stands in 2006, almost immediately proving to be phenomenally popular and making it an obvious candidate for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“The idea of doing it dates back to the early days when we were first starting to dream about getting our finances together and starting up our film studio,” recalls Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “A little over ten years ago when Civil War was first published, I thought it was an amazing comic series and I remember reading it every month as each issue came out, and thinking it will probably be possible and wouldn’t it be cool to some day to do it as a film. But it wasn’t until two or three years ago that we thought ‘now is the time,’ as our characters were settled enough to allow us do it.”
2. Captain America and the Winter Soldier Are a Bona Fide Band of Brothers.
Directed – like Captain America: The Winter Soldier – by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, Civil War springs out of events from Steve Rogers’ last solo outing, as Cap sides with his former sidekick-turned-brainwashed-Soviet-assassin, Bucky, who is accused of a terrorist atrocity. “That’s one of the great things about these movies,” says Evans. “With Bucky and Steve, you have these guys who have shared a battlefield together and, as anyone who has been in war will tell you, once you’ve actually risked your life and seen war with someone then they are your brother for life, and Steve and Bucky were brothers even before that.”
“Given the fact that they’ve both lived through this trauma, they’ve each lost people, and Cap and Bucky have both had people taken away from them. As a result, they have more of a connection, more of a bond, it’s like Bucky is the last remaining chapter of his previous life in the 1940s. So it really transcends that family dynamic that we’ve built up with the Avengers, where a guy like Captain America does what people need – but in this movie he does what he wants; he prioritises his personal ties over the needs of the masses.”
3. It’s a New Era for Robert Downey Jr.
Out of contract after last year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, it took some persuading for Robert Downey Jr. to reprise his role as Tony Stark. But after agreeing to lock horns with Evans in Civil War, he will next be seen alongside new wall-crawler Tom Holland in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming before returning for the two-part Avengers: Infinity War, which will also be directed by the Russos. “A lot of this film rested on Downey’s shoulders, and whether he would actually do this,” says Evans.
“You know as soon as you bring Robert Downey Jr. into the equation, that the movie is going to have a certain kind of energy to it, because that’s what he comes with. You know what it means as a jumping-off point because Civil War in the comics obviously involves so many characters. With all the endings of their movies, Marvel has this great history of never leaving you completely satisfied, and having you anticipate the next chapter. At the end of this one, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is in disarray, which means that it’s only going to make things even richer for the next Avengers film.”
4. Iron Man Meets His Match With Tom Holland’s New Spidey
With Tony Stark personally responsible for recruiting Spidey to his cause, Downey Jr. is full of praise for 19-year-old Londoner Tom Holland, who takes up the mantle of the now distinctively teenage Peter Parker. “Now that two out of the three Spider-Mans have been English, they’re really starting to topple Toby Maguire off the ledge,” laughs Downey Jr, referring to previous incumbent Andrew Garfield, who was almost ten years Holland’s senior when he first appeared in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man. “But anyone who has experience of working with him knows that he’s not a work in progress, he’s really something else, and I like the way that folks have reacted to him. He came on set and everyone was really excited about seeing him hold his own.”
5. Spider-Man and Black Panther have Vital Roles To Play
While Spider-Man shows up after a special agreement was reached between Marvel and the Web-Spinner’s film rights holder, Sony, Civil War also lays the groundwork for 2018’s Black Panther. Debuting in 1966’s Fantastic Four #52, T’Challa was significantly the first-ever black superhero. Portrayed on screen by Chadwick Boseman (Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get on Up), Civil War charts how he come to assume the mantle of mythical African nation Wakanda’s king and protector.
“The chessboard of this movie was all about who sided with who, and there were a lot of characters that went back and forth for a while before we settled on the make-up of the teams,” explains Feige. “But in terms of the addition of Spider-Man and Black Panther, it simply came from the story. We didn’t sit down and say ‘okay, we want to use these characters, and make more movies out of them, so how do we fit them in?’ With Black Panther, was more about ‘we’re telling Civil War and we have Cap’s side, and Tony’s side,’ but we wanted to bring in somebody who wasn’t aligned with either side. In the comics, Black Panther is great because he really doesn’t give a shit about either of the other sides, as he has his own agenda. In the end, it was a quarter of the way through the production process when we thought ‘it’s time to bring him in.’”
6. Vision and Scarlet Witch are Marvel’s Perennial Odd Couple
Married for a time in Marvel continuity, Civil War sees a certain frisson growing between Paul Bettany’s android Vision and Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, even if the sparks don’t exactly fly. “It’s something that the fans wanted to see,” says Olsen. “We’re just trying to root it in something that’s more in the here and now; like he’s a friend or a companion for Wanda.” Olsen continues by noting that the two erstwhile villains-turned- Avengers also derive their powers from the same mysterious source. “We have that in common so we use that as a thread that roots their relationship, which is very important and grounding.” “Another thing that brings them together is that neither of them knows the full extent of their powers,” adds Bettany. “That’s terrifying but it also unites them.”
7. Sharon Carter Steps Up Her Game
Following in the footsteps of her great-aunt Peggy Carter, Sharon Carter – aka SHIELD’s Agent 13 – is not only a more active participant in Civil War but she also enjoys some romantic moments with Captain America himself. “In the comic books, they actually go on to have a very interesting, complicated love affair,” says Emily VanCamp (TV’s Revenge), who builds on her character’s debut in The Winter Soldier. “That was something that I loved when I was doing the research for Sharon. But I don’t know how far we’ll go with it; we’ll just have to see. And it great fun doing the film, as Sharon is such a bad-ass in the comic books, so to be able to play with that a bit.”
8. Ant-Man Dukes it out with the Big Boys
After taking centre stage in last year’s Ant-Man, former convict-turned-miniature superhero Scott Lang doesn’t find himself out of his depth when joins the ranks of Team Cap. “It was a bit surreal to see everybody in their suits, and this reference will go down like a lead balloon, but I felt like cousin Oliver coming along and joining The Brady Bunch,” laughs Rudd, who has some wiggle room for the occasional spot of improvisation. “Most of the stuff was already written, but Anthony and Joe said to definitely play around with it a little bit. Part of the fun with a character like Scott Lang is that he’s relatable. He’s a guy who was not born with any kind of super abilities, so it’s fun to see him meeting these characters like Cap and Iron Man and seeing them through his eyes.”
9. Baron Zemo is a More Down to Earth Adversary
Originally a Nazi scientist in the comics, Civil War’s principal bad guy Helmut Zemo has received a makeover. And fortunately for German actor Daniel Bruhl (Niki Lauda in Rush), he no longer wears his distinctive full-face mask. “That’s what attracted me straight away because he’s not a clichéd, stereotype villain,” says Bruhl. “He has very human motivations and reasons behind what he does; he’s a character with depth and it makes him much more ambivalent.”
10. No Worries About the Distinguished Competition
While rival comic company DC finally launched their cinematic universe with last month’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and will continue with August’s Suicide Squad, Marvel aren’t nervously looking over their shoulder. “I don’t think anyone who is involved in making these movies are basing them on what other people are doing,” says Downey Jr. “For the most part, we’re just doing what we’ve always done, and it really is like the higher-ups at Marvel have figured out this formula of making good movies.”
‘Captain America: Civil War’ movie times
