In the midst of Star Wars: The Force Awakens dominating the media, don’t forget that Disney owns the other big Hollywood powerhouse – Marvel! And they have their next big film, Captain America: Civil War, coming out in a handful of months.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo (who will also be at the helm of Avengers: Infinity War – Part I and II) recently sat down with Weeping Angel in China to talk about characters, costumes, and high stakes.
When asked about the relationship between Steve (Chris Evans) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) which, fortunately, seems to be the crux of the film, Joe explained their bond:
“They’re very close characters, they have a relationship with each other that is very deep. The bond between them is very strong, [which is] what motivates the storytelling. These are both characters that came from nothing. Captain America was basically an orphan, and Bucky’s family took him in. When he was asleep for several years, he lost everything that was dear to him. And when he took the serum and became Captain America, he gave away a large part of himself for a patriotic cause. So, you have a character who is searching for the only thing that he has left from his past… and that’s Bucky. And people interpreted that relationship all kinds of ways and it’s great to see people argue about it what that relationship means to them.”
Steve and Bucky’s relationship is the heart of the Captain America trilogy (along with Steve and Peggy, one could argue), so it’s good to see them acknowledging it and putting it front and center as it should be.
However, another important relationship for Steve is his friendship with Natasha (Scarlett Johansson). It’s more important and deeper than any friendship Steve has with Tony (Robert Downey, Jr.) which is why pitting Steve and Tony against each other in the trailer fell flat. So what’s it going to be like when Steve and Natasha are on opposite sides?
“They do care very deeply for each other, I think, as much as any two characters in Avengers do, and I think you’ll see that [platonic dynamic] again in Civil War. I think two of the most endearing scenes in the film are between Steve and Natasha. And of course, that relationship will carry forward into Infinity War. They have a real respect for each other, but they’re very different and they admire the differences in each other, and they find a commonality in those differences.”
More than any other character, fans are most eager/anxious to see how Tom Holland’s Spider-Man fits into this universe. Anthony spoke to that:
“This is a completely new version of Spider-Man that’s introduced in Civil War. It was very important to us that we go younger with the character because what we love about Spider-Man is that he’s still a high school student. That’s a part of his vulnerability and it’s what makes him special in the Marvel Universe; he’s very unique. We wanted to play to that aspect of the character. We also wanted to think about ‘Who is Spider-Man today?’ A lot of times when you get interpretations of Spider-Man, they’re very nostalgic to the origins of the character. Sometimes there’s an old-fashioned patina to the tone of who Spider-Man is. We wanted to think about who is Spider-Man today if he’s living in Queens, what’s the texture of his life like, what’s the texture of his relationship with his aunt who lives with him. How can we make the relationship and character very contemporary? That’s our goal with the character.”
Civil War is shaping up to be the most devastating of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films because there’s no third-party villain. It’s not easy to root against the heroes we’ve come to know and love, depending on your stance with the film. I think we’re about to be wrecked and Joe’s comments about the stakes of this film only further confirm that:
“The stakes of both Civil War and the Avengers: Infinity War movies are gonna be very high, and there will be a price to pay [for?] a lot of characters, and that’s the whole point of cumulative storytelling. We’re going to go on emotional journeys with these characters. We’ve got a lot invested in the emotion. We have responsibilities to be mindful of how these people feel about the characters and, at the same time, we also have a responsibility to carry through on the storytelling. As filmmakers, we believe in stakes. You can’t have good storytelling without strong stakes. So, there will be a price to pay in Civil War.”
Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the Russo Bros? This is why they’re one of the best things Marvel has going for them right now.
Lastly, on the matter of Cap’s new uniform and possibly donning his original scale mail:
“It is a new costume. We were trying to pull forward the work that we had done in Captain America: The Winter Soldier on Cap. So, the innovations that we made to his costume in that form are very much the tonal texture that we are pulling forward. Civil War is very much connected and rooted in The Winter Soldier. So, as far as the specifics of the costume, we don’t want to give too much away, but it is a new costume slightly different from what you’ve seen before. And it’s grounded in that Winter Soldier tone.”
I think there’s a lot to look forward to with this film and this interview clearly shows why.
Captain America: Civil War stars Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey. Jr, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Renner, Daniel Brühl, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Emily VanCamp, Martin Freeman, and Don Cheadle, is set to hit theaters on May 6, 2016.
What are you most looking forward to with this film? Let us know in the comments!
Source: GeekTyrant
