To everybody's surprise, Marvel and Disney have decided to show the first teaser for Captain America: Civil War yesterday - and what a teaser trailer that was. It had everything from action to drama and showcased what the theme of the movie will be: friendship. Some people will reunite after decades of being separated, while some people will fall apart one from another - and this is a more than interesting approach in the MCU.
As everybody knows, this version of the Civil War won't resemble the comic book version - first and foremost, there aren't enough superheroes in the MCU for that to happen. But this is, most likely, a good thing - simply because, in this way, the filmmakers will be able to focus on those characters who have been front and center in this marvelous shared universe.
Furthermore, it gives the same filmmakers the opportunity of making the Civil War an actual event connected to the previous MCU flick and which will have consequences on the future ones. Where will the stories take the main characters next? We have no idea - however, thanks to Empire Online and directors Joe and Anthony Russo, we now know exactely where we are.
So if you want to read the trailer breakdown (with spoilers, of course) directly from those who made the film, read on!
The Winter Soldier
Joe and Anthony Russo are also the ones who directed (and made a hit out of) Captain America: The Winter soldier. They are the ones responsible for resurrecting Steve Roger's past - in the form of his childhood friend Bucky Barnes, MIA in WWII and believed dead, returned as an assassin for the foes the Captain fought during the second WW.
Talking about the scene which was also seen in the credits of Ant-Man the directors say that it doesn't happen too early in the film - and this is understandable. Most likely, the beginning of Captain America: Civil War will feature the African Market battle, which leads to the Sokovia Accords. And since Crossbones is the one leading the assault, this would work as frame-up - everybody will believe that the Winter Soldier is behind it all (everybody except Steve and his friends).
According to Joe Russo, the man trapped in the vice (most likely by Steve and Sam) is not Bucky and is not the Winter Soldier - it is someone in-between. By focusing on this friendship, the idea was to emphasize the fact that Captain America: Civil War is not an Avengers flick (though it is called that way by many fans).
Anthony Russo, on the other hand, says that this new character is still caught by the past - both as a friend of Steve and as a HYDRA assassin. And this brings him right in the middle of the Civil War - which, maybe, means that Bucky will indeed be framed as a new leader of HYDRA, thus having the governments of the world, as well as the Iron Man faction of the Avengers, on his trail.
General Ross
General Ross is another character brought from the past - namely from the events of The Incredible Hulk. According to Joe Russo, the idea is to make that movie relevant once again into the MCU - and bringing General Ross into the fold is the perfect way to do that.
The character also evolved since 2008 - if back then he was a fanatic anti-superhero character (which means that he opposed all acts done by enhanced individuals outside of the jurisdiction of the military), he is now more seasoned and political in his approach.
Thus, if he wasn't able to use his own enhanced individuals to bring the Avengers (the Hulk mainly) to him, he is now using politics in order to outmaneuver them. And he succeeds apparently.
But Joe Russo comes and says another thing, which seems very important to us: “The job is to tie all these films together. To be able to pull from The Hulk, which may have been forgotten about a little bit, and make it relevant again within the cinematic universe, is important to us." Why do the directors want to make The Incredible Hulk relevant to the MCU?
We cannot expect for another Hulk solo movies - and this is pretty clear to us. However, there were some loose threads when the 2008's flick ended - with the creation of the Leader and the incarceration of Abomination. Is this a hint that these two characters will return? It sure sounds this way to us.
Though there is also another possibility - a very tiny one, that is - for Ross to use the formula on himself and become the Red Hulk. In any way, we find it interesting for the director to want to make the Incredible Hulk relevant at this point.
The MCU's Civil War
Most obviously, as mentioned in the beginning of this article, the MCU's Civil War will be different than the one in the comics - and both Joe and Anthony Russo reinforced this idea. Thus, Joe Russo says that the essence of the comic book will be kept in the MCU also - enhanced individuals need to be monitored and answer to a greater power, because their abilities can be used in order to bring chaos to the world.
However, there is no need for a Registration Act in the MCU - and so the MCU's Civil War focuses on the need to have the superheroes answer to the world's governments. And this new act is the Sokovia Accords, which regulates and decides when superheroes have to intervene.
And the director mentions the third acts of all the Marvel movies thus far, when the climactic battle has always leaved the cities in a bad shape - the best examples come from Thor: The Dark World, both the Avengers flicks, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. According to the director, these events can be used against the Avengers, in order to emphasize the need for a higher power.
But the MCU version of the celebrated comic book won't be just about the political aspect - it will also be about personal decisions, decisions all the Avengers need to make.
Brother vs. Brother
Any Civil War, may it be fictional or not, is about basically pitting former friends and even brothers against each other. And this is what next year's flick will do. According to Anthony Russo, they tried to make the conflict as personal as possible, while also presenting the political aspect of it.
But what does it mean to make it as personal as possible? The best example comes from the three characters who have been the focus of the teaser trailer: Captain America, Bucky Barnes and Iron Man. Steve must choose between an old friendship and a newer one - it is sort of like a love triangle, we would say if we wanted to joke about it.
Basically, the directors tried to find a way to justify the decisions of everybody involved in the struggle - from the two leaders to their followers.
At the same time, they also wanted to present how someone can change during such a terrible event. The changing of Captain America began with the events of the Winter Soldier - from the perfect army man, he became an insurgent. This arc will be completed next year, when the flick arrives (on the 5th of May).
Of course, Steve is not the only characters we are interested about - we are also interested about Tony Stark, who is the leader of the other team of Avengers. Why would he be pro-Accords when he was never willing to answer to an authority?
Iron Man
According to Anthony Russo, Tony is defined by his egomania - he is, after all, the most important man for in the world (and he keeps remembering everybody the role he had in the defeat of the Chitauri). So the Civil War also needs to change him. How? He realizes that the Avengers need to be made responsible for their acts - he realizes that a greater authority is needed.
And this is a huge twist in his story - Age of Ultron clearly showed that he didn't recognize anybody else as the leader of the team, except for himself, being willing to act without even consulting the others. But this brings destruction - and, no matter how much money he has, he cannot make up for it.
So, according to Joe Russo, he has a very valid point - the Avengers need to be more careful. And they do make mistakes, then they need to be held accountable for them. They need to answer to a higher authority. In other words, they need to compromise. And that is something Tony understands - for him, the world is grey.
But for Steve the world is black and white and he doesn't want to make any compromises - he doesn't understand how politics work, according to Tony Stark. And this inability can be frustrating - that's why Tony feels like kicking Steve in his perfect teeth.
Black Panther
Just like everybody knows, Joe Russo says that his costume is a, "combination of a practical costume and VFX. It's a vibranium weave, a mesh, almost like a chainmail. Luminescence is something we have to do in post. He's there for a very different reason which brings him into conflict with Cap and his team. His motivations are not their motivations.”
But for what reasons is he there? For the moment, we can only speculate - and the rumor is that the UN explosion (seen in the teaser) kills somebody close to him. And if he believes that the Winter Soldier is responsible, you can expect that he will be against Captain America.
At the same time, though, does that mean that Black Panther will team with Iron Man during the Civil War? One does not necessarily call for the other, we believe"¦
Zemo and the Civil War's main theme
Where is Zemo and why haven't we seen him until now?
Joe Russo answers this question: “Zemo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not Zemo from the comics, and what's interesting and surprising is that we don't always honor the mythology from the books. One, because it's predictable and two, it's not servicing the story in the way we want. So, if Zemo were in this movie, I think people should expect that it's going to be something fresh and exciting.” And this makes perfect sense - though the marketing campaign should have at least present some concept art for the character"¦
As far as the theme of the movie is concerned, the director says that it is betrayal, with the third act built around, "a very personal moment between these characters.”
What is even more interesting (besides the speculation that either Falcon, either Bucky will become the new Captain America) is that we still don't know how Zemo fits into all of this. We can expect for him to be a villainous mastermind - but to what extent? Did his agents infiltrated the teams? And, if so, who are the most likely candidates to betray their leaders?
There is also another scene about which the directors have talked, a pretty intense one, which showcase the strength as well as the determination of Captain America! Check out the final page too!
Passion for Captain America
Joe Russo says it best: “He's hanging onto that helicopter for an extremely passionate reason. In stories you'll read where a mother will lift a car off a child. There's something very important happening in that scene and for us it really represented his struggle as a character, one man pitted against a helicopter that's trying to take off. Can he stop it? And what are the limits of his strength? For us, it's one of the most powerful shots in the movie and it's Chris Evans, who works very hard to physically exemplify this character. On set, we had him straining against a crane holding this helicopter, and you have this fantastic shot of his muscles bulging and you can feel the pain and the energy and the determination as he tries to stop this thing.”
You can check out more in here, in the article published by Empire Online - though we do believe that we have covered the most important details.
Civil War arrives next year on the 5th of May - till then, we do expect a couple or more trailers to hit. So stay tuned!
