If you saw Captain America: Civil War – and based on the box office numbers, there is an excellent chance that you did – then you probably left the theater wondering what was going to happen next. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was effectively broken, and Captain America himself had fled the United States of America and abandoned his star-spangled shield. It’s hard to hit the reset button after that, and as we learned from Captain America: Civil War co-director this week, that’s not going to happen soon.
“I think him dropping that shield is him letting go of that identity,” co-director Joe Russo told Huffington Post. “[It’s] him admitting that certainly the identity of Captain America was in conflict with the very personal choice that he was making.”
Fans of the comics will recognize that this is nothing new for Captain America, who has on several occasions left the mantle to other characters, either as an act of rebellion or for other, more personal reasons. On all of those occasions Steve Rogers remained a key player in the Marvel Universe, occasionally under different superhero aliases like “Nomad,” until he (inevitably) donned the costume all over again. And actor Chris Evans is currently expected to play Steve Rogers once again in Avengers: Infinity War when it’s released in theaters on May 4, 2018.
Marvel Studios
Also: The ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Writers Make Revelations on The B-Movies Podcast!
Meanwhile, on the trivia front, Captain America: Civil War co-director Anthony Russo revealed to Entertainment Weekly this week that if Robert Downey Jr. hadn’t come on board, Captain America 3 would have essentially had zombies in it instead.
“There was a period where we did discuss a third act that revolved around the Madbomb from Cap mythology,” said Anthony Russo. “It didn’t have anything to do with Civil War, and if we couldn’t get Downey – in the very, very early conversations before we nailed him – somebody pitched the idea of a third-act that revolved around the Madbomb, which makes people crazy. It almost like zombifies them – but not literally.”
“The notion of the Madbomb would have been Cap having to fight civilians and how he would he handle that,” Joe Russo added. “We were always trying to put him into these interesting moral conundrums because of his nature. That would have made a compelling third act because if civilians are the antagonists, how could he stop them without killing them?”
It looks like we’ll never know how Captain America would have resolved that problem (in the movies anyway, since Cap already dealt with Madbombs in the comics). But at least we know what Captain America 3 would have been like in the alternate reality where Robert Downey Jr. walked away from the MCU.
The 10 Best Movies of Summer 2016:
Top Photo: Marvel Studios
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved, Rapid Reviews and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The 10 Best Movies of Summer 2016
-
10. The Purge: Election Year
It's as on-the-nose as political allegories get, but the latest installment of the rage-fueled sci-fi/horror series - in which Americans are allowed to commit any crime they want, one night out of the year, and reveal their inner monsters - is one of the most outlandishly entertaining thrillers in recent memory. Sick, twisted, and sharp.
Photo: Universal Pictures
-
9. Star Trek Beyond
A welcome throwback to the character-driven, hopeful Star Trek that inspired a pop culture phenomenon in the first place. The cast is great, the adventure is thrilling. If only the villain had been a little more memorable, Star Trek Beyond would be one of the all-time great films in the series.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
-
8. The Nice Guys
Shane Black is back with another retro private detective riff, this time starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as mismatched jerks who get swept into a conspiracy involving the automotive industry and pornography. Clever, hilarious and weird, but not quite as good as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Photo: Warner Bros.
-
7. Pete's Dragon
Disney's name-only remake transformed a quirky musical into a heartfelt fairy tale, about an orphaned boy who has to choose between living in the wild with his (imaginary?) friend or living with a new family. Sincere and lovely, but maybe the conclusion is a little too "Hollywood" to really sell the film's sweet, understated message.
Photo: Walt Disney
-
6. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Criminally overlooked, The Lonely Island's new movie aims to out-Spinal Tap This is Spinal Tap and damn near succeeds. Andy Samberg plays a celebrity who believes his own hype, and belts one laugh out loud hilarious song after another as his career gradually falls victim to his denial and hubris.
Photo: Universal Pictures
-
5. Don't Breathe
An impossibly tense thriller from director Fede Alvarez, about a group of teen robbers who break into the wrong house, and wind up trapped with a blind man who is more dangerous than they are. Suspenseful and genuinely disturbing, Don't Breathe might just be the scariest movie of the year.
Photo: Screen Gems
-
4. The Neon Demon
Nicolas Winding Refn's films have been accused of being shallow before, but with The Neon Demon he flips the script and tells an alluring, unsettling story about the dangerous nature of beauty. Gorgeously filmed and deliciously evil, this movie will intoxicate some people and piss off all the rest.
Photo: Broad Green Pictures
-
3. Captain America: Civil War
One of the only blockbusters that actually delivered on its promises this summer, Captain America: Civil War exploded the Marvel Cinematic Universe, severing old ties, introducing exciting new characters and showcasing the best superhero fight ever filmed. It's a little more convoluted than it needed to be, but no one could argue they didn't get enough bang for their buck.
Photo: Marvel Studios
-
2. Love & Friendship
Kate Beckinsale stole the summer as Lady Susan, a smooth operator in 1794 who wraps polite society around her devious fingers. Is she a monster, or is she a hero born centuries ahead of her time? Whit Stillman's brilliant adaptation of Jane Austen's novel works both ways.
Photo: Amazon Studios
-
1. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
The best sort of family movie: strange, funny, heartbreaking and a little bit dangerous. Sam Neill plays the foster father of Julian Dennison, a "bad egg" who gets them both stranded in the bush and - to make matters worse - on New Zealand's most wanted list. Endless fun, truly inventive cinema. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is as artful as it is entertaining, and that means it's a whole lot of both.
Photo: The Orchard
