- "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead. Forever."
- ―Helmut Zemo[src]
Captain America: Civil War is a 2016 superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics superhero Captain America. It is a sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man, and is the thirteenth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while also being the first installment of Phase Three. It was released worldwide on May 6, 2016.
It was co-directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo and stars Chris Evans as Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Anthony Mackie as Falcon, Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Paul Bettany as Vision, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Tom Holland as Spider-Man and Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo.
Plot[]
In 1991, HYDRA operatives inside the Russian Armed Forcestravel to their Siberian facility and revive the Winter Soldier from a cryogenic state. After using a set of conditioned trigger words to ensure the Winter Soldier's loyalty, Colonel Vasily Karpov orders him to intercept an automobile and execute its occupants.
In the present, approximately one year after the Ultron Offensive, public opinion of the Avengers has become increasingly divided due to the events in New York, Washington, D.C. and Sokovia.
The team – which now consists of Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson and Wanda Maximoff – learn that former HYDRA sleeper agent Brock Rumlow, who now calls himself "Crossbones" plans to steal a biological chemical weapon from the Institute for Infectious Diseases in Lagos, Nigeria. After being cornered, Rumlow attempts to commit suicide with a bomb vest, trying to take Rogers with him in an act of revenge. Maximoff contains the explosion, but she loses control of her powers and inadvertently destroys a nearby building, killing several relief aid workers from Wakanda.
At MIT, Tony Stark demonstrates a piece of technology aimed to recreate and relive old memories, and follows with a speech where he introduces a grant being awarded to all students, giving them all the proper funding to move forward with their own inventions and ideas. Before leaving the stage, he is shaken when the outdated autocue makes reference to Pepper Potts, whom he has broken up with over his refusal to give up being Iron Man. Outside, he is confronted by a grieving mother whose son was killed in the Avengers' battle with Ultron in Sokovia, whose story shakes Stark.
One month after the incident in Lagos, Nigeria, in their headquarters, the Avengers are visited by Stark and Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, waiting for them. Ross explains that, due to the events in Lagos, the United Nations has decided they can no longer be allowed to operate privately. To that end, it has been decided that the Avengers will sign the Sokovia Accords, which will establish an international panel to control the Avengers' movements as well as monitor and police the rapidly growing number of enhanced individuals.
The team is divided over the act; Stark supports government oversight because he feels guilty for his role in creating Ultron and the devastation Ultron caused. He also feels that the Avengers need to take more responsibility for the consequences of their actions, as he did when he discovered his company was secretly shipping weapons to terrorists. However, Rogers worries that the Avengers may be compromised if it comes under the control of a nefarious third party, such as the infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. by HYDRA. Ross states that refusing to sign the accords will be seen as an act of resignation.
Meanwhile, retired HYDRA operative Colonel Vasily Karpov is ambushed by Helmut Zemo, who asks for information regarding the 1991 mission. Karpov refuses, forcing Zemo to kill him.
During their debate about the Accords, Rogers learns that Peggy Carter has passed away in her sleep and abruptly leaves for her funeral in London. While there, he learns Sharon Carter was Peggy's great niece as she delivers a eulogy about how one should never back down from what they believe in. This solidifies Roger's resolve not to sign the accords. Wanda finds herself confined to the New Avengers Facility by Vision, ostensibly for her safety since emotions are running high after what happened in Lagos.
In Vienna, where the signing of the Accords is to take place, a terrorist bomb kills King T'Chaka of Wakanda. When security cameras reveal the suspect as Bucky Barnes, T'Chaka's son, T'Challa, vows revenge. Against Romanoff's advice, Rogers and Wilson decide to go behind Ross' back and bring in Barnes themselves. Following a tip-off by Carter, and a grueling chase, Barnes is captured, and Rogers, Wilson, and T'Challa are arrested for obstruction of justice.
While Barnes is in captivity in Berlin, Rogers and Stark argue about the Accords further, with Rogers nearly convinced to sign until he learns of Wanda's in-house arrest. At a power grid station outside the city, a box sent by Zemo contains an e-bomb, which explodes and shuts down electricity for the entire city, including the cameras and computers that were monitoring on Barnes. Barnes is released by Zemo, who uses HYDRA's trigger words to send him on a rampage. Rogers and Wilson intervene just as Barnes is escaping containment, with Rogers attempting to calm Barnes while Wilson chases after Zemo, attempting to flee the facility. Zemo escapes, and Barnes nearly gets away in a helicopter before being caught by Rogers. In a panic, he intentionally crashes the chopper, and as it falls into the nearby river, pulls Rogers in with him before being knocked unconscious by the impact. After coming to his senses, Barnes tells Rogers that Zemo is headed for the abandoned HYDRA facility in Siberia where he and five other Winter Soldiers were created using the formula he stole in 1991. Believing Zemo intends to release the other Winter Soldiers and unleash them on the world, Rogers calls upon Clint Barton for aid in freeing Wanda, which Barton agrees to since he feels he owes her a debt since her brother saved his life in Sokovia. He manages to break into the New Avengers Facility and convinces Wanda to come with him, who uses her abilities to overpower Vision. Falcon decides to recruit Scott Lang to join the team as well, having been impressed by his abilities following their duel a few month prior. Lang, who is in awe at getting to meet Captain America, quickly and easily agrees to join Rogers.
Back at the CIA compound, Stark convinces Ross to give him 36 hours to bring his renegade comrades in, and assembles Romanoff, T'Challa, James Rhodes, and Vision. Feeling he is still undermanned, Stark travels to New York and meets Peter Parker, a high school student who has been using enhanced agility and tensile webbing of his own design to fight crime while disguised as a spider-based hero. When Stark asks him why he's doing this, Parker explains that he understands the price of not doing the right thing.
Trying to flee Berlin and reach Siberia before Zemo, Rogers and his team assemble at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where they hope to take a chopper out of the country. When sirens indicate the airport is being evacuated, Rogers instructs his team to suit up, and travels to a chopper alone, where he is confronted by Stark alongside his allies (including Parker who now has a new costume courtesy of Stark and is calling himself Spider-Man). When Rogers refuses to back down, the Avengers get into a massive fight which destroys a large section of the airport. During the fight, the Avengers decides to buy time for Rogers and Barnes to reach the Quinjet, at the expense of imprisonment. Ant-Man uses his suit to grow gargantuan, which tips the scales and creates enough of a distraction to allow Rogers and Barnes to reach a jet. The two are confronted by Romanoff, but she can't bring herself to take them down and allows them to leave in Stark's Quinjet, while the rest of the Avengers are captured. As Stark and Rhodes chase the jet, Vision attempts to blast Falcon, who is following them, out of the sky. However, he misses and hits Rhodes, who plummets to the ground and is left paralyzed. Romanoff, knowing she will be arrested for acting against the accords, goes into hiding. Parker is injured in the fight, and a grateful Stark sends the boy back home, much to the former's dismay.
Stark finds evidence that Barnes was framed by Zemo, and finds that the rest of the Avengers have been thrown into a top secret prison designed to hold enhanced people. He visits the dismayed former Avengers, and temporarily disables security in order to learn from Wilson where Rogers and Barnes are going. He follows the two to Siberia, and is shadowed by T'Challa. Rogers and Stark reconcile, and as they explore the facility, they discover that the other Winter Soldiers have been murdered by Zemo who had never intended to release them. Zemo reveals that he is a Sokovian and wants to punish the Avengers for the death of his family during Ultron's attack. Zemo shows Stark a security video from 1991, which reveals Barnes as the assassin who murdered Stark's parents to steal samples of the Super Soldier Serum from their car. Rogers admits that he knew the circumstances of their deaths, though not that it was the Barnes himself who killed them. A disillusioned and enraged Stark then turns on Barnes, forcing Rogers to fight him to save his friend's life. While trying to crush Stark's arc reactor, Barnes' robotic arm gets blasted off by his suits unibeam. Rogers finally manages to disable Stark's armor and begins to depart with Barnes. As Rogers leaves, Stark bitterly reminds him that his shield doesn't belong to him, but rather his father, who made it. Rogers drops the shield behind and leaves with Barnes. Having succeeded in his plans of ripping apart the Avengers, Zemo waits outside where he meets with T'Challa and the two discuss vengeance and the terrible things it can lead men to do. T'Challa has decided he will not let his desire for revenge consume him like it did Zemo and the Avengers and prevents him from committing suicide, content on sending him to prison. Under the custody of Everett Ross, Zemo hints that while he may be imprisoned, his grand plan wasn't as much of a failure as Ross suggests it was, hinting that he may have further plans as well.
Back at the Avengers facility, Stark builds an exo-skeletal frame for Rhodes, to help him regain the use of his legs. Rhodes assures his friend that, despite what happened, like him he still believes he made the right choice. Stark receives a package containing a phone and a letter from Rogers. In the letter, Rogers apologizes for everything that happened and for not telling him the truth about his parents, as well as noting his regret that he cannot accept the accords. He tells Stark that he knows the day will come when the team will need to come together and act as one. When that day arrives, Rogers and the Avengers (whom Rogers has broken out of prison just as Stark is reading the letter) will be there.
Later, Barnes and Rogers are granted asylum in Wakanda by T'Challa. Barnes chooses to undergo cryostasis until his brainwashing can be completely removed or suppressed successfully. As Rogers warns T'Challa that the governments of the world will come to Wakanda if they find out Barnes is there, T'Challa dares them to try as he and Rogers gaze at a giant statue of a black panther.
Meanwhile, Peter Parker discovers a portable holographic computer that Stark had programmed into his Web-Shooters.
Cast[]
- Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
- Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man[1]
- Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
- Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon
- Don Cheadle as Lt. James Rhodes/War Machine
- Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
- Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther[2]
- Paul Bettany as Vision
- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
- Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
- Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter/Agent 13
- Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
- Marisa Tomei as May Parker
- Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones[3][4]
- William Hurt as Gen. Thaddeus Ross
- Daniel Brühl as Baron Zemo[5][6]
- Martin Freeman as Everett Ross
- Sophia Russo as Teenage Girl
Production[]
Development[]
By January 2014, Anthony and Joe Russo had signed on to return to direct a third installment, which they confirmed in March 2014, with Chris Evans returning as Captain America, Kevin Feige producing and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely returning to write the screenplay. Markus and McFeely revealed that they began working on the screenplay in late 2013 while the Russo brothers began work in February 2014. The re-hiring of the directors, three months before the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, came as a result from impressive test screenings with Marvel executives.
In an April 2014 interview, Joe Russo described the project as a continuation of the story from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. "What’s nice about the film is that... it’s a two-parter," said Russo. "There’s a journey that the Winter Soldier goes on that isn’t complete yet. The next movie, it would seem logically to want to be about the completion of that journey." Anthony Mackie, who plays the Falcon in the previous film, concurred, "In the comics, Cap would always call on the Falcon for help, and then they'd go their separate ways. Avengers 2 is one of those instances where Cap goes off and does his thing. Then, he'll circle back around to get my help for Captain America 3. That will pick up where we left off and Avengers 2 will be a segue to something else." Also in April, Marvel announced a release date of May 6, 2016, and Trent Opaloch, who was the cinematographer on The Winter Solider, said he would return for the sequel. In July 2014, Markus and McFeely stated they were midway through a first draft for the film, and filming was expected to begin in April 2015, and the following month, stated they were looking to make the tone of the film "an amalgam" of The First Avenger and The Winter Solider
In August 2014, the Russos stated that the film takes place “a couple years” after The Winter Soldier left off and will continue to focus on Steve Rogers' relationship with Bucky Barnes while continuing to explore the political themes related to Captain America. “The character was invented for an explicitly political purpose. So it’s hard to get away from that nature,” said Anthony Russo. The Russos also said that they will be “bringing some new elements to the table that will give us a twist on Winter Soldier.” Also in the month, the Russos indicated that filming is scheduled to begin in April 2015 in Atlanta and that Markus and McFeely submitted a first draft of the screenplay they were "ecstatic" with, as well as stating the film's title would be announced "in a month or so at most". Additionally, they said the concept and title for the film came from Feige, who has had it "for a while", with Joe stating, "We can pitch out characters that we think would be interesting in the story. There’s incredible room to move," and Anthony adding that the film has to wrap itself around Feige's idea In September 2014, Joe expanded by saying the film would have another "big idea that alters the universe as a whole in some way" similar to S.H.I.E.L.D. falling in The Winter Soldier, with the rest of the film, such as the characters, story and tone, left open to the Russos' and writers' interpretation.
Pre-production[]
By October 2014, Robert Downey, Jr. entered final negotiations to reprise his role as Iron Man in the film. Downey was added in order to adapt the 2006-2007 "Civil War" comic book storyline, which pitted Iron Man against Captain America, for the film. Variety noted that Marvel initially wanted Downey's part to be smaller, however "Downey wanted Stark to have a more substantial role in the film’s plot." Variety also noted that Downey would receive $40 million plus backend for his participation, as well as an additional payout if the film outperforms Winter Soldier, as the studio would feel the success of the third film would be attributed to Downey. At the end of the month, it was confirmed Stan would return as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier, and a few days later the official title was revealed as Captain America: Civil War, as well as confirming Downey's appearance, and announcing that Chadwick Boseman would appear in the film as Black Panther, ahead of a solo film. Feige also confirmed the film would be the first for the MCU's Phase Three of films.
On November 14, 2014, Marvel revealed that Daniel Brühl had been cast, while Variety reported that his character will be minor villain in the film with the opinion of his character being a major villain in Doctor Strange, with Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo confirmed to return as Sam Wilson/The Falcon and Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, respectively.[7][8]
In January 2015, the Russo Bros. revealed that Scarlett Johansson will be returning as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow.[9] Also in January, McFeely said that the idea of basing a film on "Civil War" had "been on and off the table for a while" at Marvel Studios, explaining, "it's a challenge to do it and make sure that all the characters that we've established, and everyone's established in the MCU are serviced and sound correct. Because there's a difference between the characters in "Civil War", which was written in 2006, 2007. The MCU doesn't exist [when it was written]. There isn't a Robert Downey, Jr. or Chris Evans who has helped create the character[s] so we need to make sure that that template gets adjusted and what have you in order to make sure it services these characters and not just sort of rip off their parts and make them look like them." In March 2015, Jeremy Renner was revealed to be reprising his role as Clint Barton / Hawkeye. In April 2015, it was revealed that the film would be converted to 3D in post-production, while Brühl would be playing Baron Helmut Zemo. Additionally, Elizabeth Olsen revealed she would reprise her role in the film as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch. Near the end of June 2015, Tom Holland was officially cast as Peter Parker / Spider-Man.
Filming[]
The film will be shot in Atlanta, Georgia, Berlin, Germany, and Puerto Rico, with filming expected to begin in April 2015.[10]
Gallery[]
_Poster_-_Team_Captain_America.jpg "Captain America Civil War (2016) Poster - Team Captain America.jpg (177 KB)")
_Poster_-_Team_Iron_Man.jpg "Captain America Civil War (2016) Poster - Team Iron Man.jpg (222 KB)")
Videos[]
Trailers[]
References[]
- ↑ ‘Captain America 3′ Officially Titled ‘Civil War’; Robert Downey Jr. Confirmed
- ↑ Chadwick Boseman To Play BLACK PANTHER In CAPTAIN AMERICA 3; Concept Art Revealed
- ↑ Expect Frank Grillo To Suit Up As Crossbones in ‘Captain America 3′
- ↑ Captain America 3: Frank Grillo on Getting Scanned For His Crossbones Costume
- ↑ Daniel Bruhl Cast in Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War
- ↑ The Walt Disney Studios/Marvel Studios feature film 'Captain America: Civil War' casting calls are now underway for new co-starring and supporting roles
- ↑ ‘Captain America 3′: Daniel Bruhl to Play Villain
- ↑ Frank Grillo talks Crossbones' return in 'Captain America: Civil War'
- ↑ Russo Bros. Talk CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR And Confirm 'Black Widow' Will Be Returning
- ↑ Anthony Mackie 'The Falcon' Reveals New Filming Locations For CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
| Marvel Cinematic Universe | |
|---|---|
| Films: | Captain America: Civil War | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Avengers: Infinity War | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Far From Home | Spider-Man: No Way Home |
| Characters: | Spider-Man | Captain America | Iron Man | Winter Soldier | Falcon | Happy Hogan | Pepper Potts | Aunt May | Ned Leeds | Liz Toomes | Flash Thompson | Aaron Davis | Michelle Jones | Doctor Octopus |
| Enemies: | Vulture | Shocker | Jackson Brice | Tinkerer | Mysterio |Green Goblin | Electro | Lizard | Sandman |
| Locations: | Avengers Facility | Avengers Tower | Midtown School of Science and Technology |
| Video Games: | |