Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
**Writer: **Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Don Cheadle, Chadwick Boseman, Emily VanCamp, Paul Bettany, Tom Holland, Daniel Brühl, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Martin Freeman
**UK Release date: **April 29, 2016
Plot: The official early synopsis reads thusly: **Captain America: Civil War **picks up where Avengers: Age Of Ultron left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain. Taking loose cues from the Mark Millar/Steve McNiven superhero vs. superhero arc in the Marvel comics, a post-Age Of Ultron world sees Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark facing off against Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers on the tricky issue... Stark is in favour; Rogers less so, still at the head of his current Avengers team including Black Widow (Johansson), Vision (Bettany), Scarlett Witch (Olsen), Falcon (Mackie) and Hawkeye (Renner). Also taking sides? Boseman’s Black Panther and Holland’s Peter Parker.
**Shooting: **Filming has taken place in Pinewood Atlanta Studios in the States, Berlin in Germany and Puerto Rico. What each location is playing has yet to be announced, though we’re assuming the film will at least visit recreated versions of New York, Washington, D.C., Wakanda (Black Panther’s home country, seen briefly in Age Of Ultron).
**It’s a tough challenge for the Captain America writing team **
"It’s been on and off the table for a while, let’s put it that way, and 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, right?” says Stephen McFeely. "Because there’s a difference between the characters in Civil War, which was written in 2006, 2007. The MCU didn't exist when it was written. There isn’t a Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans who has helped create the character 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.”
Robert Downey Jr. Doesn’t see Tony as a villain
The clues are in Ultron about where we might find him next,” says Downey Jr., “but what would it take for Tony to completely turn around everything he’s stood for, quote-unquote, because he was the right-wing guy who could still do his own thing. The idea of Tony being able to march into Washington and say, ‘I’ll sign up’, wouldn’t have made sense if the political climate in the real world hadn’t shifted the way it has. It’s a little bit of things following a real world continuum in, ‘What would you do?’ You have to figure, ‘Were you to ask the question, what would the American government do if this were real? Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Tony doing something you wouldn’t imagine?’” For more on how he thinks Captain America will be seen in the film, head here.
**Daniel Brühl is playing Helmut Zemo **
The Rush star will be portraying a man traditionally seen as a villain in the comics (you try and solve the world's problems by trying to apply Nazi science and see how you’re viewed), but who offers help to both Stark and Rogers in the Civil War storyline. So we don’t yet know exactly how he fits in to the film, but he could well be the big villain mentioned in the official logline. And though she didn't drop his character name, Elizabeth "Scarlet Witch" Olsen has confirmed that he's the big bad this time around. You know, besides the moral and physical slug-fest our heroes get into.
**Emily VanCamp will be back as Agent 13 **
Sharon Carter, a relatively small (but vital) part of The Winter Soldier,will be back in some capacity, presumably helping Steve in his mission to evade the new government restrictions.
**Black Panther will be introduced in the film **
Though we saw Wakanda briefly in Age Of Ultron, the country’s most famous son, T’Challa, the African prince who becomes a hero as part of his royal family’s legacy. That would be building on clues and Easter eggs smuggled into the likes of Iron Man 2(where Wakanda cropped up on a map) and Captain America (though it isn't directly mentioned, his shield’s vibranium comes from a mine underneath Wakanda). Chadwick Boseman will be seen in his full suit for Civil War, ahead of his solo film debut in 2017. Boseman talked about the thrill he felt getting the part right here.
Anthony Mackie is convinced it’ll be fantastic
Though it initially seemed as though it would just be a third Cap outing, the film’s ambitions have grown considerably, especially with Downey Jr. agreeing a new deal to appear. Mackie believes it’ll be the biggest film Marvel has made yet. “Let’s just say it’s a wing-ding-doozy of a time,” he enthuses. “The great thing about it is, after seeing The Avengers I joked and said Captain America 2 was Avengers 1.5. Now with Avengers 2 coming out... Captain America 3 is so far beyond Avengers 2.5 and onto the realm of Avengers 3.8. It’s by far one of the most stupendous rides Marvel has put together.” Cut the cheque!
Welcome Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Though it took a while to find the right actor after Sony and Marvrel made an agreement to share the character, The Impossible’s Tom Holland won the role, meaning Peter Parker will make his MCU debut in** Civil War**. According to some set reports, Spider-Man, in stunt man suit form, was filming his action scenes a while before Holland reported for duty. Oh, the joys of having a suit with a full face mask…
**We know they track down Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes **
Mentioned by Mackie’s Falcon as a missing person in Age Of Ultron, Bucky Barnes (AKA The Winter Soldier) will definitely be seen in Civil War, since one of Ant-Man’s tags used footage from the film, with Cap and Falcon trying to extricate Bucky from some machinery. Falcon says he knows a guy, opening the door to Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang appearing in the movie.
Martin Freeman is playing a government suit
"He works for the American government. He works in conjunction with the superheroes, and certain agencies that help to tame the superheroes' power, I suppose," Freeman has told BadTaste.it. "So you’re not quite sure which side he’s on. It looks a little bit like he’s playing one game when actually he’s playing another. It’s the kind of character I like because it’s ambiguous and because you don’t know whether he’s good or bad. I like that area that isn’t black or white, I like the greys, because I think there’s just more fun to be had in not playing one obvious line." That has led to speculation that he’ll be playing thon-in-the-avengers-side Henry Gyrich or government agent Everett Ross, who has ties to Wakanda.
William Hurt is back as The Incredible Hulk’s General Ross
General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross, while hasn’t been seen since he got that drink with Tony Stark at the end of the Edward Norton-starring Hulk film, feels like someone who would want a say in how superheroes a treated. He’s no fan of powered folk after his own experience, so we’d expect him to be on the side of regulation. And does his inclusion point to at least a quick appearance by Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner? Well, Downey Jr., whether he’s joking or not, has said he wants Ruffalo in the film, so there’s every chance at this point.
**Frank Grillo’s Brock Rumlow becomes Crossbones **
Last seen being wheeled in for emergency surgery at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Grillo’s fearsome Rumlow will become even more dangerous, adopting the moniker Crossbones. And for Grillo, it meant hitting the gym again. “They just kind of called and said, ‘What kind of shape are you in? We’re going to need a body scan.’ They scan your body so that whatever you wear fits you like a glove," Grillo told EW. "I was 15 pounds bigger when I did Cap 2, and I’ll put another 15 pounds on to do Cap 3. I love the physicality. It changes the way you look; it changes the way you feel. We all know what Crossbones represents in his world, so when they called me and said we gotta do the body scan, I was like ‘Okay!’” According to the actor, we’ll see more from his character in **Civil War **and possibly beyond.
There will be Easter eggs for future Phase Three movies
Marvel loves to drop little hints about other films into everything, and Civil War, at least according to Lady Sif herself, Jaimie Alexander, will include little nuggets leading to the third Thor film, Ragnarok. Whether this is in the film itself (as with Thor’s vision during Age Of Ultron) or as an end credits scenes, has yet to be revealed.
The first footage debuted at D23
A much-anticipated first look at the film debuted at Disney's D23 presentation in August, with a veritable mosh pit of superheroes vying for screen time. Black Widow, Hawkeye, Cap, Iron Man, The Winter Soldier and The Scarlet Witch were all present, as well as a first look at Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther. Paul Rudd's Ant-Man stole the show, however, with a charmingly self-deprecating comedy introduction. You can read the entire synopsis here.
There will be Easter eggs for future Phase Three movies
Marvel loves to drop little hints about other films into everything, and Civil War, at least according to Lady Sif herself, Jaimie Alexander, will include little nuggets leading to the third Thor film, Ragnarok. Whether this is in the film itself (as with Thor’s vision during Age Of Ultron) or as an end credits scenes, has yet to be revealed.
Jeremy Renner shared concept art
Hawkeye himself, Jeremy Renner played publicist for the film when he posted concept art to his Twitter account. Amongst the goodies? Imagery for who is on what side, a pic of Hawkeye in some stylin' new purple duds with Scott "Ant-Man" Lang (Paul Rudd) on his shoulder like some superheroic parrot and a big clash image that brings to mind a comic book panel. Check them all out right here.
Mark Ruffalo says Hulk was in the script, but was cut out before shooting
Last seen soaring into the sky in a Quinjet in Age Of Ultron, it seems Civil War is not the place we'll find out what happened to the big green guy. Read more abouy what Ruffalo says here. Now all we can picture is Bruce Banner walking away into the sunset with this music playing{
Character posters arrived for the sides in the fight
Yes, whether you're Team Cap Or Team Iron Man, the various characters assembled for some nifty new posters featuring the likes of Captain America himself, Winter Soldier, Falcon, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Scarlet Witch and more. The Team Cap posters can be found here, with the Team Iron Man posters here.