Captain America: The Winter Soldier - First Image Revealed + the Writers interview

[Operation:Mego]

[Operation:Mego]

[madmarva]

Iron Man3 got a big box office boost from the success and popularity of Avengers.

Do y'all think this will carry over with Thor and Cap with a similar but proportional boost?

Do you think Marvel may have missed the boat by not developing a Hulk film with Ruffalo written similar the way Whedon portrayed the character hot on the heels of Avengers since Hulk was a fan favorite?

[jimsmegos]

I think Cap will be fine but Thor is going to go nuclear. Chris Hemsworth IMO comes off as a very likable fellow and really made Thor real. A Hulk movie with Ruffalo would be fantastic, yeah they missed the boat there.

[hedrap]

Hulk is a trap. Ang's Hulk, with all of its groundbreaking ILM work, actually cost less than the Lettier/Norton version, and they made the exact same. Feige doesn't believe it can survive on its own. And while the Avengers Hulk was the best take yet, Norton IMO, was way better as Banner. He would have been amazing opposite RDJ.

Supposedly, Norton falls into that Costner vein where they can really tax the life out of a production, so I was never clear as to what was the final bullet for his Avengers shot. The fact he tried to wrest a lot of creative control away during Hulk or salary. Ruffalo was a fraction of the cost.

As for carry over, That's the real purpose of the Shield TV show; bridge the gap between movies. You're right to suggest that's a concern, because trends are like nature and abhor vacuums. Marvel is hellbent on not getting pushed aside by some unknown, and the series is supposed to fill the down time.

Will that work? I was totally convinced it would. Then, I watched Avengers Assemble which falls under the same people, and that show is a disastah compared to Earth's Mightiest.

I agree with Jim that Thor is going to be huge, mainly because they're pulling more from Asgard. I'll never be sold on Winter Soldier, same with the lord-only-knows Spidey.

I was sold on Days of Future by the fully built Sentinel. As for Guardians, it's beyond my reasoning. I see picks of people painted Blue and green and think "run away". But when you combine all the projects together, plus the Mobile Marvel Theme Park coming next summer, and the tidal wave might just carry Guardians over 300 million.

[madmarva]

Feige may be right about Hulk. The character has always been most interesting to me when playing off other heroes, either in a fight or teamup or both. I'm a fan of Norton, but liked Ruffalo better as Banner. Thought he did a nice job of playing a guy simmering just under his skin and walking on egg shells.

Thor looks good. I like that Marvel is using a holiday release. As well cast as Hemsworth is, he's not the same draw as RDJ is, but I doubt Marvel is expecting IM3 numbers for Thor2. But if it sees a nice jump over what the first Thor film did, that would be significant.

I really liked the Winter Soldier storyline in the comics. Even distilled down to the essence of the story, thcere's a lot of ground to travel, plus introducing Falcon and Crossbones. That's a lot to get done.

I'm interested to see how much Sheild actually connects to the established Marvel big screen heroes. If I were Marvel I would have a episode that would dovetail into the Cap film. Maybe a cameo by Falcon or Sharon Carter the week Cap opens.

[Operation:Mego]

Producer Kevin Feige said that Rogers reluctantly remains with S.H.I.E.L.D. after the events of The Avengers "because he has nowhere else to go... Things were black and white back then [in World War II], and now it’s hard to know who the bad guys are. We wanted to play on that a little with Cap being uncomfortable with the way S.H.I.E.L.D., and in particular Nick Fury, operates." Describing his character's adjustment to the modern world, Evans said, "It’s not so much about his shock with [technology]... It’s more about the societal differences. He’s gone from the ’40s to today; he comes from a world where people were a little more trusting, the threats not as deep. Now, it’s harder to tell who’s right and wrong. Actions you take to protect people from threats could compromise liberties and privacy. That’s tough for Steve to swallow."

When asked about Natasha's relationship with Steve, Johansson said "Their working relationship becomes a more intimate friendship. They have some unexpected similarities – they both have their guard up, they have trust issues, and they've also both been working for 'the man' for their entire career. Through this unexpected friendship that forms, they both start to question what they want."

To prepare for the role, Stan endured five months of physical training and did historical research. "I dove into the whole cold war thing," said Stan. "I looked at the KGB. I looked at all kinds of spy movies, and all kinds of documentaries about that time, and what it was about. I grabbed anything from that time period. Anything about brainwashing."

VanCamp says her character [Sharon Carter] takes an "interesting turn" as the plot develops and that this movie is "just the beginning for the character." According to the Russo brothers, Carter will become romantically involved with Captain America. "We wanted someone that Cap would have an immediate interest in," says Joe Russo. "It had to be a strong-willed person, and we felt that Emily’s work on Revenge was a great test tube for what this character could be. She’s obviously very credible with physicality, she holds the screen really well, and she even looks like the character from the books.”

Regarding Fury's questionable code of ethics, Jackson said, "Almost everything that comes out of Nick Fury’s mouth is a lie in some sense. He has to ask, is he even lying to himself, too? He has a very good idea of what’s going on but his paranoia keeps him from believing some of it." Jackson added, "You see Nick Fury the office guy, him going about the day-to-day work of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the politics as opposed to that other stuff. It's great to have him dealing with Captain America in terms of being able to speak to him soldier to soldier and try to explain to him how the world has changed in another way while he was frozen in time. Some of the people who used to be our enemies are now our allies — him trying to figure out, 'Well, how do we trust those guys?' or 'How do we trust the guys that you didn't trust who don't trust you?' And explaining to him that the black and white of good guys/bad guys has now turned into this gray area."

[Operation:Mego]

Until he refers to Fury as "the colored person"

He'll probably also refer to Sam as his servant rather than his partner and question how Natasha and Maria got their positions since they're woman. Because instead of the all-around good hearted guy we've seen in the past 2 movies he's been in, he'll suddenly become someone who's racially discriminated despite him serving with black people in the 40s.

[MIB41]

Iron Man3 got a big box office boost from the success and popularity of Avengers.

Do y'all think this will carry over with Thor and Cap with a similar but proportional boost?

Do you think Marvel may have missed the boat by not developing a Hulk film with Ruffalo written similar the way Whedon portrayed the character hot on the heels of Avengers since Hulk was a fan favorite?

Robert Downey Jr. was the undeniable star of the Avengers, while the Hulk had the best one-liners and comic relief moments. In my eyes, the Avengers pretty much cemented who has worked in these films and who needed only to be there in a supportive cast role. The Hulk was a great tool as the latter. People basically want to see him smash. And so he did, with a little comedic spin woven in. But he's pretty much a one trick pony when it comes to scripting action moments. I don't think modern audiences get much mileage out of a fugitive-style script that has Banner running until the Hulk predictably bails him out. Iron Man on the other hand has enjoyed the most independent success of the lot. So it was not surprising to see him benefit directly after the Avengers phenomenon. I think Thor will also do well, but for very different reasons. His stories don't need to rely on a Avenger's-bound narrative to bring audiences in. There is plenty of material within his world to craft entertaining adventures without any reliance on the Avenger's cast.

Cap on the other hand, is a very watered down translation. Especially after the Avengers where he really did little more than play straight man to Stark's insistent pokes. What helped the first Cap film was this suggestion from Marvel's studio that all of these movies were tied to the upcoming Avengers film. That sparked interest, but provided Cap's best storyline with a very tepid final gross at the box office domestically. And unfortunately Ironman III gave little to no narrative lead for Cap to play off. In all likelihood, a somewhat redundant storyline will take us back to the 40's to explain both Bucky's resurrection and Peggy's life after Cap's supposed "death". After that, we'll probably get more of Roger's resentment to Shield, and a origin tale for the Falcon, who is anything but comic inspired. So that movie looks about as vanilla as it gets. And by the time that movie gets here, any good will (or novelty) left from the Avengers will be long gone.

Like many here, I see no big interest in Guardians. The general public knows nothing about it's existence and only hardcore comic fans can confidently give a role call from that lineup. I predict a Green Lantern-style collapse. Pushing big money on a license the general public has no popular or even general bond to is an invitation to financial disaster. See John Carter, Lone Ranger, Green Lantern, and Daredevil. These films need more than folks in comic circles to make them profitable. And I can't see Guardians getting a makeover that makes it look remotely enticing for general audiences. I think it's DOA.

[Operation:Mego]

A somewhat redundant storyline will take us back to the 40's to explain both Bucky's resurrection and Peggy's life after Cap's supposed "death". After that, we'll probably get more of Roger's resentment to Shield, and a origin tale for the Falcon.

That's pretty much exactly what I would expect in a Cap sequel, so yeah, bring it on!!

[enyawd72]

MIB, the points you bring up are still all in play here. This Cap film will be helped by the fact that it, along with Thor 2 are leading up to the Avengers 2. The presence of Black Widow isn't going to hurt it either. I also think a stand alone Hulk film could do very well if, as you pointed out, the Hulk/Banner has someone to play off of. That's why I think it's absolutely necessary to have the Leader be the next villain. I have always considered him to be the Hulk's #1 foe. His brain vs. the Hulk's brawn. Even Banner is outmatched by the Leader's supreme intellect...it would make for some great storytelling for the two of them to match wits without the Hulk having to resort to fighting another monster. The Leader would also make a visually stunning character. I picture Kevin J. O'Connor. His small physical stature would be perfect.

[thunderbolt]

After Mark Ruffalo's treatment of Banner, I really want to see a third shot at the Hulk with him in it. The Avengers featured the best spin on the character so far. Planet Hulk wouldn't be a bad idea for a storyline either. It would take the Hulk out of his usual environment and introduce lots of other aliens and things for him to smash. The storyline would have to be reworked a bit to give Banner a bit more face time.

[madmarva]

I agree another chasing the Hulk film would probably be a bit boring, but as Thunderbolt suggested Planet Hulk would be interesting.

Maybe, Planet Hulk could be set up by some event in Avengers 3 that forces Stark and SHEILD to get the big guy off Earth.

Similarly, I think the Jarella storyline, which obviously influenced Planet Hulk, might work or one featuring the High Evolutionary, which was an updated Island of Dr. Moreau take.

A movie introducing Dr. Strange, with Banner seeking out supernatural help to control his condition would be interesting to me.It wouldn't have to give Strange's origin, which could be saved for a solo film, but just kind of intro his powers, and maybe have Hulk ward off some supernatural threat or even Loki, since he's so popular and would have a grudge against the Hulk.

The Hulk on trial storyline was fun in the 60s, too, which was a bit like Tarzan's New York Adventure. It could Even intro as Matt Murdock's into into Marvel flicks and not even have to mention Daredevil or have him in the film.

More can be done with Hulk than what was tried in the first two movies, but if Marvel makes a solo film, it has to allow the Hulk to express personality like in the Avengers and talk, not just be a raging beast or a smaller green King Kong.

I know it can't happen under the current alignment of properties, but I'd love to see a Hulk-Spider-Man fight, written by someone who could really nail Spidey's smart-aleck quips.

[Operation:Mego]

http://www.slashfilm.com/marvel-shows-off-captain-america-the-winter-soldier-fight-style-at-d23/

Damn, Cap's a bad-arse in this one! Can't wait.

[Operation:Mego]

A cool interview with the brothers:

Quint: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, guys. I know Comic-Con is crazy, so I appreciate it. I gotta say, my interest in Cap 2 is piqued by the word that there's a Three Days of the Condor-style political espionage vibe to it.

Joe Russo: The movie is very grounded in a thriller-esque tone. Frankly, it's a very edgy movie for a Marvel movie because when you're doing a thriller unless the stakes are really high there's not much of a thrill to the movie. So you really have to put the characters in jeopardy and you have to have a layering of the plot that unfolds as the movie goes on. The characters have to be in the dark. There are all those elements of a '70s political thriller.

There are two things that really excited us about this movie when we heard they wanted to sit down with us to talk about the film. One was that I've been collecting comic books since I was 10 years old and one of the first books I ever bought was a Cap/Falcon book, so I felt there was a weird kismet to that. The other thing that excited us is that they wanted to do a '70s political thriller. We grew up cinephiles and one of the things that's strongest in our memories are movies like The French Connection, Three Days of the Condor, The Conversation...

Quint: The Conversation is one of my all-time favorites.

Joe Russo: It's a fantastic movie.

Quint: I actually prefer it to the Godfather movies.

Joe Russo: Not a lot of people can say that!

Quint: Not to take away from the greatness of those films. They're definitely more iconic, but Gene Hackman is just do damn good in the movie.

Joe Russo: He's unbelievable in the movie. The filmmaking is unbelievable. It's so sophisticated.

Quint: And it's so assured. Not to take too much of a detour gushing over this movie, but as a film fan I also love seeing where the it falls in Coppola's filmography. It's right between Godfather and Godfather 2. He's floating on whatever magic filmmaking fairy dust and just smashing every single aspect out of the park. It's great to hear that film was in the back of your mind while developing Cap 2.

Joe Russo: It's a huge influence on us. I'll be honest. We're really surprised... well, not surprised because they're a great group of people to work with, but Marvel really supported and bought into a huge shift in tone for the character and for the franchise. There's a certain level of verite with this movie. It's shot with a lot handheld camerawork, a lot of longer lenses, it's gritty. There's a lot of action in the movie, but it's based on a sort of realism. We had all the actors training for months because we wanted them on camera fighting with each other. They got a lot of bumps and bruises. We beat the **** out of them over the course of the shoot, but I think it really shows in the movie. We were really true a sort of verite approach to the material.

Quint: So, I take it one of the cues from those types of films that you're following here will include a strong focus on the characters? And also was the fact that films like All the President's Men and Three Days of the Condor inspired the tone of this film the impetus of bringing in Robert Redford?

Joe Russo: To answer the first question, you go watch Three Days of the Condor... the first 10-12 minutes are spent endearing you to Redford's character and then all hell breaks loose. That movie's not nearly as interesting unless you are rooting for and supporting and in love with this character. We spend the better part of the first act of this movie on Cap.

Anthony Russo: It's very much an intimate character piece.

Joe Russo: It's a very strong character piece. There's a lot of very poignant things that happen to him in the first act of the movie that are interwoven with the start of the mystery. We hope that by the end of the first act you're on board with him the way you're on board with Rocky. He's a very endearing individual who has a very strong code. He's somebody you want to root for, somebody you want to see win because he's been through hell.

Quint: So you're not counting on the audience coming in having seen the first Cap movie or The Avengers?

Joe Russo: You always hope that they do, but you can't expect everyone to have seen those movies...

Anthony Russo: It was important to us to make sure that wasn't a prerequisite in any way, but at the same time servicing them and honoring that continuity.

Joe Russo: Plus you have to address certain things. Seventy years later, Cap is alone. In a way it's a very tragic Rip Van Winkle story because he's lost everything. There's very few people you can point to in history and say that one person lost everything important to them in one fell swoop. You have to address that fact and the reality of that. Those are things that make you care about him and how he deals with issues.

Another thing that was really important to us is that we didn't want Cap in this movie to always be "Poor me" and we didn't want him to be goofy grandpa. "How do I use this cell phone?!? I don't understand these things!" For us, he's proactive, he's engaged in the modern world, he's working hard to submerge himself in it, to engage in a way that modern people do. He still has elements of his past that he has to tie up...

As far as Redford goes, that's a dream come true for us because, like I said, we grew up on those films. We've seen them many, many times, we've studied them frame by frame. They're really our film school, a lot of those movies.

When the idea came up we thought, "This is brilliant because we can go full circle with him," but we thought it was never going to happen because he hasn't really engaged in commercial filmmaking in a long time. He read the script, he loved it. We sat down with him and he said yes. It was a dream come true.

Quint: I bet. I'm a big fan. The Sting was an early childhood favorite.

Joe Russo: I literally showed it to my kids about 6 months ago. They loved it. Then my daughter, who is 8, came to set and Redford was there and she said, "You're the guy from The Sting." She saw him at craft services...

Quint: That's awesome. So, in Iron Man 3 they show the lingering effects of The Avengers on Tony Stark. Cap is a little more used to a war scenario and isn't going to be hit as hard as Stark, but is he dealing with anything as a result of the events of The Avengers in this new film?

Anthony Russo: Cap is very much still trying to come to terms with the modern world and how the world works, how it's different, how it's not as black and white as the one he came from. In that general sense, yes. He's still dealing with it.

Joe Russo: There's a narrative tie-in as well. There are lingering effects on a narrative level. The overarching plot is directly influenced by The Avengers. There's something really big that happens in this movie that shifts the universe and will directly effect Avengers 2. I think that's why Kevin (Feige) keeps saying this movie is the bridge. From a structural standpoint there's an overarching plot that Cap gets involved in that will ultimately effect the events in the Avengers sequel.

Quint: I was going to ask how you guys can keep a bigger picture in mind while focused on your own part of the giant Marvel story, but then I realized I was an idiot and you're kind of famous for doing just that with your huge amount of TV work! That's kind of your bread and butter!

Anthony Russo: We have that muscle, yeah. (laughs)

Joe Russo: What's really interesting about Kevin... I call him an auteur producer and he's really one of the only ones because he's really the backbone to this whole Marvel Cinematic Universe. He allows free reign for each movie. He's like, "I can't constrict this film just because I got some other idea I want to play out in 2 years. This is got to be the best movie this can possibly be and we can figure that other movie out." He's great that way. He really went on a journey with us. I don't know if he was expecting the movie to take this hard of a right turn, but I think he loves it.