Contains major spoilers for the ten Marvel films so far
Having hit their stride pre-Avengers, Marvel Studios’ second phase has taken the franchise to new heights and they’ve given themselves plenty of room to launch from: having dispatched of Odin, Loki’s return will undoubtedly cause mischief; Cap’, Black Widow, Fury and Hill have left the imploding SHIELD to Coulson and co to rebuild; Daredevil will soon encounter Iron Fist and Luke Cage; HYDRA, in possession of Loki’s staff, and Arnim Zola’s return spells trouble; Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Wasp, Falcon and Vision will succeed as the teams core members; Guardians of the Galaxy introduced a barely glimpsed interstellar vibe to the Marvel Universe all the while Thanos is collecting those mysterious Infinity Stones.
This may come across as way to much to fit in but Marvel still have all the time in the world. The great thing is that they can produce a wide range of stories at different scales. Daredevil can be battling regular gangsters while a talking tree embarks on intergalactic mayhem without either losing audience interest. Captain America: The Winter Soldier proved that Marvel can still rock even deprived of its more fantastical antics. Captain America 3 has long been confirmed in the schedule with Chris Evans signed on to star and director Anthony and Joe Russo directing once more but today’s announcement changed everything.
Robert Downey Jr, better know as the actor portraying Tony Stark/Iron Man, is reportedly signing on for Cap’ 3. This came with the confirmation that the sequel will be adapting the brilliant Civil War series.
In one of the more tragic storylines, this crossover event divides the superhero world into those who oppose or enforce the recently implemented Superhuman Registration Act which forces every hero to give up their identity. The sides are led by Captain America and Iron Man respectively. The problem with adapting it is that the series is more of a saga. Around fifty major characters get involved in some way and the current MCU don’t have the rights to all of them. Obviously there’s Fantastic Four and the X-Men but individuals such as Spider-Man, Namor and Punisher greatly affect the story.
The worry is that the narrative won’t function without them but I think it can be overcome. During the series, the X-Men, although they were requested to weigh in, kept their distance. Quite major adjustments may have to be inflicted on the beloved work to eliminate the likes of the FF, some of whom are crucial, and Spider-Man.
Through gathering various bits of information we can see how this links up with other reports. Downey Jr has made differing statements about the potential project of Iron Man 4, sometimes claiming that its done or that he’s up for it. When he recently let slip that it was in development he was likely referring to this. This is still contradictory to the rumour that Hawkeye will be cropping up. Another key hazard is that by piling in team members in there’ll be no distinction between this and The Avengers 3 but if it includes only a few of the group in central roles then we ought to be fine. Keep the focus on it being a Rogers/Stark crossover. The Guardians better not get involved just yet.
Tell us any hopes or fears for the film as well as your suggestion for a title. Current favourites: Civil War and Fallen Son. Key players in the future Marvel Universe include Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Samuel L Jackson (Nick Fury), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Wasp), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Corey Stoll (Yellowjacket), Paul Bettany (Vision), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Quicksilver), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Cobie Smulders (Agent Hill), Chris Pratt (Star Lord), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Vin Diesel (Groot), Dave Bautista (Drax), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Toby Jones (Arnim Zola), Thomas Kretschmann (Baron Von Strucker), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Stellan Skarsgard (Erik Selvig), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Benicio Del Toro (Collector), James Spader (Ultron), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and not Joaquin Phoenix (not Doctor Strange).
Captain America: Civil War? – April 29th 2016