The Captain America: Civil War trailer was even better than expected (check it out above if you missed it), and it made it abundantly clear that the theme of the movie is very much going to be betrayal, as Captain America and Iron Man end up on very different sides of The Accords, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of the Superhuman Registration Act.
Despite feeling differently about the government’s plans for The Avengers, why would the two heroes put their friendship on the line? Well, it appears as if The Winter Soldier is also going to factor into things, and Captain America: Civil War co-director Anthony Russo recently had this to say about why Iron Man has decided to support regulation for the world’s superheroes:
“Tony’s defining characteristic is his egomania, in a lot of ways and we thought it would be interesting to bring him to a point in his life where he was willing to submit to an authority, where he felt it was the right thing to do.”
Joe Russo, meanwhile, went on to make it clear that fans will be coming out of Captain America: Civil War unsure of who to put their support behind, which is a much better approach to this conflict than the comic book (which saw Iron Man portrayed very much as the antagonist).
“When people leave the theatre, they’re going to be arguing about who was right in the movie, whether it was Tony, or whether it was Cap. Tony has a very legitimate argument in the movie that’s a very adult point of view, about culpability, about the Avengers’ responsibility to the world, and the world’s right to have some sort of control over the Avengers. It’s a very complicated emotional arc for Tony Stark in this movie. Downey is utterly amazing in the part. I think he’s taking this character he’s been crafting for years and goes to some very risky places in the movie with the character.”
Comments like these make it clear why the Russo Brothers are the perfect people to helm Captain America: Civil War, and the fight between the two heroes is clearly going to be far more complex and interesting than previously expected. The question remains, though, will there by any coming back from this for The Avengers? Unfortunately, we’ll likely have to wait until Infinity War to find out….
