I was left speechless on Monday night as Variety broke the news that Robert Downey Jr. had signed on to star alongside Chris Evans in Captain America 3. I was at an even greater loss for words when I read that the next Cap movie would kick off the Civil War storyline.
I love that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been put together with a plan. After the success of the first Iron Man, Marvel put its plan into motion and hasn’t stopped since. Getting Downey to commit to Captain America 3 opens up so many possibilities for future MCU movies. I loved the Civil War storyline and can’t wait to see it come to life on the big screen.
Here are some questions I have about Captain America 3 and the Civil War.
- Who is going to fight Thanos? It seemed like Marvel was setting up the Infinity Gauntlet storyline for The Avengers 3. Thanos could still be the big bad guy in the third Avengers movie, but who will fight him? Will Steve Rogers have a team of Secret Avengers and will Tony Stark have a team of registered Avengers? Perhaps Thanos will just end up being the big bad in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Avengers 3 will take on a different storyline.
- Will Spider-Man show up? I’ve always said that Sony and Disney would never figure out a way for Spider-Man to show up in the MCU. There’s too much potential corporate red tape. However, Peter Parker/Spider-Man plays an integral role in the Civil War, as he is one of the few super heroes with an actual secret identity. I mostly don’t want Spider-Man to show up in the MCU because I hate being wrong.
- Will Steve Rogers die? At the end of the Civil War Steve Rogers is shot and killed. At that point Bucky Barnes becomes Captain America until Rogers returns from the dead. I know Chris Evans wants to hang up the shield and focus on directing movies. Perhaps the Civil War would give Evans his way out. With Evans gone Anthony Mackie, Falcon from The Winter Soldier, could take up the shield just like Falcon has done in the comics.
- Will Tony Stark be a real bad guy? Robert Downey Jr. has been out promoting his new movie The Judge. In interviews he said that the super hero genre might be getting played out. Iron Man going from hero to villain, though, would definitely breathe new life into the genre. Downey has been perfect for the MCU so far and I would love to see him turn into a villain.
- Where will the tragedy come from? In the comics the Super Hero Registration Act follows a tragedy in which 600 civilians, including 60 children, are killed during a super-powered fight. I wonder if Captain America 3 will show that tragedy or if there will be outrage from something that happens in Age of Ultron.
There may be some spoilery answers for my questions out there, but I’m trying to avoid them. I don’t want to know everything that’s going to happen in the MCU two, three and four years before the movies even come out. I’m excited enough without any spoilers and certainly hope that Marvel keeps making jaw-dropping announcements for many years to come.
What questions do you have about bringing the Civil War to the big screen?
Not a big fan of “Civil War” (I read the first collected trade – it was OK, but I guess I am just not that invested in the Marvel pantheon to feel very strongly about it) but it is an undeniably awesome pitch for a superhero film and I am sure Marvel will do a bang-up job of it. They’d be fools not to mine Brubaker’s “Death of Cap” run for a film or two.
Even people who are invested in Marvel didn’t like the Civil War. I thought it was great. I think that Cap’s death would pave the way for Marvel to keep making movies forever, setting the expectation that actors can change but characters can move on.