‘Captain America: Civil War’: 15 awesome fun facts

SINGAPORE – Part of what makes the Captain America movies so great is that the films balance humor, action, dramatic reveals, and flashbacks so well. Captain America: Civil War, which opens in theaters April 27, is no different – except the set pieces are bigger, and tons of characters literally collide on-screen. (READ: Movie reviews: What critics think of ‘Captain America: Civil War’)

Using production notes, releases, plus a recent media visit to catch stars Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, and director Joe Russo at the Singapore premiere of Captain America: Civil War, we’ve put together some awesome facts about the film as well as cool tidbits about our favorite heroes. 

Watch the video above for more. 

The plot 

In Civil War, politics comes into play. Tony Stark/Iron Man is in favor of government regulation of the Avengers. This is after much tragedy and destruction brought on by the superheroes in the previous films, particularly in Sokovia, which was decimated after the previous confrontation with Ultron.  

The loyal James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine joins Tony’s cause, along with the Vision, who has calculated that this must be the most logical path of action. In a surprise move, so does the Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff. 

Black Panther/T’Challa allies with Iron Man, who also recruits a teenaged Spider-Man/Peter Parker. 

Captain America does not agree with #TeamIronMan. He believes Avengers should remain free to protect the people. At the same time, when his best friend Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier is framed for a horrible tragedy, Cap chooses to protect Bucky, now on the run from authorities and Team Iron Man. 

Cap also has Hawkeye/Clint Barton and Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff on his side. His friend Falcon/Sam Wilson recruits Ant-Man, a star-struck Scott Lang. 

Fun facts: 

Several characters get costume and weapons upgrades. 

1. The Scarlet Witch has a new leather outfit with a coat designed for maximum mobility, as she’s now a full-fledged Avenger, though she’s still learning from her teachers. 

2. Hawkeye gets new weapons, like collapsible baton. He gets a left-handed bow (actor Jeremy Renner is a lefty), also made to be more lightweight. And instead of his usual vest, he now wears a full-sleeved jacket. 

3. Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man suit is updated and modified, with no extra cables on the helmet, and no dial on the regulator. 

4. Sam Wilson’s Falcon suit gets a more streamlined feel. Production notes say Anthony Mackie is very happy with his new suit, which also gets cool red marks on the wings.  

6. Paul Bettany, who plays the Vision sometimes used an AirBoard to float around when using a wire rig wasn’t an option. Similar to a hover board, the machine can go up to 12 miles per hour – and it took Paul just a few minutes to figure it out. This helped him with Vision’s ethereal and smooth floating movements. 

7. In Civil War, we’ll meet T’Challa, the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). His outfit incorporates African elements in the design. It’s a minimalist costume that gives off a sleek, cat-like vibe. 

8. Black Panther gets his own standalone film, coming in 2018. 

9. The airport fight scene between #TeamCap and #TeamIronMan was by far the toughest to shoot, according to the directors. It took almost year of preparation and was shot on IMAX cameras. 

“It was very hot in Atlanta. These actors are in leather outfits, you know, non-breathable material in 100-, 110-degree heat. Pretty significant,” said Joe Russo at a media roundtable interview in Singapore. 

“So we did have some incidents where people had dehydration issues, so that’s a tough sequence, shot partially in Atlanta and partially in Germany, so shot on two different continents. But we feel it was worth the end result.”

10. Civil War was influenced by psychological thrillers. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo were influenced by films like Seven, Fargo, and The Godfather, which like Civil War, features multiple characters and story arcs. 

Trivia: When I asked Sebastian Stan on the blue carpet what movie he’d most like Bucky Barnes to see, he also said The Godfather.

If #sebastianstan could wake up the #wintersoldier w/ 1 movie, that would be #thegodfather #teamcap @CaptainAmericaApril 25, 2016

11. Don’t expect Civil War to be totally heavy and serious. Joe and Anthony have directed award-winning comedies like Arrested Development and Community, and thus have much experience with comic timing and pacing. 

Humor plays an important part in Civil War, especially in bringing out a more human side to the Winter Soldier.

“It’s a really hard character, it’s a tough character in the sense that this guy has gone through so much, it’s so heavy, and there’s a lot of shame and guilt, but I feel like when you’re watching the movie and also one of the things that Marvel does really well is that they know the temperature of giving you the reality of the situation,” said Sebastian Stan, who plays Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier at a media interview. 

“And then also relaxing you as a viewer, reminding you that you are seeing a movie, you know, and at the same, we need to get the guy to move forward a little bit. You have to see that there’s some light at the end of the tunnel for him, otheriwise, it’s unwatchable.”

12. Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie hit it off so much that their rapport was worked into the storytelling. Some of the jokes that made it into the film were even improvised. (READ: ‘Captain America’ bromance: Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie on Cap’s ‘greatest love’)

13. Chris Evans says Robert Downey Jr keeps him on his toes as an actor, because he likes to rewrite and reinvent the dialogue. (WATCH: Here’s #TeamCap’s answer to #TeamIronMan’s Eiffel Tower stunt)

“Every time I have a scene with Downey, it’s tricky because he really likes to rewrite and reinvent the dialogue. It’s not a bad thing, I don’t mean to make it sound like that’s a challenge. It’s great that he does what he does, because he really, aside from being a great actor, he’s a great writer,” he said in a media interview. (WATCH: Why Chris Evans said ‘no’ to ‘Captain America’ role at first)

“It just means you gotta be on your toes, it’s gotta mean you’re ready to be as good as he is. And that’s scary.” 

14. Which superpower would Chris Evans choose for himself? 

“I know it’s kinda boring and I know it’s kind of par for the course, but I would take flight. How can you pass that up? Who wouldn’t take flight? Everyone here would fly,” he said. “I mean maybe, invisibility – if you choose invisibility, you’re a piece of sh–t. That means you’re up to no f–cking good. You gotta take flight.”

15. But what about his friend Anthony Mackie? “I would love the superhero [power] of understanding women,” he said in the same interview. 

Captain America: Civil War hits theaters April 27, 2016. 

Here’s the rest of the Marvel lineup until 2019:d

• Doctor Strange is up next in November 2016
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in May 2017
• Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
• Black Panther (2018)
• Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (2018)
• Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)
• Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 (2019)
• Captain Marvel (2019)

See you at the movies! – Rappler.com