While doing rounds of interviews for his role inThe Martianat the Toronto International Film Festival,Sebastian Stanfielded a few questions about the highly anticipated Marvel film,Captain America: Civil War. In the former film—Ridley Scott’sspace-based sci-fi adventure—Stan plays Dr. Chris Beck, the mission crew’s flight surgeon and self-professed adrenaline junkie; inCaptain America, he’ll return as Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier. Despite the well-known aura of secrecy surrounding the Marvel Studios production, Steve was able to get a few answers out of the actor.
Steve sat down with Stan to relive his experiences both during and after his appearance inCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, the amount of dialogue in the new film, a spoiler-free chat about theAnt-Manpost-credits scene, and the prospect of starring in futureAvengersmovies. Stan even gets a few return shots in at DC/WB directorZack Snyder, defending Marvel andAnt-Man. See what he had to say below followed by some quotes:
When asked about the response toWinter Soldierand how it changed his career, Stan revealed that audiences will get to see much more of him inCivil War:
[The] character had, in my opinion, an introduction inThe Winter Soldier— I mean, it was just sort of like a preview of the guy, which we get so much more of inCivil War. And I’m grateful for that. But to see that response to that was awesome because it just made me think, “Wow, people really got behind the character,” and that’s what you’re hoping for, especially [laughs] given that I didn’t really have any lines to say or anything. Which probably made it for the better to be honest.
It should go without saying that we’ll get to see more of Winter Soldier inCivil War, but with a cast of characters that’s as jam-packed as this movie is, it’ll be tough to get any sense of depth from all of them. That being said, it sounds like Stan’s character will have much more to say this time around:
They gave me a lot more dialogue, and I thought, “Oh my god, it was so much better when I didn’t have to say things! “The look of the Winter Soldier is a very specific look. There was something very specific in how the guy looked and behaved and I felt like the more I stepped back and I just kind of let that do the work, the better it was gonna be. In a situation like that, you’re trying to guess where the guy’s at in his mind, and that certainly continues in theCivil Warmovie. You’re always trying to guess what side is he on or … because he can go both ways. That’s me being really lucky with a character like that where you’re able to kind of … I mean they could write something for himtomorrowwhere he could be the worst assassin, the worst terrible villain, killer, whatever, or he could be this guy who is endearing, who is trying to rebuild his life so there’s a lot of places to go with the character and that’s exciting.
Anyone who’s taken a peek at some of Marvel’s concept art has an idea of where Winter Soldier’s loyalties lie, and comic book readers know how just how deeply those loyalties run. It will certainly be interesting to see how the Marvel Cinematic Universe deals with the twists and turns surrounding the events ofCivil War, and just how they shakes things up for the movies to come later.
BecauseCivil Warwill pit heroes against heroes, fans may be wondering just how well characters like Captain America and Winter Soldier can stand up to some of the more super-powered foes they’ll be facing. Stan has put some thought into that as well:
Yeah, it’s awesome, and I kind of like that he doesn’t really have super powers. He’s got this metal arm and stuff, sort of the serum situation, but he’s sort of just a dude. It’s funny placing him next to the Scarlet Witch or something where she’s got all the stuff— [waves his hand, imitating Wanda doing magic] I’m going, “What ishegoing to do? He’s just going to sort of block a lot of stuff with his metal arm.” But I think it’s good, it’s relatable. He could die at any point.
Marvel has done a good job of separating their heroes and their varying power levels when it comes to battling villains, ie Hawkeye and Black Widow took down individual Chitauri while Thor and Hulk battled the monstrous Leviathans. They’ll likely do the same by way of equally powered match-ups inCivil War, but the danger of heroes getting caught up in super-powered crossfire will pose a very real threat that adds to the film’s tension.
[Spoiler alert]For fans of Marvel’sAnt-Man, Stan commented on the credits scene that appeared in Marvel’s most recent movie:
Like two days before. We were on set and somebody went, “Oh! By the way, did you know that there’s a thing at the end ofAnt-Manand you guys are in it?” And I was like, “No, I don’t, but I’d love to go see it now so I know what we shot.” It’s kind of interesting because we shot that scene in early May so it’s interesting that they decided to use that … I think it’s somewhere in the middle.
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Stan also addressed the concern that fans have that there are already way too many characters inCivil War:
I mean, I know everybody’s treating it like there are all these Avengers in it, like it’sAvengers 2.5or something, and there’s an element of that, but it’s still at the end of the day very much a Captain America film. It’s different fromThe Avengers, it’s definitely its own entity, totally connects to the lastWinter Soldierfilm, and the Russos’ stamp is all over it.
Personally, I’ve never been too worried that Marvel is cramming too many heroes into this story or that the Russos couldn’t handle it. The story ofCivil Warrequires this many characters to exist, essentially replacing the legions of Chitauri or minions of Ultron from the previousAvengersmovies with the other named characters as adversaries. Yes, there will be a lot of people battling on screen, but they likely won’t be faceless drones; and Captain American will still be at the center of the chaos.
Now, perhaps the moment you’ve been waiting for, Stan addresses thecomments made by Zack Snyder regarding Marvel’s Ant-Man:
Collider: I think the reason why the Marvel movies are so good— especiallyWinter Soldier— is thatWinter Soldier’s a‘70s political thriller that happens to star Captain America. And what I’m curious about is what kind of take isCivil Warin terms of …because it’s obviously going to be a reboot and reinvention. Do you know what I mean?
Stan: Yeah, I’m sitting here and I’m listening to you and I’m thinking, “Do I want to fire some shots at DC right now, at Zack Snyder?” I read some of those comments where he said something about Batman and Superman, I can’t remember where I read that, somewhere… Something about, “It’s not going to be your flavor-of-the-weekAnt-Man.” And I was like, “Oh thanks, Zack. That’s great. Way to do something original.” But I would say we’re still making something very original in our own way. I mean, the Russos are coming in and taking something people are used to and they’re shaping it up and changing it in a very different way. They’re not trying to mimic a better Christopher Nolan movie or something like that.”
Like much of the Internet, I think Stan misconstrued Snyder’s comments as being aimed atAnt-Manthe movie, and not Ant-Man the character. Still, Stan’s response is now out there so let the battle between Marvel and DC commence! I particularly like the fact that he rips Snyder for making a pale imitation of aChristopher Nolanfilm, but at the end of the day, all of these movies are adaptations of characters and stories that have been around for decades, despite whatever original touches are brought to the production.
In a less inflammatory discussion that revolved around Stan keeping his long hair forCivil War, he concluded by dodging around a question about whether or not he’d been in theAvengers: Infinity Warmovies:
I’m assuming Bucky is definitely a part of the next twoAvengersmovies.
Stan: Again, it’s totally not something I know for sure. Like, you know, it’s a blessing and a curse — sometimes I wish I knew to sort of get my life back together. You know, I’m like, “I might as well just not cut my hair at all.” But I really don’t know. It’s so early to know that. But hopefully…
Certainly, Stan’s role inAvengers: Infinity Wardepends on a number of things: contracts, availability, whether or not his character even survivesCivil War, so I can’t fault him for not knowing (or not revealing) what’s going to happen in the two-part mega-movie that kicks off in 2018. Until then, we’ll just have to settle for enjoying his performance inCaptain America: Civil Warwhen it opens July 21, 2025.
