“Sorry Tony. You know I wouldn’t do this if I had any other choice…” It’s time to take a stand, folks. Time to fight for what you believe in. Time to watch Captain America go up against Iron Man and see the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s loyal heroes and friends rent asunder in the first trailer for Captain America: Civil War.
Loosely – very loosely, really only utilizing the idea that there is a legal, moral and philosophical rift between Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) – on the comic book version of the story, Civil War promises to ignite big changes in the MCU, and tie together elements that have been simmering across several movies. After the latest Avengers mission causes the now standard collateral damage, government forces (led by General Ross, played once more by William Hurt) decide that superheroes need more regulation. Steve disagrees, worried in the post-S.H.I.E.L.D./Hydra era what that might lead to. Standing on the other side of the argument, still traumatised by what he experienced in New York and then Sokovia in the Avengers movies) is Stark, and thus things spiral out from there. Former friends take sides against each other, and there is plenty of conflict.
Civil War has a lot to accomplish – it needs to continue Cap’s (and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky) story from The Winter Soldier, add in threads from Age Of Ultron and introduce new characters such as Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther. The cast is bigger than ever and the stakes have rarely been higher – this time the clash is more personal. But from the looks of this, directors Joe and Anthony Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely are juggling it all, maintaining a streak of humour (Tony’s “sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth”) and keeping the action quotient up. We’ll see how the film itself has turned out come April 29, when it lands on these shores. If you need a more thorough briefing on the movie, take a look here.
We had directors Joe and Anthony Russo thoroughly guide us through the original trailer, but for those craving just a few scant extra seconds of footage, here's a technically new international promo.
Head here for an assembly of all the Civil War trailers and footage available so far.