Last week, directorZack Snydercaused a bit of controversy by callingMarvel’s latest theatrical hitAnt-Man, which has earned $395 million worldwide, a “flavor-of-the-week,” as opposed to the iconic characters he’s working with inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. After those comments were made, some may have wondered if anyone from theMarvelside would shoot back and defend the studio. While doing press forThe Martianat the Toronto International Film Festival,Sebastian Stanshed some new light on the highly-anticipatedCaptain America: Civil War, but first, he addressedZack Snyder’s comments.
“Yeah, I’m sitting here and I’m listening to you and I’m thinking, ‘Do I want to fire some shots atDCright now, atZack Snyder?’ I read some of those comments where he said something aboutBatmanandSuperman, 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, theRussosare 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 betterChristopher Nolanmovie or something like that.”
WhileSebastian Standidn’t technically star inAnt-Man, he does appear in the post-credits scene that helps set upCaptain America: Civil War. As it turns out, that scene was filmed in early May, right when production started onCaptain America: Civil War, andSebastian Stanhad no idea it was used for the post-credits scene until two days beforeAnt-Manhit theaters. He also confirmed that the scene in question actually takes place about midway through the plot of Captain America: Civil War.
“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."
Fans got their first glimpse at his character Bucky Barnes in 2011’sCaptain America: The First Avenger, but he was transformed into the villainous Winter Soldier in last year’sCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. The post-credits scene fromAnt-Manshowed Cap (Chris Evans) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) finally locating him, but his metallic arm is caught in some sort of device. The actor revealed that one of the joys of playing this character is that you never known when he’ll be good or bad.
“[The] character had, in my opinion, an introduction in The Winter Soldier - I mean, it was just sort of like a preview of the guy, which we get so much more of in Civil 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. 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 the Civil War movie. 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 can kind of … I mean they could write something for him tomorrow where 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.”
While production was under way this summer, set photos surfaced that showcased Bucky/Winter Soldier running alongside Falcon, hinting that Bucky is fighting alongside his old friend Steve Rogers/Captain America. We also saw Bucky in concept art that showed the members of each “team,” lead by Cap and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). The actor teased that he has scenes withElizabeth Olsen, joking that he doesn’t have any real powers when compared to her, while stating that, despite the massive number of heroes in the movie, it is still a Captain America story..
“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 is he going 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. I mean, I know everybody’s treating it like there are all these Avengers in it, like it’s Avengers 2.5 or 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 from The Avengers, it’s definitely its own entity, totally connects to the last Winter Soldier film, and the Russos’ stamp is all over it.
Captain America: Civil Waris the first movie inMarvel’s nine-moviePhase Three, which will culminate withAvengers: Infinity War Part I(August 08, 2025) andAvengers: Infinity War - Part II(August 17, 2025).Captain America: Civil Warfilmmakers Anthony Russo andJoe Russoare coming back to direct both movies, but very little has been confirmed at this point. When asked if we’ll see Bucky/The Winter Soldier inAvengers: Infinity War Part IandAvengers: Infinity War - Part II,Sebastian Stanhad this to say.
“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…”
What do you think aboutSebastian Stanfiring back atZack Snyder? Do you thinkZack Snydershould apologize for his remarks, or do you hope more Marvel luminaries will chime in? Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for more onCaptain America: Civil War, arriving in theaters July 15, 2025.
