They are very different. Marvel\u2019s Captain America: The Winter Soldier<\/em> is an action film and a contemporary thriller; and it takes place entirely in the modern day. Marvel\u2019s Captain America: The First Avenger<\/em> was a World War II film. Steve Rogers\u2019 origin is in World War II and that was very important to introduce his character, but at the end of that film we see his first adventure in the modern day. This film is all about Steve\u2019s experience in finally coming to terms with living in the modern day. It gave us an opportunity to make a very, very different film.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHow would you describe your experience of working with the movie\u2019s two directors, Anthony and Joe Russo? <\/strong><\/p>\nIt was great. The Russo brothers have done an amazing job for us on this movie. It\u2019s the first time we\u2019d ever worked with two directors, so we weren\u2019t quite sure what to expect \u2013 but they\u2019ve been director-partners for many years and they\u2019ve been brothers their entire life. They certainly have the banter down pat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Why did you decide to hire the brothers to direct this huge Marvel blockbuster? <\/strong><\/p>\nWe have a very simple way that we choose directors at Marvel. They have to have done something we felt was really cool, at least once, but it doesn\u2019t have to be another big movie. I love the work that the Russos have done on TV, in particular with Arrested Development<\/em> and Community<\/em>, which is much cooler than any televised sitcom has reason to be. We got them in the room because I was a fan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHow did that first meeting go?<\/strong><\/p>\nWe started pitching them the storyline and the 70s thriller theme, and they immediately got it and started building on it. They\u2019re very, very clever and they elevate material. That\u2019s what we wanted, somebody to take our ideas for a contemporary version of Captain\u2019s story and to translate The Winter Soldier <\/em>comic book by Ed Brubaker onto the screen. They pulled it off.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nWhat\u2019s the first step in the process of translating a comic book story to the big screen? And how faithful do you remain to the original stories? <\/strong><\/p>\nAll of our movies start with a pile of comics and a blank sheet of paper. In this case, the comics were Brubaker\u2019s The Winter Soldier<\/em> run because it was so well done. The tone of that comic was of a conspiracy thriller and we wanted this tone for the movie. Plus, the main antagonist, the Winter Soldier, is revealed to have a very deep connection with Captain America. We love that. Whenever you can find a villain who has such a personal connection to your hero, you run at the chance to use it. We changed some things because the story has to take place in our cinematic universe, but mainly we wanted to keep to what the comic had established.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nWhat does the dynamic between Captain America and the Winter Soldier bring to Steve\u2019s character?<\/strong><\/p>\nWell, so much of this movie is about Captain coming to terms with the fact that he can never go back to where he\u2019s from. He can\u2019t return to the 1940s, so when he thinks he\u2019s finding his place in this world and he\u2019s learning how to deal with it, something from the past comes back and unsettles all of that. That thing, of course, is the Winter Soldier.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Can you talk about the pairing of Black Widow and Captain America in Marvel\u2019s Captain America: The Winter Soldier<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\nThe notion of teaming Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson as Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff [aka Black Widow] was very exciting to us. On the surface, Steve is very black and white with a very moralistic centre. Black Widow has been a spy since she was a little girl and she deals \u2013 like Nick Fury does \u2013 in shades of gray. Putting those two together was going to add to a lot of fun conflict.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Robert Redford brings a lot of cachet to Marvel\u2019s Captain America: The Winter Soldier<\/em>. Why was it so important to cast him as Alexander Pierce?<\/strong><\/p>\nIt was the highlight of our careers at Marvel to have Mr. Redford come on board. This film was designed to be a big Marvel action film but, at the same time, we wanted it to be a kind of political thriller. When you look at the best political thrillers from the 1970s, almost all of them starred Robert Redford. Three Days Of The Condor<\/em> was a big influence for us. And I think he recognized that. He has grandkids that are fans of our films and he said he wanted to do a movie that his grandkids could see. It was beyond perfect.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHow would you describe your experience of working with Robert Redford?<\/strong><\/p>\nIt was an amazing experience. Having him play Alexander Pierce \u2013 the man who recruited Nick Fury into S.H.I.E.L.D many years ago \u2013 allowed us to continue to explore the mythology of S.H.I.E.L.D and of Marvel. It was amazing to have an actor of the caliber of Robert Redford in the center of that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Can you explain how the political thrillers of the 1970s inspired Marvel\u2019s Captain America: The Winter Soldier<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\nWe want all our movies to be in slightly different genres and to be different from each other. We would get bored making and watching these movies if they were all cookie-cutter copies of each other. Iron Man 3<\/em> is different from Thor: The Dark World<\/em>, which is different from the 70s thriller of The Winter Soldier<\/em>. We are still in a big Marvel action adventure movie but we add a different texture and tone. The elements of Captain America being on the run and struggling with a looming conspiracy within the government and S.H.I.E.L.D set this one apart.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nAs you branch off into more sequels and other franchises, what key components do you look for in a story?<\/strong><\/p>\nYou always want to make sure that it\u2019s a story you want to revisit. With Captain America, it made sense to do another one because we hadn\u2019t spent much time with him in the modern world. In the first movie, he wakes up in modern day New York at the end of the film. In The Avengers<\/em>, he has no time to breathe because he is meeting all these other characters and he\u2019s battling with aliens. This is the first time he can settle into what his life means in modern day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nWhy do you think Captain America has become such a popular and endearing character to audiences around the world, and not just the American market?<\/strong><\/p>\nI think people relate to the character of Steve Rogers more than his nationality. There is a wish-fulfillment aspect to him; he\u2019s a good and noble guy, and people aspire to be that. He isn\u2019t affected by ego or wealth; he is the polar opposite of Tony Stark [Iron Man].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What is your proudest achievement in creating this epic, new Captain America movie?<\/strong><\/p>\nFor me, it was the tone. The idea of doing a sequel to a film \u2013 or a sequel to two films because this is really a sequel to The Avengers<\/em> as much as it is a sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger<\/em> \u2013 is a delicate balance. It was difficult to say that we were going to do a sequel and make it in a different genre from the first one. That is what our directors, the Russo brothers, pulled off in an incredible way. I couldn\u2019t be happier with the result.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nGet all the latest on\u00a0Marvel\u2019s Captain America: The Winter Soldier<\/em>\u00a0at:<\/p>\n