Captain America: Civil War

• 1. The Fractured Team

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  In 1991, a brainwashed super-soldier named James Barnes intercepted an automobile carrying a case of super-soldier serum in Siberia. Decades later, the Avengers stopped Brock Rumlow from stealing a biological weapon in Lagos. The explosion destroyed a nearby building and killed several Wakandan humanitarian workers. Thaddeus Ross informed the team that the United Nations was preparing to pass the Sokovia Accords. Tony Stark supported oversight because of his role in Ultron's creation. Steve Rogers had more faith in his own judgment than that of politicians. Helmut Zemo tracked down and killed Barnes' old Hydra handler. He stole a book containing trigger words that activate Barnes' brainwashing. A bomb killed King T'Chaka of Wakanda at a UN conference in Vienna. Security footage indicated the bomber was Barnes. T'Challa vowed to kill him. Rogers decided to bring in Barnes himself. Rogers and Wilson tracked Barnes to Bucharest. They attempted to protect him from T'Challa and authorities. All four were apprehended by police and James Rhodes. Zemo impersonated a psychiatrist sent to interview Barnes. He recited words to activate Barnes's brainwashing. He questioned Barnes then sent him on a rampage to cover his escape. Rogers stopped Barnes and sneaked him away. When Barnes regained his senses, he explained that Zemo was the real Vienna bomber. Rogers and Wilson went rogue. They recruited Maximoff, Barton, and Lang to their cause. Stark assembled a team composed of Romanoff, T'Challa, Rhodes, Vision, and Parker. The teams intercepted each other at Leipzig/Halle Airport. They fought until Romanoff allowed Rogers and Barnes to escape. Rhodes was inadvertently shot down by Vision and became partially paralyzed. The rest of Rogers' team was captured and detained at the Raft prison. Romanoff went into exile.

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• 2. Cast And Character Arcs

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  Chris Evans earned fifteen million dollars for the film. His training regimen included weight lifting, gymnastics, and plyometrics. He stayed away from cardio-based exercises while maintaining a high-protein diet. Anthony Russo described Captain America's character arc as taking him from a company man to an insurgent. Robert Downey Jr. received forty million dollars plus backend participation. Marvel initially wanted Downey's part to be smaller. Downey wanted Stark to have a more substantial role in the plot. Scarlett Johansson noted her head was with Tony's side but her heart was with Cap. She said the Widow's past would always haunt her. Sebastian Stan stated the character has more lines than in The Winter Soldier. He said the path through the Winter Soldier experiences would always be there. Paul Rudd's suit was streamlined and more high-tech than the one seen in Ant-Man. Feige called it a great idea to turn the tide of the battle in a huge way. Tom Holland chose not to read the whole Civil War script to avoid leaking information. He was initially signed on for three films. Holland later expanded his contract to include three Spider-Man movies and three solo movies. Chadwick Boseman developed the Wakandan accent himself during production. He used it whether he was on camera or not. The Wakandan language was based on Xhosa. Boseman was taught by John Kani who plays T'Chaka. Boseman did not audition for the role. He had a discussion about what Marvel wanted to do. Daniel Brühl was cast due to his German accent. He felt the role was not a stereotype. He described Zemo as a very smart guy who does everything out of understandable reasons.

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• 3. Filming Logistics And Cameras

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  Principal photography began on the 27th of April 2015, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios. Filming locations included Fayette County, Georgia, and the Buckhead district of Atlanta. Production moved to Germany in early August 2015. Locations included the Olympic Stadium and Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Principal photography wrapped on the 22nd of August 2015. Captain America: Civil War was the first film to use IMAX's digital 2D cameras. Approximately fifteen minutes of the film were shot with these cameras. The sequence where two factions fight at Leipzig/Halle Airport was described as having incredible scale. Trent Opaloch rigged the Alexa 65s to a Technocrane and a Steadicam. He also used a drone for flyover shots. Opaloch chose medium close-ups instead of close-ups because of the resolution offered by the cameras. Studio work was done at Babelsberg Studio. Additional filming took place in Puerto Rico and Norway. It was scheduled to take place in Iceland. The airport sequence grew to be an almost fully digital sequence. Russell Earl stated they replaced ninety-nine percent of everything that was shot. Originally both Spider-Man and Black Panther were planned to be photographed elements. They ended up almost completely replacing them.

• 4. Visual Effects And Studios

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  Nearly twenty visual effects studios worked on the film including Industrial Light Magic and Lola VFX. Lola VFX de-aged Downey Jr. in a scene involving a younger holographic version of himself. The scene involved approximately four thousand frames. Downey moved his head from side to side multiple times during the process. Method Studios worked on four hundred forty shots. They were responsible for the helicopter sequence and the climactic fight between Iron Man, Bucky, and Captain America. One challenge for Method was getting the color of Iron Man's suit correct. ILM created the digital assets for all characters. Luma Pictures completed shots of Bucky's arm and his metal brainwashing chair. Their work totaled approximately two hundred shots. Spider-Man was a digital double for all of his appearances. Holland wore a temporary Spider-Man suit featuring raised webbing on set. Design firm Sarofsky worked on the main-on-end title sequence. The sequence used muted and mottled colors like burnt umber and steel blue. Creative director Erin Sarofsky noted one challenge was making it feel like a Captain America title sequence. The early edits combined storyboards, previs, and stunt performance clips. Stunts choreographed hand-to-hand action while storyboards were used for character moments.

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• 5. Marketing And Release Strategy

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  The first trailer debuted on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the 25th of November 2015. It became the number one trending topic on Twitter within hours. The trailer was viewed sixty-one million times in the first twenty-four hours. This surpassed the thirty-four million views of Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2014. A teaser debuted during Super Bowl 50 three days later. It received the most social media activity out of all film trailers released that day. A second trailer was released on the 9th of March 2016. It was viewed close to ninety-five million times within the first twenty-four hours. Two hundred forty thousand social media posts across Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook were made related to the trailer. This surpassed the eighty-one thousand posts from the Age of Ultron trailer. The trailer continued to be the top viewed trailer on YouTube and Facebook for three straight weeks. It received more than ninety-six million total views since its release. Marvel held its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on the 12th of April 2016. The film was released in the United States on the 6th of May 2016.

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• 6. Critical Reception And Box Office

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  Captain America: Civil War grossed over eleven billion dollars worldwide. It became the highest-grossing film of 2016. Critics praised the performances particularly Evans and Downey. They also praised the action sequences and themes regarding government oversight. The film received positive reviews overall. A fourth film titled Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled for 2025. It will follow Sam Wilson as Captain America. The Russo brothers spent a great deal of time ensuring each character's emotional arc tracked correctly. They realized that sometimes you have to sacrifice logic for expediency. The third act is built around a very personal moment between Captain America and Iron Man. Zemo attempts suicide but he is stopped by T'Challa. He is taken to the authorities. Stark provides Rhodes with exoskeletal leg braces that allow him to walk again. Rogers breaks his allies out of the Raft prison. Barnes chooses to return to cryogenic sleep until a cure is found. Parker explores the features of the web shooters built for him by Stark.

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