WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON ARE CONTAINED WITHIN
Captain America 3 is looking a lot more like Avengers 3 after the official casting announcement today.
Though rumors about just who might show up in next year’s Captain America: Civil War have been swirling for months, Marvel and parent company Disney put an end to speculation earlier today by releasing the full cast. So who’s going to make an appearance? The short answer is: almost everybody.
The only two members of the Avengers team that are unaccounted for are Thor, who’s presumably going to be busy in Asgard dealing with the events of the forthcoming Thor: Ragnarok and Hulk, who’s presumably still missing after the events of Age of Ultron. Those two aside, the whole gang is set to return in a movie that promises to turn the entire MCU on its head.
Chris Evans reprises his role as Captain America, facing off against Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. Joining the fray are Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Paul Bettany as Vision, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man (who makes his MCU debut later this summer in the aptly titled Ant-Man), Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Falcon, Don Cheadle as Colonel Rhodes aka War Machine, and Elizabeth Olson, reprising her role as Scarlet Witch from Age of Ultron.
Also added to the mix are Chad Boseman, introducing the role of T’Challa aka Black Panther, whose existence was hinted in Age of Ultron, Emily VanCamp, reprising her role as Sharon Carter/Agent 13 from The Winter Soldier, Frank Grillo, reprising his role as Crossbones, also from The Winter Soldier, William Hurt, reprising his role as General Thaddeus Ross from The Incredible Hulk, and Martin Freeman, rumored to be Black Panther adversary Everett Ross.
Rumors are still going around about the possible inclusion of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil from the hit Netflix series, which would mark his official big screen MCU debut, as well as the introduction of the newest, and as yet uncast, iteration of Spider-Man. So far, there’s no official confirmation of either of these from Marvel, but given the importance of Spider-Man’s role from the comics, it seems as likely a place as any to make the introduction (though do take that with a grain of salt.)
While details of the plot are still scarce, what we do know is that the team becomes fractured as Iron Man and Captain America face off in a battle over the direction of the Avengers. After yet another international incident involving the team, governments around the world begin to demand a system of accountability for super powered individuals, with outside pressure mounting as the world faces a new deadly threat.
Captain America: Civil War began filming this week and is set for release May 6, 2016. The film will be directed by Winter Solider directors Anthony and Joe Russo, from a script penned by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
