Marvel and ABC decided to begin the Thanksgiving holiday early Tuesday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. bearing gifts. When the two stars appearing on the show was promoted, it was expected a big announcement would come with them.
But did anyone anticipate that the trailer for Marvel’s next superhero blockbuster, Captain America: Civil War, would be the big surprise? OK, maybe. I mean, why else would Captain America and Iron Man make a late-night talk show appearance with presumably nothing to promote? Were Evans and Downey going to talk about Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Probably not.
Rumor had it that the Civil War trailer would be attached to The Force Awakens. As if that movie wasn’t going to be anticipated enough already. That might still happen, of course, providing a chance for everyone to see it on the big screen. But for now, you can watch it over and over again on your computers and smartphones. You’ve probably already seen it, but why not take yet another look here?
Where do we even begin with this? Given that this is the very first trailer released for Captain America: Civil War and the movie doesn’t hit theaters for another five months, we can probably call this a teaser. Other than the clips that lay out the premise of the film and its story points, most of the images seen are shown very quickly.
First, that story. Why would Captain America and Iron Man be fighting each other, forcing the Avengers team (minus Thor and the Hulk, who left at the end of this past summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron) to split and choose sides between the two iconic heroes? Age of Ultron provided a hint of the conflict to come in the scene with Steve Rogers and Tony Stark talking about ending wars before they start and the casualties that occur as a result. Those quick hits provide just enough to tantalize, causing millions of clicks on that pause button and populating the internet with screen caps.
But as we see in this trailer, Cap’s old friend Bucky Barnes — otherwise known as the Winter Soldier and a fugitive being pursued by Captain America and the Falcon — appears to be the issue that divides the team. The appearance of William Hurt reprising his role as General Ross from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, talk of vigilantism and supervision, and the glimpse of a document titled “Sokovia Accords,” which references the European country where Age of Ultron‘s climactic battle took place, lay out the circumstances that ignite the central conflict. The government thinks these superhumans need to be monitored, while at least some of those heroes disagree with that kind of control being enforced.
Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther (screen cap via Marvel)
The guess here is that the most screen-capped image from the trailer is our first look at Black Panther, the newest Marvel movie character, a likely addition to The Avengers and the star of his own film in 2018. (Feb. 16, 2018, to be exact.)
Black Panther appears three times in the trailer, each nearly a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse. The first is the most notable, providing the best look at the character in costume (with Chadwick Boseman presumably under the mask). We subsequently see the Panther fighting the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes on a tarmac and also running from Captain America in a parking garage. The costume looks great and pretty much exactly like the concept art that was released a year ago. Maybe some of that, especially the mask, is CGI. But who cares when it all looks so cool?
Many fans will likely be disappointed that we don’t see Ant-Man, since that character has a role in the film and his movie included a mid-credits stinger similar to the first scene in this trailer. And of course, the new, younger version of Spider-Man is also supposed to make an appearance in Civil War. But Marvel wasn’t going to give that away so soon, right? There’s so much more promotion to come. (Actually, it would be great if we don’t see the new Spidey until the movie is shown, but that’s not the world we live in.)
If you didn’t know already, Captain America: Civil War will be in theaters on May 6, 2016. Just in case you need a reminder, here’s the official poster that Marvel released along with the trailer.
