The stars of Captain America: Civil War come to London

 

Kicking off the summer blockbuster season this year is Captain America: Civil War, a movie that unites many of Marvel’s best known comic book characters, and then sends them into battle against each other. As the directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, and some of the key cast members assemble in a London hotel ballroom to chat, it’s clear that this is one group who – unlike their characters – get along really well as they laugh and joke about their time making the blockbuster movie.

Gathered together are Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Elisabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Paul Bettany (Vision), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter) and Daniel Bruhl (Zemo), along with producer Kevin Feige. Phew.

 

 

Even when asked a serious question – which superhero would you want to come and solve the real world’s problems – the team find some humour. “It’s a tough question,” laughs Evans, only for Bettany to answer: “It’s not that tough.”

“Vision [his character] is omnipotent, he can pick up Thor’s hammer, what more do you need?”

“I think if the leaders of the world had the qualities of Tony and Steve, the world would be a much better place,” Feige adds, while Downey Jr interjects: “I don’t want that answer! You have to decide! Or maybe it should be Hawkeye as he retires every five minutes…”

 

Certainly it seems like the set was like a summer camp, with everyone having fun and getting along, although Downey Jr adds there was some rivalry: “When my son started wearing entirely Captain America PJs and hats and everything a natural resentment did build up but being a consummate professional I didn’t bring it into the workplace.”

Paul Rudd notes that everyone was very friendly on the set even to him, the newcomer to the team. “It was a bit surreal seeing everybody in their ‘suits’ but everyone was very welcoming. I enjoyed the role as we get to see these characters through Ant-Man/Scott Lang’s eyes, and he looks as amazed as I did my first day on set.”

Another newcomer to the Avengers/Marvel universe is 19-year-old British actor Tom Holland as Spider-Man. While he wasn’t present to chat about the movie, his co-star Downey Jr had this to say: “He’s not a work-in-progress, he is really something else. He comes in with a bang and really runs with it.”

Certainly his appearance is one of the highpoints of the movie, and you can read our review here – and count down the months until Holland’s first lead outing as Spidey, in summer 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming…