(Photo Courtesy of Marvel Studios)Since “Iron Man 3” hit theaters last May, buzz surrounding Robert Downey, Jr.’s continued involvement with Marvel Studios has been rampant. We know the actor will reprise his role as Tony Stark in the upcoming “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” but other than that, not much was known. Then, when the actor announced that there was to be an "Iron Man 4," speculation began as to what the film would be about and what other stories there were to tell about the character.
That question, however, was answered when it was revealed that rather than signing on to star in a fourth Iron Man film, Downey, Jr. signed on to reprise his role in "Captain America 3." The news is exciting and will surely have Marvel fans everywhere looking forward to the next Captain America film. However, it should be known that Downey, Jr.’s involvement with the film may have a catastrophic impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an impact that could be felt all the way through the upcoming slate of films until the inevitable third "Avengers" iteration.
While it could be expected that having Iron Man and Captain America co-star in a stand alone film could make for a fun, light-hearted adventure, evidence from previous Marvel Comics point to the opposite. Between 2006 and 2007, Mark Millar wrote a seven-issue series titled, “Civil War.” The arc saw Stark and Steve Rogers on opposite sides of a proposed bill that would require anyone living in the U.S. with superpowers to register with the government.
The arc came following an incredibly dark time period in the realm of Marvel Comics, one that, if put on screen, would require the usual lighthearted atmosphere of MCU films to be toned down greatly. Essentially, the bill was proposed due to Nick Fury destroying Manhattan in his Secret War (an arc that found Fury fighting a Cyborg army) as well as various other happenings, including a rampage by the Hulk in Las Vegas that resulted in more that 20 civilian casualties. As such, Stark finds himself advocating for registration, feeling that superhero registration is responsible policy, because it allows them to receive the proper training to fully understand their powers. Rogers feels the opposite.
The "Civil War" proved to be a gruesome event, resulting in the deaths of numerous heroes, including Captain America, Peter Parker and more.
To add fuel to the fire of speculation that Marvel is indeed planning on bringing "Civil War" to the screen, Marvel was in talks with Sony to buy back the original rights to the Spiderman character. If such a rumor were indeed true, the "Civil War" arc would be one step closer to making its way to theaters.
One further rumor suggests that co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo (who directed this year's “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and are already signed on to direct the film’s sequel) could sign on to direct the third "Avengers" movie, which, if released in 2018, could provide the perfect amount of time to allow the war to build up over several films. "Captain America 3" is set for release in May 2016, and although no titles are confirmed just yet, other Marvel movie dates have been set for throughout 2017 and 2018. If the "Civil War" arc did play out on screen, there would be more than enough time to have it build up in a third "Thor" film, a new "Spider-Man" film and possibly even a second "Ant-Man" film (the first is set for a July 2015 release).
While nothing is completely confirmed about the next Captain America film’s story, the notion that the MCU could be heading for "Civil War" is more than enough to get this comic book fan excited. Marvel has shown before that it is not afraid to pull any punches, and the "Civil War" could be just what the studio needs to make the already massive and marketable brand even larger.
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