The Russos Tackle the Paradoxical Issue at the Center of "Captain America: Civil War"

CBR

By Meagan Damore

Published May 5, 2016

The "Captain America: Civil War" directors weighed in on the "impossible" questions posed by the film, which are "not issues you can really answer."

If you break "Captain America: Civil War" down to its base storyline, it becomes a question of government control vs. individual freedom -- which is why, according to directors Joe and Anthony Russo, there's no real right answer to Captain America and Iron Man's conflict.

"What we tried to do with the movie is we tried to represent both sides of the issue and make sure that both Cap and Tony had very emotional reasons for doing what they were doing and sound reasons for doing what they were doing," Joe Russo explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "Because they're complicated issues. They're not issues you can really answer. We wanted people to walk out of the theater arguing with each other about who was right. I tend to say if you support big government and governmental control but you also think that accountability is extremely important, you might side with [Iron Man] in this movie. He's all about accountability in the film. If you support individual freedom and you prioritize that over everything else then you might side with Cap in the movie. The movie doesn't attempt to answer these questions, it attempts to pose them."

"I think the most difficult thing about it is that it's a paradox at the center of our society and at the center of our political life," added Anthony Russo. "Yes, we do need government, and we need government to have control of people or else other people are vulnerable. At the same time we want the freedom to be individuals and do what we want and say what we want and go where we want. There's always an eternal war between those two needs, and it just depends on what your specific experiences are at any given moment, which pushes you one way or the other."

Though technically a sequel to "Captain America's" second solo outing "The Winter Solider," the movie boasts an impressive list of characters, including Iron Man, Black Widow, Falcon and Bucky Barnes, as they butt heads over a document called the Sokovia Accords. It will also introduce several new characters, like Black Panther. The film also marks Spider-Man's Marvel Cinematic Universe debut.

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan and more, "Captain America: Civil War" opens on May 6, 2016.