It’s been assumed for quite some time now that Marvel’s upcoming Captain America: Civil War movie would bring together a wide range of characters from the studio’s cinematic universe. But just how crowded with superheroes the film’s screen would be was unknown until this week, when the official cast list and synopsis for the film were revealed.
So who’s going to be in it? Well, let’s just say it will be easier to count the heroes who aren’t appearing in the film.
According to Marvel’s official announcement of the Civil War cast, the film will feature a long list of characters spanning all of the previous installments of Marvel Studios movies. With the film slated to pit Captain America (Chris Evans) against Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) in a feud regarding government regulation of superheroes, many of the characters will be forced to take sides in the hero-versus-hero showdown.
Among the featured characters officially designated to appear in Civil War are Captain America (Evans), Iron Man (Downey), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Vision (Paul Bettany), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Paul Rudd will also appear in the film as Ant-Man following his debut of the character in this year’s solo film.
The movie will also introduce several new characters to Marvel’s cinematic universe, including Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Agent 13 (Emily VanCamp), and Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), as well as re-introducing Captain America: The Winter Soldier actor Frank Grillo as the villain Crossbones. William Hurt will also reprise his role as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross from The Incredible Hulk, and The Hobbit actor Martin Freeman will debut as a still-unidentified character.
Possibly the most conspicuous characters absent from the cast are Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who were last seen at the conclusion of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Marvel also released an official synopsis for the film, which reads as follows:
Captain America: Civil War picks up where Avengers: Age of Ultron left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and based on a script by Captain America franchise writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, Captain America: Civil War is scheduled to hit theaters May 6, 2016.
