Captain America: A Political Thriller With A Superhero

It's All The President's Superheroes ! It's even got Robert Redford in it

One thing Marvel has proved since it moved into the moviemaking arena is that it never likes to cover the same ground twice. Captain America's second solo outing on the big screen is radically different from his first, replacing World War II-set action with modern day political intrigue, as Cap realises that 1940s values don't necessarily apply in the 21st century.

“Watergate was probably the seminal moment for American politics where people realised that the government had specious motives that and that you couldn’t always trust your politicians," Captain America: The Winter Soldier co-director Joe Russo tells SFX . "It pulled a layer away that could never be replaced. And I think with Snowden and Wikileaks… to reach back to the ‘70s thrillers seemed very logical. A political thriller cannot be considered a political thriller without some sort of relevancy to what's currently happening. If the times aren't tumultuous, it's not a great backdrop for a political thriller. But we are in a very tumultuous period, and we felt that even though it was a superhero film there were certain themes we could explore that were more complicated and, again, relevant."

As for where the boy scout-ish Cap fits into all that, Chris Evans says of his character's arc that, "It's about trying to come to terms with the definition of what right and wrong is. That is an emotional arc in my opinion."

Viki Bucknell

Read more about Captain America in the new issue of SFX, on sale from Wednesday 5 February. Captain America: The Winter Soldier lands in cinemas on Friday 28 March.