The footage was in black and white, featuring unfinished animation and animatics. It’s a very rough early clip. Cap and Black Widow are passengers in a plane, bantering, talking about what they have planned for the upcoming weekend. Black Widow: “You doing anything Saturday night?” Cap: “All the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so, you know.”
Cap gets ready to jump out as the plane is over water. Is he wearing a parachute? Nope! Cap just flies through the sky, no ‘chute, and dives into the water feet first. Nearby is a huge cargo ship, rendered via animatic in the clip’s current state. There are many guards on the ship, but Cap climbs up the anchor chain to the deck. He silently takes out one guard, and throws his shild at another. In short order, cap runs around the perimeter of the deck, just kicking ass. At a dead run, he takes out almost a dozen guards. Some go down with just one hit.
One guy is about to pull fire alrm, but Cap throws a knife through his hand. This is a more brutal Captain America — a one-man black ops squad. There’s no dialogue in this sequence; just fighting. Cap’s fighting techniques are way more modern than the last time we saw him. He’s learned new moves; the action in general is much more hard-hitting and intense.
Finally, Frank Grillo parachutes down and helps take out one guy. Black Widow also lands on the ship, and begins shooting some of the remaining guards. Despite the setting and action, she’s still in weekend mode. Black Widow: “How about the nurse who stays aross the hall from you? She seems nice.” Cap: “You don’t have to get me a date.”
That was the cut point, and the reaction to the clip was huge.
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” picks up where “Marvel’s The Avengers” left off, as Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C. Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Georges St-Pierre, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Emily VanCamp and Maximiliano Hernández with Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Redford, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is directed by the team of Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely and is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1941. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing the film. Executive producers on the project include Alan Fine, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee. The creative production team on the film includes director of photography Trent Opaloch, production designer Peter Wenham, editors Jeffrey Ford, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. and three time Oscar®-nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is set for release on April 4, 2014. In addition to “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on other iconic Marvel characters including “Iron Man 3” on May 3, 2013; “Thor: The Dark World ” on November 8, 2013; “Guardians of the Galaxy” on August 1, 2014; “Marvel's The Avengers” sequel on May 1, 2015; and “Ant-Man” on November 6, 2015!