Sebastian Stan was in Toronto this week to promote his latest role in Ridley Scott & Drew Goddard's The Martian. In an interview with Collider, he elaborated on his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as 'Bucky Barnes' (a.k.a. 'The Winter Soldier'). After, describing his turn in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as "an introduction" to the character, the actor described how overwhelmed he was by how the fans embraced it.
"To see that response to that was awesome," he revealed, "It just made me think, “Wow, people really got behind the character,” and that’s what you’re hoping for, especially [laughs] given that I didn’t really have any lines to say or anything." That won't be the case in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War though, with Stan promising fans are about to see "so much more" of Bucky...
"They gave me a lot more dialogue, and I thought, “Oh my god, it was so much better when I didn’t have to say things! “The look of the Winter Soldier is a very specific look. There was something very specific in how the guy looked and behaved and I felt like the more I stepped back and I just kind of let that do the work, the better it was gonna be. In a situation like that, you’re trying to guess where the guy’s at in his mind, and that certainly continues in the Civil War movie."
"You’re always trying to guess what side is he on or … because he can go both ways. That’s me being really lucky with a character like that where you can kind of … I mean they could write something for him tomorrow where he could be the worst assassin, the worst terrible villain, killer, whatever, or he could be this guy who is endearing, who is trying to rebuild his life so there’s a lot of places to go with the character and that’s exciting."
Some fans have remarked on the imbalance between the two opposing teams of heroes in Civil War. Those who have seen the promotional images will know Iron Man's crew includes heavyweights like the Vision joining the Armored Avenger, leaving Steve Rogers' team looking a little outmatched. Stan, however, relishes the thought of being one of the underdogs...
"Yeah, it’s awesome, and I kind of like that he doesn’t really have super powers. He’s got this metal arm and stuff, sort of the serum situation, but he’s sort of just a dude. It’s funny placing him next to the Scarlet Witch or something where she’s got all the stuff— [waves his hand, imitating Wanda doing magic] I’m going, “What is he going to do? He’s just going to sort of block a lot of stuff with his metal arm.” But I think it’s good, it’s relatable. He could die at any point."
Stan also had a chance to comment on the Ant-Man post-credits scene, which featured Bucky Barnes held prisoner by Anthony Mackie's Falcon and Chris Evans' Captain America. With a minor SPOILER warning, he even revealed when exactly we'll see that scene in Civil War:
"Like two days before. We were on set and somebody went, “Oh! By the way, did you know that there’s a thing at the end of Ant-Man and you guys are in it?” And I was like, “No, I don’t, but I’d love to go see it now so I know what we shot.” It’s kind of interesting because we shot that scene in early May so it’s interesting that they decided to use that … I think it’s somewhere in the middle."
Additionally, Stan addressed the one major criticism the movie has received so far, regarding the large number of Marvel heroes set to appear. He maintained that while there's "an element of" an Avengers movie about it, Civil War is "very much a Captain America film", and assured Collider that "the Russos' stamp is all over it."
And then came the... interesting part. When asked by Collider about the things that make Marvel movies like The Winter Soldier so great, Stan brought up Zack Snyder's controversial (and largely misinterpreted) comments about Ant-Man being a "flavor-of-the-week" movie.
"Yeah, I’m sitting here and I’m listening to you and I’m thinking, “Do I want to fire some shots at DC right now, at Zack Snyder?” I read some of those comments where he said something about Batman and Superman, I can’t remember where I read that, somewhere… Something about, “It’s not going to be your flavor-of-the-week Ant-Man.” And I was like, “Oh thanks, Zack. That’s great. Way to do something original.”"
"But I would say we’re still making something very original in our own way. I mean, the Russos are coming in and taking something people are used to and they’re shaping it up and changing it in a very different way. They’re not trying to mimic a better Christopher Nolan movie or something like that."
It's worth mentioning that Stan's views on Snyder's comments were likely manipulated by internet propaganda and click-bait headlines (something staypuffed avoided in his article). Still, he throws a few digs in there of his own, which will likely stoke the flames of the age-old DC vs. Marvel debate.
What do you think of Sebastian Stan's earlier comments about Civil War? How large of a role do you think Bucky can possibly have with so many Marvel characters showing up? Be sure to leave your thoughts and theories in the comments below! Alternatively, you can hurl abuse at one another for liking different comic book companies. The choice is entirely up to you.
Captain America: Civil War opens May 6, 2016.