With Avengers: Age of Ultron now in theaters and Ant-Man not really holding much in the way of intrigue, Captain America: Civil War has become the latest fan-focus of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and everything seen so far says that Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors The Russo Brothers are going to up the ante in a big way.
The film will see an entire new Avengers team in action; a fight between Captain America and Iron Man; major new villains like Baron Zemo; Brock Rumlow becoming Crossbones; and new allies like Black Panther first making their appearance. The cast of the film also gets more impressive by the day, with Sherlock and The Hobbit star Martin Freeman recently joining Cap 3 in mysterious role... that we may now have more information on.
El Mayimbe and Latino-Review have dropped the following claim about Martin Freeman's role in Civil War:
Martin Freeman to play an interrogator in #CAPTAINAMERICA #CivilWar & return in #BlackPanther. Speculation is that Freeman is playing Everett Ross, a US Government agent assigned to #wakanda. (Via Latino-Review.com) A photo posted by Umberto Gonzalez (@umbertogonzalez) on
For those who aren't Marvel Comics buffs (and probably for a lot of you who are MC buffs and still have no idea who this guy is):
Everett Ross appears mostly in later volumes of the Black Panther comic books (volumes 3 and 4), and is a government expert on Wakanda. That expertise has been used both for advisement, and as a means of breaching Wakanda's defenses - like when Ulysses Klaw invaded the country using Ross to advise special forces operatives.
So what would that brief history in Marvel Comics mean for Captain America: Civil War, if Freeman is indeed Ross? Well the obscurity of the character (to the general masses) means that Freeman would have a lot more freedom to build the character his own way. As for larger implications for the MCU:
It sounds like Civil War will be a platform to introduce T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and the concerns of Wakanda - possibly due to the events of Age of Ultron and the stolen Vibranium that Ulysses Klaw (Andy Serkis) surrendered to Ultron. Ross would be a natural liason for such a diplomatic issue - but one would expect him to wait and show any darkside treachery in a Black Panther movie (provided it's not a one-off role for Civil War).
Freeman has quickly branched out to capture geek cred (Hobbit, Sherlock), cult fame (The Office UK) and mainstream acclaim (FX's Fargo). It could be that latter role (as mild-mannered man-turned-murder Lester Nygaard in Fargo) that would really make Freeman a go-to for a character like Ross. If the government man shows a darker intent to aid in the plunder and/or conquer of Wakanda, Freeman could definitely pull off such a turn. Then again, his comedic chops are just as good, so a comedy relief character would be just as viable.
_____________________________________________
NEXT: Cap & Iron Man's Civil War Costumes
_____________________________________________
Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies. Civil War is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron is now in theaters, followed by Ant-Man on July 17 2015, Captain America: Civil War on May 6 2016, Doctor Strange on November 4 2016, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 on May 5 2017, Spider-Man on July 28, 2017, Thor: Ragnarok on November 3 2017, Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 on May 4 2018, Black Panther on July 6 2018, Captain Marvel on November 2 2018, Avengers: Infinity War - Part 2 on May 3 2019 and Inhumans on July 12, 2019.
Source: El Mayimbe and Latino-Review