‘Captain America: Civil War’ Casts Daniel Bruhl as Its Villain
Even though the upcoming third ‘Captain America’ movie is based on Marvel’s ‘Civil War’ mini-series, where the heroes of the Marvel Universe faced off with one another in a battle over their right to privacy, the ‘Civil War’ film still needs a villain for Chris Evans’ Cap and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man (and new addition Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman) to face off with as well. Although they didn’t reveal the identity of his character, Deadline reports that Daniel Bruhl will play the guy to pester the feuding Avengers.
Bruhl’s star-making turn came in last fall’s ‘Rush,’ where he faced off against Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, in the true-life story of a heated rivalry between Formula 1 drivers. But let’s get real here: You don’t care about that. All you care about is who Bruhl’s playing in ‘Civil War.’ We have some thoughts.
Given the presence of Black Panther, the first possibility is Black Panther arch-nemesis Klaw, a baddie who controls sound. But there’s a widespread theory that Andy Serkis is playing Klaw in ‘Avengers 2.’ If we’re ruling Klaw out as a result, our next guess is Baron Zemo, an iconic Captain American villain and a perpetual thorn in the side of the Avengers. Several generations of Zemos have hounded Cap and his buddies; the first was a Nazi who waged war against the Allies and later his son then took up his mantle (and signature purple costume) to resume hostilities against Steve Rogers. Not to typecast Bruhl, but he is German; it would be a good fit for him.
But wait! Variety’s Justin Kroll tweets more info: Bruhl isn’t the “main” villain of ‘Civil War,’ who will actually be Crossbones, the character played by Frank Grillo in this year’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’ Kroll also claims that Bruhl’s character might then reappear as the “main villain” in 2016’s ‘Doctor Strange.’ If that last part is true, it leaves us at a bit of a loss. Captain America and Doctor Strange don’t have a ton of overlapping bad guys, at least none we can think of, and it’s hard to imagining how a supernatural Doc Strange nemesis like Dormammu or Nightmare might fit into the more grounded story of ‘Civil War.’ Maybe Marvel’s gonna combine Baron Zemo with the Doctor Strange villain Baron Mordu? I mean, they’re both barons. Or, perhaps, Variety is confusing their Barons?
At the very latest, we will know who Bruhl’s playing when ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, opens in theaters on May 6, 2016. What’s your best guess for his character? I say Baron Zordu.