‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’: Directors Sign On For Third Installment Of Movie Franchise Amid Claims That Upcoming Film Is The ‘Best Ever?’
Even though Captain America: The Winter Soldier hasn't even opened in theaters, Marvel appears to already be eyeing a third installment in the superhero's franchise, and has already tapped the directorial team behind Winter Soldier to helm it.
According to Variety, though a third film hasn't been officially greenlit by the studio yet, sources say that they have asked Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo to return, should the film be made.
Marvel has reportedly been very impressed with how the brothers directed the production slated to hit theaters in April, as well as positive screen testings, which prompted the decision to attach them to the next installment quickly.
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Though no writers or dates have been assigned for a third installment, and most of the company's focus is currently on Winter Soldier, a third film could be likely, as many of the actors have options for a third installment in their contracts. The only thing that could potentially threaten a third film is a less-than-stellar box office performance by Winter Soldier.
However, the movie is expected to perform well, especially considering the praise it has received recently from comic book writer Ed Brubaker, who revealed that he had been on set when some of the fight scenes were filmed, and that they were extremely impressive.
"It's the best movie that Marvel has ever made. The stuff I've seen from it, it also has two of the best fight scenes I've ever seen on film," he said.
"It's going to be amazing. It's gonna make a billion dollars. I got to go and be on set for a while and watch them film and stuff. It was just amazing. I couldn't be happier with how it came out," he added.
The move to secure the Russos so quickly for a second time is a departure from Marvel's usual way of handling things, as the company has previously been reluctant to commit to directors for sequel films before it was too early to ensure a film would be made.
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In fact, since the release of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel has rarely attached the same directors to subsequent films in the franchise. While Jon Favreau returned to direct Iron Man 2 in 2010, he was replaced with Shane Black for the third installment. Likewise, Kenneth Branagh did not return to direct Thor: The Dark World, and the Russo brothers replaced Joe Johnston after the first Captain America movie.
The only other director who has been attached to subsequent films early on is Joss Whedon, who directed 2012's mega-successful The Avengers, and was quickly attached to the 2015 release, The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier arrives in theaters April 4.
