Who Might Be In CAPTAIN AMERICA 3?

Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be released this weekend and Marvel already has set a release date Captain America 3. The third installment is set for May 6th, 2016 which will take place post-Avengers: Age of Ultron. Marvel has brought back the Russo brothers to director and are working the screenwriters on the script. Franchise writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus are also back.

It's crazy to think the third movie will actually be fifth Marvel movie with Steve Rogers. While it's hard to predict what is going to happen in the next film, we've had a few hints what could be in it. Of course, a lot of this could change in the next two years, but here's what we have so far. An easy assumption to make is that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) and others will be returning.

VILLAINS: Thomas Kretschmann who plays Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, has confirmed there is future for his character within the MCU (post-Age of Ultron). This makes perfect sense as Strucker is the face of the modern-day version of HYDRA and could be the type of standout main villain the franchise needs. Baron Zemo has also been teased in Winter Soldier concept artwork (one of their off-screen WWII missions was titled "Operation: Zemo"), and at one time both were in early drafts of The First Avenger script.

Crossbones is expected to make a return, depending on the outcome of Winter Soldier. We've heard that Drew Pearce is considering making a Crossbones and Sin Marvel One-Shot. Sin just happens to be the daughter of The Red Skull and is the villainous partner of Crossbones. She eventually takes the place of her father as the new Red Skull. If Marvel decides bringing back the original Red Skrull might be too difficult to explain, this might be their second option.

Now that it's possible HYDRA could be resurrected, we might finally see Cap get a female villain, which is long overdue. Madame Hydra is a longstanding Cap villain, but has yet to make an appearance. While Fox has ownership of her other codename (Viper), the title of Madame Hydra and her real name of Opheila Sarkissian can be used in Marvel's films. Opheila is also Strucker's second in-command, making her more likely to be used.

While speaking with BadassDigest franchise writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus gave hints to where the third film could be going and reveal that another Ed Brubaker storyline might be used. Christopher Markus hinted at "psychotic '50s Captain America". William Burnside is so obsessed with Captain America he changes his name to Steve Rogers, gets plastic surgery and takes an untested "super-soldier serum". His story was recently explored in Ed Brubaker's run of Captain America and would see the mentally-damaged would-be hero exploited similar to how the Winter Solider, eventually becoming a villain known as The Grand Director (a version of the villain brainwashes Sharon Carter). I wouldn't be shocked if Bucky's puppet-masters end up making a return, or perhaps Strucker and HYDRA are involved. While it's an interesting concept the writers are known for giving false information, previously teasing Modok for the second Captain America film.

McFeely: Oh yeah, you can probably predict some of the threads we would like to pick up again that we’ve laid out there. And we always go back to the comics and dive back in and look at anything we’ve missed in the last few years that might be relevant.

Markus: We’ve definitely set out on a more realistic road in the Cap movies, you know. Even more grounded than in the other MCU movies. And so it kind of rules out Cap fighting the Dinosaur Man or something like that. There are some that aren’t gonna start and other ones that — I mean there’s a couple we’re playing with right now that we really want to take elements from. Which we’ll not reveal....(after pressured).. “psychotic ’50s Cap.”

UNION JACK: James Montgamary Falsworth was played by J.J. Feild and is apart of the Union Jack mantle (Cap's British counterpart and fellow Invader). Being apart of the Howling Commandos, it's possible Steve will try to track him down or his family members. He eventually passes the torch in the modern-era to Joey Chapman (revealed to exist in Iron Man 2 as a professional F1 racer). Having a British member of Cap's team could open it up a bit internationally, since we've been getting mostly American supporting characters. It makes perfect sense for a political thriller like Winter Solider, but adding international members to his new team could harken to his Howler days. Possibly taking outsiders (non-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents) as members of his new unit, very similar to Sam Wilson/Falcon. 

Considering the new series Agent Carter is on the way which will likely show the origins of S.H.I.E.L.D., including characters like Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) and Falsworth (Feild) would make a lot of sense. Placing Union Jack in both the 40-50s and modern day could be very cool way to explore the tradition of passing down the heroic title. 

Since Bucky got a bit of resurrection in The Winter Soldier, it would be nice to see Marvel dust-off other members of the Howling Commandos. Even if it's just another Falsworth such as Jacqueline Falsworth/Spitfire or Joey Chapman who is given the title. Passing the title to a S.H.I.E.L.D. outsider could also make for an interesting way to introduce Joey as Union Jack. Making him a daredevil rogue, who is chosen for the heroic title rather than earning it. 

YELENA BELOVA/BLACK WIDOW II: Marvel's Kevin Feige has pretty much confirmed that Black Widow's stories will be told within other Marvel films. Stating she's pretty much stuck as a supporting character. Sharing major screentime in features like The Avengers, The Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron. Exploring her world in more depth could give us villain and Thunderbolt member Yelena Belova. The successor to the Black Widow title, is also known as Little Spider. Giving Natasha a rival/enemy of her own could be a way to give her own mini-adventure within a bigger story. 

How Baron Strucker Might Fit Into The MCU And What This Could Mean For CAPTAIN AMERICA 3

LatinoReview revealed yesterday that Baron von Strucker will play a key role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and even named some candidates for the role. It had been also reported the part would be more of way to open the film, and introduce Scarlet Witch/Quicksilver to audiences. Strucker could have a larger role in future films, including Captain America 3. He's one of Cap's more notorious villains and with more solo sequels post-Winter Soldier, we have to assume Strucker could be apart of future movies. Strucker's origins for the film haven't been confirmed, but has slowed aging allowing to fight Cap in both WWII and present day settings. Below is a bit of the character's history via MarvelWikia.

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, a former Nazi officer, was one of the leaders of Hydra and an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and the interests of the United States of America and of the free world in general. He was physically augmented to be nearly ageless and was seemingly killed in the past to return to plague the world with schemes of world domination and genocide time and time again.

Baron von Strucker came from a line of Prussian noblemen who were all military leaders, and was recruited by the Nazi Party in the 1930s. Von Strucker rose through the ranks and became wing commander of the Death's-Head Squadron. Von Strucker fought Nick Fury, Captain America, the Invaders and several other wartime heroes, losing every time. Adolf Hitler was angered by von Strucker's many losses and ordered the baron's death. Finding an ally in the Red Skull, von Strucker was sent to eastern Asia to build a power base; this eventually led to the creation of the international terrorist organization Hydra.

There might have been hints to Baron Strucker's inclusion to the MCU back in Iron Man 3. Aldrich Killian mentions being apart of Advanced Idea Mechanics, a terrorist organization that is a splinter group of HYDRA and founded by Strucker. It's possible that the Baron was going to be the buyer of the Killian's extremis-tech, or was in fact the one paying for the whole experiment. There has been speculation that A.I.M. could come into play in Edgar Wright's Ant-Man.

Toby Jones will return as Dr. Zola in The Winter Soldier, although it hasn't been confirmed if he'll be in his robotic form which was hinted to in First Avenger. Perhaps, the character has links to Strucker in the film and could end up the puppet-master of both Zola and Bucky. There were teases to Zola brainwashing Bucky in the first movie, which might lead to him becoming Winter Soldier. We already learned that he'll be the boss of villainous twins Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Johnson), being behind Winter Soldier too wouldn't be a stretch. It might even be a great cliffhanger, as the film is expected to be the lead-in for Age of Ultron.

Frank Grillo plays S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Brock Rumlow in Winter Soldier, but will eventually become the villain Crossbones. He'll work with and be at-odds with Rogers in the film, leading him to take out the super soldier. It's unknown if this turn to Crossbones happens in the upcoming sequel, or is explored further down the line. Grillo has hinted about this transformation, but nothing is set in stone at the moment. I wouldn't be shocked to see him return apart of Strucker's team in Age of Ultron or future Cap installments.

WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE IN CAPTAIN AMERICA 3

The likelihood of including Strucker is probably to resurrect HYDRA as a foil for S.H.I.E.L.D and Captain America. HYDRA has been one of the biggest launching grounds for villains and world domination plots. If we're going to have more Cap films, brining them back as a serious world threat ( something currently lacking in the MCU) would be a great way to continue Rogers' journey into present day. We don't really have a human threat compelling enough at the moment, it's been mostly cosmic and artificial origins (Thanos, Loki and Ultron). The Baron could be a way to give S.H.I.E.L.D an actual reason to exist, and give Rogers something worth battling between Avengers installments.

Let's face it, the villains of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D aren't worth Cap's time. Having HYDRA combine forces with A.I.M. and Roxxon could be a way to give the MCU real human adversaries.  Not to mention including advanced military technology like drones, robotic-enhancements and other weapons could put S.H.I.E.L.D on their asses. Think of how overwhelmed they would be if the enemy was using tech similar to Elysium or Avatar.

Strucker's right-hand is Ophelia Sarkissian, better known as Madame Hydra. She's also known as Viper, and that angle of the character was used in The Wolverine, turning her into a mutant scientist. Fox didn't refer to her as Ophelia but only Ms. Green along with a blond look over, leading me to believe that the Madame Hydra-side of the character is still game for Marvel to use, as she was clearly more connected to Captain America than Wolverine in the comics.

Marvel Studios has been upping their game concerning supporting female characters with Widow, Pepper, Sif and Jane getting more action and screen time. They haven't given us a main female villain in these films yet. There were some minor female villains in Iron Man 3, which is a step in the right direction but it would be nice to the ladies also given the heavier roles. A character like Whitney Frost would have been perfect for Iron Man 3, and for all we knew Maya Hensen (played by Rebecca Hall) could have easily became that villain but turned out to be just another minor character. Frost could show up in Age of Ultron but is unlikely set for Iron Man 4 (RDJ has signed on for Avengers 2-3, but not another Iron Man sequel), other sequels might be set for Phase Three. Nothing at this point is ruling out Thor 3 (Hela, Amora The Enchantress) or Captain America 3 (Madame Hydra, Sin), two projects that very well might see female villains.

The character hasn't been brought up recently but she was in early drafts of The First Avenger, along with Strucker and Baron Zemo.  I assume Sarkissian could show up in Age of Ultron, if not then Captain America 3, as you rarely see Strucker without her. The Avengers cartoon had Strucker as a primary villain on several occasions, which also included Madame as his second in command.

I'd love to see Eva Green (300: Rise of An Empire, Casino Royale, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For) or Ruth Wilson (Saving Mr. Banks, Lone Ranger, Luther) end up with the villainous role, as the two actresses are very capable of playing convincing villains. It doesn't hurt Green worked with possible Strucker candidate Marton Csokas in Kingdom of Heaven. Wilson had been my choice for Scarlet Witch but with Olsen now in the role, having Ruth still involved with the MCU is a must. Her role as Alice in Luther alongside Thor's Idris Elba, proves she's also able to play a strong villain, being apart of two Disney projects and linked as a candidate for Ms. Marvel could help her land in the MCU too.

It had been rumored that Baron Zemo would have an appearance in Winter Soldier, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Gods of Egypt, Game of Thrones, Oblivion, Headhunters) was linked as a possible candidate for the role. It's a possibility that Marvel was looking to cast Strucker and not Zemo at the time, as Nikolaj does fit the character description for Strucker (that was mentioned by LatinoReview). Zemo is still a great Marvel character since he has linage (like Union Jack) and has played both villain along with ally in recent incarnations. He could very well become the Loki character for the Captain America franchise if handled properly.

I've had a few actors on a wish-list to play Zemo, but after seeing Daniel Brühl take on powerful roles in films such as Inglourious Basterds and Rush (co-starring with Thor's Chris Hemsworth), I can totally support him for the role. Not to mention he's able to speak German, French and Italian, a talent that could be explored in a globetrotting adventure franchise like Captain America. Daniel could see his performance in Rush earn him an Oscar nomination, a key part of getting on Marvel's radar.

If Marvel is looking for more of a bruiser to play Zemo, my choice would be South African actor Sharlto Copley. The actor has taken on a steady stream of action roles in District 9 and The A-Team (alongside Rocket Raccoon's Bradley Cooper), not to mention playing a villains in Elysium and Oldboy. Copley is currently shooting Chappie which co-stars X-Men actor Hugh Jackman. Kruger has to be one of the best villains of 2013, seeing Sharlto take on more roles like him would be awesome.

Marvel has been hiring some rough and tumble actors for supporting roles in Winter Soldier, mainly Frank Grillo (The Grey, Warrior, Homefront, End of Watch) and Callan Mulvey (300: Rise of An Empire, Hunter) as S.H.I.E.L.D agents. It would be nice to see Union Jack finally come into play, as the character was hinted to back in Iron Man 2. I would assume that Joey Chapman would be the incarnation of the hero, since that was the UK racer mentioned in the Iron Man sequel. Giving Cap his own team like The Invaders could be a way to introduce another iconic heroes like Union Jack.

I've been dying to see Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom, 300: Rise of An Empire, Strike Back) take on a Marvel role, and Union Jack could be a perfect one for him. The Aussie badass was linked for roles in Guardians of The Galaxy and Star Wars: Episode VII, both Marvel and Disney see potential in the actor.

New IRON MAN 3 Image From Empire Confirms HYDRA's Terrorist Splinter Group A.I.M., As Stark Rocks An Advanced Idea Mechanics T-Shirt

SPOILER SPECULATION: Plot Theories Of IRON MAN 3

The new trailer for Iron Man 3 seems to have given fans a lot to speculate over not to mention confirming some of the rumors as well. Here are a couple of my thoughts on what may or may not be in the film from previous rumors, rumblings, set photos and now this footage. Be warned this could very well spoil the film for you if you read any further.

THE TEN RINGS RETURN: Similar to The Dark Knight Rises, Iron Man 3 looks to close the circle of a trilogy by bringing back old villains. The terrorist group The Ten Rings headed by The Mandarin (self-proclaimed terrorist) looks to get very personal by blowing up Tony's home. We should assume they are very well armed this time-around and will be a force to be feared.

MANDARIN UPDATED AND RINGS COSMIC POWERED: It's looking like Ben Kingsley's Mandarin will be less a Fu Manchu and more terrorist guru. Previously, it had been rumored that the Chinese version of the film would have to change the villains because of the sensitivity of Chinese audiences. By sound of Ben's voice he might end up becoming more of an Eastern European baddie (possibly Chechnyan). His rings look like they may or may not be cosmic relics, could Mandarin be yet another pawn of Thanos?

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS GETTING BUMPED-OFF: In the image above things aren't looking so good for Happy Hogan (Favreau). After the death scene in Avengers it looks like anyone is fair-game to get the ol' axe, even Pepper. Notice Happy's chest which looks like his own chest-reactor. My previous speculation of The Iron Legion could be at play here. Where friends of Stark come together and don their own suits to save the day. Perhaps, Hogan isn't so lucky fighting the new threat.

WHITNEY FROST/MADAME MASQUE: Nothing confirmed here but it's looking very likely that French actress Stephanie Sozstak (seen above in the screengrab) has been at least cast in a similar role. Frost has been both friend and enemy of Stark so she could help or try to hurt him within the entire film. There is also talk this is just a random hook-up scene but Stephanie seems a little too aggressive.

PEPPER BECOMING RESCUE: This image gives the impression that Pepper is in a bad place from the look on her face. Possibly getting her own chest reactor like Tony, leading her to get her own suit with the nickname Rescue. It's been mentioned before that Feige and Shane Black would love to see Potts in her own suit. Finally, giving Pepper equal footing with Tony as one of the stronger female characters in the Marvel universe.

NO S.H.I.E.L.D. OR AVENGERS HELPING TONY: While there had been talk of replacing Agent Coulson with Maria Hill as Tony's new assigned S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. The organization along with fellow Avengers won't be there to help Stark in his darkest hour. It's pretty obvious that he might have to go off-the-grid to keep himself and others alive.

NEW ARMOR AN ANDROID: In Avengers we heard Tony refer to life-model decoy which is reference to androids. The new suit seems to be piloting itself in a few spot unless a villain or someone else is actually in there. If anyone would be able to create the technology that would lead to Ultron/Vision it would be Stark. It seems like there are some glitches if that's the case.

KILLIAN A BRIDGE TO WINTER SOLDIER: Killian (Pearce) seems to be heading up Advanced Idea Mechanics if the set photos are to be believed. Another group linked to HYDRA and started by Baron Strucker. It wouldn't be shocking to see him revealed as indeed Strucker leading to a resurrection of HYDRA or at the very least planting seeds for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

DREAM CAST: CAPTAIN AMERICA 2

We've already been given hints that Captain America 2 will likely include Nick Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Maria Hill as supporting characters. However, I feel like we could see a couple more staple characters from the Cap comics join the ranks of SHIELD possibly creating a new unit The Invaders. Not to mention some iconic villains that were supposed to be included in First Avenger. Those villains may or may not end up as wranglers of Winter Soldier.

RALPH FIENNES AS BARON WOLFGANG VAN STRUCKER

DANIEL BRUHL AS BARON ZEMO

RUTH WILSON AS MADAME HYDRA

MICHAEL EALY AS SAM WILSON/FALCON

ALICE EVE AS SHARON CARTER/AGENT 13

SULLIVAN STAPLETON AS JOEY CHAPMAN/UNION JACK

Rundown Of Possible Villains And Allies For Captain America 2

Marvel Studios is currently on a search to find a director to helm Captain America 2. As ten names are in the running but only four of those have been revealed. Kevin Feige, Chris Evans and the writers have stated that the sequel could be set in the present and may also include WWII flashbacks. There have been hints to what villains we can expect for the second installment but it's sort up in the air when it comes supporting heroes. Director Joe Johnston mentioned that Marvel could be saving Winter Soldier for his own spin-off, so he could be excluded until that happens. I've come up with some ideas of what the new additions should be along with previous hints to who the villains could be. I'm hoping that Marvel is smart enough to hold off bringing back Red Skull and Zola until later on in the franchise.


CAP'S NEW TEAM MEMBERS

SHARON CARTER: The niece (grand niece more likely) of Peggy Carter, Sharon was inspired by the WWII adventures of her Aunt Peggy alongside Captain America. This lead her decide to follow a similar path into the military eventually becoming an elite SHIELD Agent. While nothing has been confirmed there is speculation that Amanda Righetti was playing this character at the end of The First Avenger. I'm sure this will be cleared up in Avengers if not there is still hope that Sharon Carter will indeed end up Cap's new love interest. Perhaps also helping fill in the blanks of what happened to Peggy.

FALCON: Sam Wilson better known as The Falcon was a protege of sorts of Cap and the two had series of team-up comics. If Cap assembles a present time team I would expect Marvel to include one of Steve's best friends. I'm not sure if his costume from the comics would translate well but it could be interesting to see him re-imagined as a fighter pilot/SHIElD Agent. I could see the sequel becoming a buddy superhero film if Falcon does show up.

CONTESSA: The SHIELD agent was one of the few actual female characters without powers in the Marvel universe that's been able to stick around for decades. Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine would eventually exit SHIELD to become the new Madame Hydra replacing Viper. It would be interesting to see one of these agents turn out to be a sleeper for HYDRA or to for her to just switch sides over jealously or money. One of my biggest problems with the Marvel films is that they rarely have more than one female heroine in their films. Avengers is going to up that with Maria Hill and Black Widow in the same movie but it's unknown how much "action" Hill will actually see. This is another character that Amanda Righetti could have playing at the end of First Avenger.

UNION JACK: Joey Chapman is the current iteration of the British legacy hero Union Jack. Joey got his own Easter Egg in Iron Man 2 as one of the drivers listed in the race, so Marvel has established he exists in the film universe. The masked hero wears a bulletproof costume, is a knife/sword expert along with exceptional training in martial arts and other weapons (guns ect). James Montgomery Falsworth of the Howling Commandos played by JJ Field was also a shout-out to Union Jack in the First Avenger. Falsworth and his family took up the Union Jack persona before passing it down to Chapman. Union Jack is also a member of The Invaders and if we don't see the return of Howling Commandos in present time (ala Infinity Formula) the Invaders could be a great replacement team name.


VILLAINS

BARON ZEMO: Zemo had been rumored since the casting of First Avenger and it was revealed by the screenwriters that he indeed was in early drafts of the script. Zemo is easily Cap's second most popular villain and needs to be front and center if he is used. If he ends up in the sequel he's costume will need some remodeling and I doubt an actor will be hidden by a mask for the whole film.

BARON STRUCKER: Strucker has a rather large presence as the contemporary head of HYDRA being it's leader continuing the villainous terrorist group started by the Red Skull. We could see HYDRA becoming a world threat again with the classic green uniforms finally being used. I have to believe that both Strucker and Madame Hydra are strong candidates because they've been used in the Super Soldier video game and the current Avengers cartoon from Disney. Baron Strucker was also in the early drafts of the First Avenger script but was ultimately removed.

MADAME HYDRA: Madame Hydra is Strucker's second in command and the leader of the HYDRA sub-group The Serpent Seven. The role has been filled by many different women including Viper and former SHIELD agent Contessa Valentina Allegro De Fontaine. It could be an interesting to see SHIELD infiltrated by HYDRA having them trying to take the group down by covert methods.

A.I.M.: Writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus have mentioned their affection for Modok who is the leader of the arms dealing terrorist group A.I.M. They even stated they wanted to include Modok in a sequel having Peter Dinklage (Games of Thrones) in the role. A.I.M. could just as easily fit in Iron Man 3 depending on the direction Marvel is going for with that. If Modok does end up in the film they'd have to make him a lot more realistic to be taken seriously as a villan.

Could Zemo & Strucker Be The Villains In Captain America 2?

It's been long rumored that Captain America villain and leader of the Masters of Evil, Baron Zemo would be featured in Captain America: The First Avenger. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely confirmed to IFC that in early versions of the script Zemo and Baron Strucker indeed were involved. However, it seemed like a waste to use both so early in the franchise. It's likely that the two villains could show up in Captain America 2 or future Marvel films.

There were a few classic villains that were planned for the first film, only to be removed in subsequent drafts. The pair previously revealed that evil despot Baron Zemo was in an early draft, but he wasn't the only sinister side character in those versions of the script.

"Baron Strucker was in there for a while, but he wasn't doing enough to justify wasting him in the film," said McFeely. "We certainly tried things, and ended up settling on the more useful Red Skull and Arnim Zola. But they're all still on the table," he teased. 

"There wasn't a sequence with Master Man that ended up on the cutting room floor or anything," laughed Markus. "But there was an endless array of scenes we could've drawn from, and may draw from in the future. I'm not being cryptic when I say that, either - I'm just being a comic book geek. For example, some day, whether it be in an 'Iron Man' movie or a 'Captain America' movie or any other Marvel movie, I want to see M.O.D.O.K. float down the hall." 

Zemo along with creating The Masters of Evil (a group of villains that fight The Avengers) is also responsible for putting together the original Thunderbolts group. The Thunderbolts were similar to the Dark Avengers as they are villains posing as heroes to gain the world's trust and plan to eventually take it over. Other incarnations of the group included villains released from super prisons to reduce their sentences working for SHIELD on different missions. I wouldn't be shocked to see Zemo become a baddie in Avengers 2.

Strucker on the other hand is heavily involved with both Hydra and A.I.M. which could mean that he might be a modern villain that could resurrect Hydra or bring A.I.M. into the forefront. Considering Modok a known member of A.I.M. has been mentioned a few times by the screenwriters. He seems a good bet for Captain America 2 or the Nick Fury film. Hopefully we'll see Madame Hydra ends up alongside Strucker.