Chris Evans talks AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

You’ve already heard what a certain thunder god has had to say regarding his role and part in the Avengers sequel, Age Of Ultron? But what about Captain America? The heart, soul and leader of the team, Cap has arguably had the roughest journey to date, as he had to face a brave new world after being frozen for several decades and the destruction of SHIELD in his first sequel, The Winter Soldier. Speaking to Collider, Captain America star Chris Evans explained that once again, Steve Rogers was going to have to re-adjust to these recent events:

You know, he’s adjusting. The team doesn’t have anyone to report to now. There’s no more S.H.I.E.L.D. so we’re all kind of depending upon one another, but that gives him an opportunity to kind of take more of a leadership role I suppose. Since there’s no one else giving him orders, he doesn’t have to question the chain of command or anyone’s motives, but it does mean he needs to rely on his team a lot more so it’s just kind of added a little bit more tension to the actual dynamic of the Avengers. But, with these movies it’s hard to kind of dive too deeply into any one character’s plotline, you know, what I mean?

That’s just the nature of how these moves are gonna have to work. Do your movie and then you come to Avengers and we all gotta address a group conflict and then go back to your conflict. There’s too many plots, too many characters to try and spend too much time with your own individual conflict, you know.

Age Of Ultron marks the fourth appearance of Captain America. And Evans says that he has become quite comfortable wielding the shield of the first avenger:

You know, the first movie you’re terrified. The second one you’re just, intimidated because there’s so many great people but by Winter Soldieris when you really start kind of hitting your stride and feeling like you’re making some core progress with the character and you get a little more comfortable speaking up when you have opinions.

And the Russos are so great and I love that movie and it all just kind of worked out in terms of the evolution of my personal connection with character. So at this point I’m feeling really good and, like I said, it’s hard to give too much individual attention to your own plotline in a movie like this. I’m very excited for [Captain America: Civil War].

Barring one or two moments in the Avengers, Captain America didn’t have much of a chance to shine amid the likes of Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor. Sure, he may be human, but he’s also a super soldier, something that The Winter Soldier adequately showed off. Expect the good Captain to be less of a glorified acrobat, and more of the ultimate soldier in AOU:

You know, in terms of the character Joss got it right with the first Captain America and not only that he’s a fanboy, you know? He’s loved comic books so it’s not like you’re talking to someone who might not have a handle of what audiences want, or who this character is at his core. The only thing I talked to him about was his ability consistency. With the second Captain America we really pushed the envelope in terms of what this guy is capable of which I was excited to see. Because in the first Captain America he’s just strong. In Avengers it was still, in my opinion, a little bit punch, punch, kick, kick.

You just can’t be Jason Bourne. We gotta see this guy do stuff that’s like yeah, he deserves a spot on this squad. You know, in [Winter Soldier] he’s pinballing off of jets and doing unbelievable things. I don’t wanna take a step back so we gotta make sure that he’s continuing training. His fight style needs to advance a little bit. I don’t wanna go full Bruce Lee, but there needs to be more than just haymakers and fun kicks. There needs to be a consistent display of strength. Utilize your environment in a way that’s like, “that’s right he can pick up a motorcycle with one hand…”

Let’s, let’s not forget that I can get punched by a human and get knocked down. It just doesn’t make sense to me. So that’s the only thing and that’s a tough thing to try to remember. You know, even in Avengers, you know, I punched a heavy bag across a room. If I hit a person he’s not getting back up. It’s just the way it’s gonna go, so we can’t do this any other way. That’s it. Just trying to keep your finger on that pulse and it’s tricky with all these characters.

The foes are a bit more of a challenge so in a way he’s not as effective as I’d like him to be. You know, you have to measure your enemy’s ability based on his capacity to win and sometimes Cap has to take that one to the chin. Be the one who gets thrown around a little bit ‘cause, you know, these Ultrons are pretty powerful. So how has his fighting style evolved? It’s not like incorporating like Wing Chun or Jeet Kune Do or anything like that. I’m trying to incorporate a lot more reflexes, you know, what I mean?

Captain America is easily one of my favourite characters in the Marvel universe, a super soldier who fights for peace and for an American ideal that any nation or person can look up to. I’m hoping that we’ll see more of Rogers taking names and kicking ass, when Avengers: Age Of Ultron hits the ground running on May 1.

Last Updated: March 4, 2015