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102-856: Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America . Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures , it is the fifth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Joe Johnston , written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely , and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America alongside Tommy Lee Jones , Hugo Weaving , Hayley Atwell , Sebastian Stan , Dominic Cooper , Toby Jones , Neal McDonough , Derek Luke , and Stanley Tucci . During World War II , Rogers,
204-422: A sequel , Barb Wire (1996), The Phantom (1996), Black Mask (1996), Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: Ole vs. Kakuranger (1996), Revive! Ultraman (1996), Gekisou Sentai Carranger vs. Ohranger (1997) and Steel (1997). Marvel Comics ' Captain America (1991) did not have a theatrical release , and Roger Corman 's The Fantastic Four (1994) was produced solely for the legal maintenance of
306-460: A $ 525 million investment from Merrill Lynch , allowing them to independently produce ten films, including Captain America . Paramount Pictures agreed to distribute the film. Originally, the film would stand alone; producer Kevin Feige said "about half" the movie would be set during World War II before moving into the modern day. Producer Avi Arad said, "The biggest opportunity with Captain America
408-457: A 1940s-style hospital room. Hearing a radio broadcast of a baseball game that he attended in 1941, Rogers grows suspicious and escapes from the room. He finds himself in contemporary Times Square , where S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury informs him that he has been asleep for nearly 70 years. In a post-credits scene , Fury approaches Rogers and proposes a mission with worldwide ramifications. Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury ,
510-561: A British member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Feild called his part in the film "a very physical job. I play one of the Captain's sidekicks so I've been running around shooting things and blowing things up and trying to look cool for about a year." Additionally, Richard Armitage portrays Heinz Kruger , the Red Skull's top assassin, Lex Shrapnel portrays Gilmore Hodge , a candidate for the super soldier program, Michael Brandon portrays Brandt,
612-554: A United States Senator who recognizes the PR potential of Captain America. Jeff Goldblum had originally been approached to play the part; he later played Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok . David Bradley appears as the church keeper where the Tesseract is held. Natalie Dormer portrays Lorraine, a private who attempts to seduce Rogers, and Jenna Coleman appears as Connie, Bucky's date at
714-512: A by-the-numbers prequel for Marvel Studios' forthcoming The Avengers movie". Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter had mixed feelings about the film, writing, "As the last Marvel prequel that includes two Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies before next summer's The Avengers , this one feels perhaps a little too simplistic and routine". A sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier , directed by Anthony and Joseph Russo ,
816-519: A cell phone". Captain America: The First Avenger was formatted and screened in IMAX for the first time on August 31, 2018, as part of Marvel Studios' 10-year anniversary IMAX festival. Captain America: The First Avenger was released by Paramount Home Entertainment on Blu-ray , Blu-ray 3D and DVD on October 25, 2011. The three-disc set includes the film on Blu-ray in high-definition 3D and in high definition 2D, as well as on standard definition DVD with
918-573: A difference where they live or serve. In July 2011, Paramount Pictures promoted the film during an Independence Day celebration hosted by the Chicago White Sox . Promotional partners include Harley-Davidson , Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. In February 2011, Marvel Comics launched the eight-issue digital comic Captain America: First Vengeance , on the same day as the first trailer aired. Written by Fred Van Lente and featuring
1020-601: A digital copy. The two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes a high-definition presentation of the film and a standard-definition presentation with a digital copy. Both sets include over an hour of bonus material, including the short film A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer , a sneak peek of The Avengers , six behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes with commentary by director Joe Johnston, director of photography Shelly Johnson and editor Jeff Ford. In its first week of release, Captain America: The First Avenger topped
1122-558: A frail man, is transformed into the super-soldier Captain America and must stop the Red Skull (Weaving) from using the Tesseract as an energy source for world domination. The film began as a concept in 1997 and was scheduled for distribution by Artisan Entertainment . However, a lawsuit disrupted the project and was not settled until September 2003. In 2005, Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch , and planned to finance and release
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#17328549596781224-456: A good person. We make a point of that in the script: Don't change who you are once you go from Steve Rogers to this super-soldier; you have to stay who you are inside, that's really what's important more than your strength and everything... It's also the idea that this is not about America so much as it is about the spirit of doing the right thing. It's an international cast and an international story. It's about what makes America great and what make
1326-591: A green screen so his element could be reduced digitally, again with everyone in the scene but with Chris absent so that the shrunken Steve could be re-inserted into the scene, and finally with a body double mimicking Chris's actions in case the second technique were required. When Chris had to interact with other characters in the scene, we had to either lower Chris or raise the other actors on apple boxes or elevated walkways to make skinny Steve shorter in comparison. For close-ups, Chris' fellow actors had to look at marks on his chin that represented where his eyes would be after
1428-598: A guy like Jim Morita fighting in WWII. I felt that if I had built a factual basis for him, I could then let go and permit the character to exist in the Marvel Universe, which allows for a lot of imaginative circumstances." Bruno Ricci stars as Jacques Dernier , a French member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Ricci auditioned for and got the part while filming the French series The Hawk . JJ Feild appears as James Montgomery Falsworth ,
1530-464: A lawsuit arose between Marvel Comics and Joe Simon over the ownership of Captain America copyrights, disrupting the development process of the film. The lawsuit was eventually settled in September 2003. Following the settlement, Marvel was preparing to license the film rights to Warner Bros. until producer David Maisel suggested that the company produce the film themselves. In 2005, Marvel received
1632-513: A light, clever and deftly balanced adventure picture with real lump in the throat nostalgia, with Nazis – who make the best villains, and with loving references to Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark . ' " Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times remarked, "I enjoyed the movie. I appreciated the 1940s period settings and costumes, which were a break with the usual generic cityscapes. I admired
1734-641: A mysterious relic called the Tesseract , which possesses untold godly powers, from the town of Tønsberg in German-occupied Norway . In New York City , Steve Rogers is rejected for U.S. Army recruitment due to his small stature and poor health. While attending the Stark Expo, an event held by famous engineer Howard Stark , Rogers attempts to enlist again. Overhearing Rogers tell his best friend, James "Bucky" Barnes , that he wants to fight for his country, Dr. Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist. He
1836-655: A particular superhero character often focuses on the hero's origin story , and typically introduces the hero's nemesis. Many superhero films are adaptations of existing works. Superhero comics from publishers such as Marvel , DC , and Dark Horse ( The Umbrella Academy universe) have frequently been adapted into film. Others are based on television properties, such as films from the Japanese Ultraman , Kamen Rider , and Super Sentai franchises. Both Underdog and The Powerpuff Girls are based on their respective animated television series. The Green Hornet
1938-459: A policy limiting the number of foreign films screened there each year, but it eventually opened there in the second weekend of September. Days before the film's release, a teaser trailer for The Avengers that served as a post-credits scene of Captain America: The First Avenger was briefly leaked online. Entertainment Weekly speculated it came from a preview screening and described the footage as "shaky, fuzzy, flickering and obviously filmed on
2040-455: A portal into space which he is pulled through. The Tesseract burns through the plane and falls into the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without risking its weapons detonating, Rogers radios Carter to say goodbye before crashing in the Arctic. After the war ends, Stark recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate the aircraft and Rogers is presumed dead. Rogers awakens in
2142-544: A rotation of artists, the story is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Each of the eight issues focuses on a specific character from the movie, heroes and villains alike, and what brought them to the point where the movie begins. Sega announced a video game tie-in titled Captain America: Super Soldier , that was released on July 19, 2011, for the Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , Wii , and Nintendo DS . Marvel released
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#17328549596782244-471: A separate interview that month, he described the film's pre-production: " Rick Heinrichs is production-designing and we're set up down in Manhattan Beach , California. ... We have eight or ten really talented artists, and we all just sit around all day and draw pictures and say, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we could do this?' It's that phase of the production where money doesn't matter: 'Let's put all
2346-416: A summer 2008 theatrical release date. Jon Favreau approached Arad to direct the film as a comedy, but he chose to make Iron Man instead. In April 2006, David Self was hired to write the script. He explained that Captain America was his favorite superhero as a child because "my dad told me I could one day be Captain America". Joe Johnston met with Marvel to discuss directing the film. Captain America
2448-566: A very bony structure. They thinned out Weaving's cheeks and lower lip, hollowed out his eyes, and removed his eyelashes and nose to make him appear more like the Red Skull character. Closing credits were created by visual effects firm Rok!t by means of 3-D and stereoscopic processing that used iconic American war propaganda, such as James Montgomery Flagg 's Uncle Sam recruitment poster from World War I and J. Howard Miller 's " We Can Do It! " poster from World War II. The soundtrack album for Captain America: The First Avenger includes
2550-426: Is "a new challenge and it's exciting". Feige insisted that the conversion would not compromise the film's image quality, as the decision to release the film in 3-D was made early in development, and that "an unprecedented amount of time" would be devoted to the conversion process, to render all the film's visual effects in true 3-D. In November 2010, Stanley Tucci stated that he had completed filming his scenes and that
2652-509: Is as a man 'out of time', coming back today, looking at our world through the eyes of someone who thought the perfect world was small-town United States . Sixty years go by, and who are we today? Are we better?" He cited the Back to the Future trilogy as an influence, and claimed he had "someone in mind to be the star, and definitely someone in mind to be the director". In February 2006, Arad hoped to have
2754-538: Is based primarily on the original radio series and its 1960s television adaptation . Anime superhero films are often based on manga and television shows . Some superhero films, like the RoboCop series, The Meteor Man , the Unbreakable film series , Hancock , Darkman and They Call Me Jeeg , were developed as original projects for the screen. According to box office income figures from Box Office Mojo ,
2856-511: Is part of Phase One of the MCU. Paramount opted against altering the American-centric title when distributing to foreign territories, instead offering international markets a choice between the official title and the alternative The First Avenger . Many international distributors chose to retain the original title, believing the franchise name to be more identifiable than the alternative, and that
2958-484: Is recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Stark, Colonel Chester Phillips , and British MI6 agent Peggy Carter . Phillips is not convinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure until Rogers selflessly jumps on a grenade as part of a test. Erskine reveals to Rogers that he was a scientist under Schmidt, until
3060-498: Is solidly old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment." Metacritic , which assigns a weighted average score, rated the film 66 out of 100 based on 43 reviews from critics indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel gave Captain America: The First Avenger a positive review, saying, "Johnston has delivered
3162-616: The Ultraman Tiga TV series led to several films based on it and later installments, including Ultraman Tiga & Ultraman Dyna: Warriors of the Star of Light (1998), Ultraman Gaia: The Battle in Hyperspace (1999) and Ultraman Tiga: The Final Odyssey (2000). Adam Sternbergh of Vulture.com has stated that The Matrix (1999) was influenced by comic books, cyberpunk fiction, Japanese anime , and Hong Kong action films , reinvented
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3264-905: The Fox network in the United States. Paramount paid $ 3 million to run the 30-second advertisement. The first full trailer was released in March 2011. In May 2011, the USO girls from the film performed aboard the USS ; Intrepid at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum as a part of the 2011 Fleet Week celebration in New York City. In June 2011, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins teamed with Marvel to search for real-life super-soldiers. The contest sought nominations for veterans or active U.S. servicepersons making
3366-549: The French political satire film Mr. Freedom (1969), the Polish parody Hydrozagadka (1970), and the American B movies Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966) and The Wild World of Batwoman (1966). Following the success of Star Wars which increased interest in fantasy and science fiction films, Richard Donner 's Superman (1978), the first major big-budget DC feature film,
3468-555: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The MCU alone has earned over $ 31 billion. The MCU film Avengers: Endgame (2019) is the highest-grossing superhero film to date, grossing $ 2,797,501,328 worldwide. It briefly held the record for highest-grossing film of all time before being surpassed by Avatar . Superhero stories gained popularity through comic books and were later adapted into film serials . Early examples include Mandrake
3570-597: The One-Shot short film, Agent Carter , on Iron Man 3 ' s home media release, featuring Atwell reprising her role as Peggy Carter. Set a year after The First Avenger , the film sees Carter on an SSR mission post-World War II. Superhero film A superhero film is a genre centered on superheroes and their adventures, with characters often possessing superhuman abilities or exceptional skills. Superhero films typically blend elements of action , adventure , fantasy , or science fiction . The first film about
3672-693: The Stanley Dock area of Liverpool , both doubling for the period's Lower East Side of Manhattan . Further scenes were scheduled to be shot in Liverpool's Albert Dock . Johnston included a scene of a technology fair that includes in passing a display case containing the 1940s android superhero known as the original Human Torch , another character, like Captain America, in comics published by Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics . Some filming also took place at Pinewood Studios, with Pinewood's A Stage, their South Dock, and their Underwater Stage all being used by
3774-649: The mobile game , Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty , in July 2011. A toy line was released as well. The world premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger was held on July 19, 2011, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood , California . The film was screened at San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2011. It was commercially released in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2011. Captain America: The First Avenger
3876-532: The zeitgeist and how it's changed in the last two weeks. Things are being adjusted". The creative team opted to not push the title character to fight any members of the Nazi Party like in a usual World War II movie, as their goal was to depict the conflict through the Marvel Universe 's "prism". Although they didn't have problems to feature Nazis in the film, with Feige loving an iconic Captain America cover where
3978-499: The 'hero shield,' which was made of aluminum, for our beauty shots [and] close-up work. We then created a lighter shield that was aluminum-faced with a fiberglass back, for use on a daily basis. ... And then we had a stunt shield made of polyurethane , which is sort of a synthetic rubber ... and we made an ultrasoft one we put on [Evans'] back, so that if there were an accident, it wouldn't hurt him". Visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend said Evans "would practice swinging
4080-837: The 1980s include Denshi Sentai Denziman: The Movie (1980), Flash Gordon (1980), Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan: The Movie (1981), Dai Sentai Goggle V: The Movie (1982), Swamp Thing (1982), Kagaku Sentai Dynaman: The Movie (1983), its sequel , Superman III (1983), Choudenshi Bioman: The Movie (1984), Supergirl (1984), Ultraman Zoffy: Ultra Warriors vs. the Giant Monster Army (1984), Ultraman Story (1984), Dengeki Sentai Changeman: The Movie and Dengeki Sentai Changeman: Shuttle Base! The Critical Moment! (1985), The Toxic Avenger (1985), Choushinsei Flashman: The Movie (1986), Choushinsei Flashman: Big Rally! Titan Boy! (1987), Hikari Sentai Maskman: The Movie (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Masters of
4182-607: The 2012 summer film market, with three films occupying the top three positions of the box office chart. These were Marvel's The Avengers (May 2012), which broke box office records as the highest-grossing superhero film of all time, The Dark Knight Rises (July 20, 2012), and The Amazing Spider-Man (July 12, 2012). Project Rebirth (Marvel Cinematic Universe) The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise features many fictional elements including locations, weapons, and artifacts. While many of these features are based on elements that originally appeared in
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4284-574: The Blu-ray and DVD sales charts, selling 1.54 million Blu-ray units and 726,000 DVD units and making a combined total of $ 52.6 million. The film was also collected in a 10-disc box set titled " Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled " which includes all of the Phase One films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on April 2, 2013. Captain America: The First Avenger
4386-441: The Lost Ark , in which Johnston worked for the special effects, was an influence on the film, because they hoped the film would not feel like a period piece. When asked whether anti-US sentiments would affect the film's box office, Feige said, "Marvel is perceived pretty well around the world right now, and I think putting another uber-Marvel hero into the worldwide box office would be a good thing. ... We have to deal with much
4488-558: The Magician (1939), The Shadow (1940), Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941), Batman (1943), The Phantom (1943), Captain America (1944), and Superman (1948). Between 1941 and 1943, Fleischer Studios produced a series of animated short films based on the Superman comic book . In the following decades, the decline of Saturday matinee showings of serials along with turmoil in
4590-510: The Red Skull; Marvel Studios confirmed the latter in May. John Krasinski , Channing Tatum , Chace Crawford , Ryan Phillippe , Garrett Hedlund , Michael Cassidy , Patrick Flueger , Scott Porter , Wilson Bethel , Mike Vogel , Dane Cook , Ryan McPartlin , Ethan Peck , Zachary Levi , Glen Powell , Jensen Ackles , Wyatt Russell , and Chris Pratt were also considered for the role of Captain America. Casting director Sarah Halley Finn said Evans
4692-571: The Three-Headed Monster (1964). By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with the magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s". Donald F. Glut wrote that Godzilla was "the most universally popular superhero of 1977." The year 1966 saw the debut of the Ultra Series with the kaiju TV show Ultra Q . However, with the release of
4794-765: The Universe (1987), Bollywood 's Mr. India (1987), Ultraman: The Adventure Begins (1987), Kousoku Sentai Turboranger: The Movie (1989), and The Punisher (1989). The success of Tim Burton 's Batman (1989) and its direct follow-up, Batman Returns (1992), spawned the DC Animated Universe . Superhero movies from the 1990s include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its two sequels , RoboCop 2 (1990), Darkman (1990), Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990), The Rocketeer (1991), Shin Kamen Rider: Prologue (1992), RoboCop 3 (1993),
4896-710: The World Expo. Laura Haddock , who would go on to portray Meredith Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy , has a brief appearance as an autograph seeker. Writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy James Gunn jokingly claimed that this was Peter Quill 's grandmother. Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as a general . "[Captain America] wants to serve his country, but he's not this sort of jingoistic American flag-waver. He's just
4998-545: The animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), Kamen Rider ZO (1993), Kamen Rider J (1994), Gosei Sentai Dairanger: The Movie , The Shadow (1994), The Mask (1994), Ninja Sentai Kakuranger: The Movie (1994), Blankman (1994), Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: The Movie (1995), Batman Forever (1995), Judge Dredd (1995), Tank Girl (1995), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) and
5100-442: The appearance of the skinny, pre-serum Steve Rogers, director Joe Johnston stated that he used two major techniques: Most of the shots were done by an L.A. company called LOLA that specializes in digital "plastic surgery". The technique involved shrinking Chris in all dimensions. We shot each skinny Steve scene at least four times; once like a normal scene with Chris and his fellow actors in the scene, once with Chris alone in front of
5202-484: The cast as Dr. Abraham Erskine , the scientist who created the super-soldier serum. Principal photography began on June 28, 2010, with the working title FrostBite . On the same day, Marvel confirmed that Lee Jones had been cast to play US Army Colonel Chester Phillips . The next day Marvel confirmed that Cooper would portray the younger version of Howard Stark, the character played by John Slattery in Iron Man 2 . It
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#17328549596785304-679: The character punches Adolf Hitler out, the team felt that using Hydra as the main antagonists would make them be "true" to the comic book's many aspects. It was because of this that Markus and McFeely found sense in using the Cosmic Cube , already set up in Thor , as the film's MacGuffin , while using a younger Howard Stark as a key ally for the protagonist would bring, according to Markus, "that Tony Starkness ". In December 2009, director Joe Johnston indicated that he planned to start filming in April 2010. In
5406-588: The comic book industry slowed superhero motion picture production, with the exception of Superman and the Mole Men (1951) starring George Reeves , and Batman (1966), a big-screen extension of the Batman television series starring Adam West . Superman and the Mole Men served as a pilot for the TV series Adventures of Superman . Compilations of the series were later released theatrically. In 1957, Shintoho produced
5508-488: The concept art being created for the film and was impressed enough to offer his services, but Marvel turned him down. Johnston finally signed on in November 2008, and he hired Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely to rewrite. Feige cited Johnston's directorial work on October Sky and The Rocketeer and his special effects work on the original Star Wars trilogy to explain why he was an appropriate choice. Raiders of
5610-553: The concept of " faster than a speeding bullet " on-screen. Inspector Gadget and Mystery Men would then follow to close out the decade for the sub-genre. Following the success of the Kamen Rider Kuuga television series, a new era of the Kamen Rider franchise began. This led to the production of annual Kamen Rider movies, starting with Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4 in 2001. The release of Iron Man in 2008 laid
5712-450: The crew. Six months of filming also occurred at Shepperton Studios, with nine stages being used. In July 2010, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said that both this film and Thor would be released in 3-D . Johnston did a one-day test shooting with a 3-D rig, rather than shooting in 2-D and converting, and found it "a nightmare" due to bulky gear, calibration issues and restricted filmmaking options. Nevertheless, he said he believes 3-D
5814-475: The director of the super-spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. Kenneth Choi appears as Jim Morita , a Japanese-American member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Choi said he was the last actor to audition for the part and that he read sides from Saving Private Ryan . About his preparation for the role, Choi said, "[I] did a lot of WWII research especially in regards to the ' Nisei ' soldiers, or Japanese-American soldiers. I wanted to get as much true, real-life information for
5916-419: The end of the day if the movie is terrific and the movie talks to the world, it's not about one place, it's about the world and I think [on] that basis it will be very successful". Later, after the election of US President Barack Obama , Feige commented, "The idea of change and hope has permeated the country, regardless of politics, and that includes Hollywood . Discussions in all our development meetings include
6018-420: The film rights to the property and was therefore not released theatrically or on home video . Alex Proyas ' The Crow (1994) became the first independent comic superhero film to establish a franchise. The film introduced a level of violence not seen in previous superhero films targeted at younger audiences and bridged a gap to the more modern action film . The success of The Crow may have influenced
6120-528: The film through Paramount Pictures. Directors Jon Favreau and Louis Leterrier were interested in directing the project before Johnston was approached in 2008. The principal characters were cast between March and June 2010. Production began in June, and filming took place in London , Manchester , Caerwent , Liverpool , and Los Angeles . Several different techniques were used by the visual effects company Lola to create
6222-535: The film's depiction of its 1940s time period, and Johnston's direction. Two sequels have been released: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Captain America: Civil War (2016). In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover an old aircraft with someone frozen inside and a circular shield . In March 1942, during World War II , Nazi lieutenant general and Hydra leader Johann Schmidt steals
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#17328549596786324-496: The film's name had been changed from The First Avenger: Captain America to Captain America: The First Avenger . Keira Knightley , Alice Eve , and Emily Blunt were also considered for the role of Peggy Carter. The next day it was reported that Joss Whedon would be rewriting the script as part of his negotiation to write and direct The Avengers . Whedon said in August, "I just got to make some character connections. The structure of
6426-578: The film, leading fans to speculate this was the World War II-era Marvel superhero team of that name, and in November, Johnston refuted speculation that the Sub-Mariner , an Invaders team-member in the comics, would be included. Johnston later explained that "the Invaders" had been discussed simply as a possible name for the squad of commandos Captain America leads in the film. Christopher Markus, one of
6528-420: The film. In May, Toby Jones entered final negotiations to play Arnim Zola . Iron Man director Jon Favreau said a younger Howard Stark would appear in the film, played by Dominic Cooper . Atwell revealed that Tommy Lee Jones would have a role in the film. By June, Neal McDonough was in talks to play Dum Dum Dugan . Four days later, he confirmed he was taking the part. The same day, Stanley Tucci joined
6630-460: The first film serial featuring the tokusatsu superhero character, Super Giant , signaling a shift in Japanese popular culture toward masked superheroes in tokusatsu . Along with Astro Boy , the Super Giant film series greatly influenced later Japanese tokusatsu superhero films. Moonlight Mask also became popular around that time, with six films retelling the story of the TV series were made. Another early Japanese superhero film
6732-415: The formula and dosing him with "vita-rays". After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, Kruger kills Erskine and flees with the last vial of the formula. Rogers pursues and captures Kruger, but the assassin avoids interrogation by committing suicide with a cyanide capsule. The vial is destroyed during the chase. With Erskine dead and his formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt has Rogers tour
6834-408: The greatest stuff up on the wall and [then later] see what we can afford. ' " The film, he said, will begin "in 1942, 1943" during World War II. "The stuff in the '60s and '70s [comic books] we're sort of avoiding. We're going back to the '40s, and then forward to what they're doing with Captain America now". In February 2010, Johnston stated that the Invaders will appear in "the entire second half" of
6936-405: The groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universe . A few months later, The Dark Knight released to widespread critical acclaim and became the first superhero movie to make over $ 1 billion at the worldwide box office. 2009 saw the release of Watchmen and X-Men Origins: Wolverine . The 2010s saw a continuation and expansion of the box-office success of superhero films from the 2000s, taking
7038-427: The highest-grossing superhero film franchises since 1967 include Tsuburaya Productions ' Ultra Series , Toei Company 's Kamen Rider and Super Sentai , New Line Cinema 's Blade , 20th Century Fox 's X-Men , Sony Pictures ' Spider-Man trilogy directed by Sam Raimi , the Amazing Spider-Man duology directed by Marc Webb , Pixar 's The Incredibles , Christopher Nolan 's Dark Knight Trilogy ,
7140-446: The latter took a prototype version of the super-soldier formula that gave him superhuman strength but painfully changed his appearance. Schmidt and Dr. Arnim Zola harness the energies of the Tesseract to fuel Zola's inventions and Hydra's planned worldwide offensive. Schmidt discovers Erskine's location and sends an assassin, Heinz Kruger , to kill him. Erskine and Stark put Rogers through the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with
7242-427: The latter would risk losing ticket sales. Three countries chose the alternative title: Russia , South Korea , and Ukraine . An "insider" speaking to The New York Times explained that the name change in these countries stemmed from cultural and political concerns, though Marvel and Paramount both declined to state an official reason. In July 2011, it was thought that the film would not be released in China because of
7344-466: The nation as "Captain America" to promote war bonds while scientists study his blood and attempt to reverse-engineer the formula. In 1943, while on tour in Italy performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes's unit is MIA following a battle against Schmidt's forces. Rogers has Carter and Stark fly him behind enemy lines to mount a rescue. Rogers infiltrates Schmidt's fortress, frees Barnes and
7446-604: The original Ultraman , the franchise started focusing on superheroes. The series was met with a 36.8% average audience rate, a success. In 1967, Ultraman started expanding to films. Early films, such as Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature , were compilations or theatrical releases of TV shows' episodes. The first original Ultraman film was The 6 Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army , a co-production with Thailand . This rise in popularity of television superheroes in Japan led to
7548-589: The original score by Alan Silvestri, as well as an original song, " Star Spangled Man ", with music composed by Alan Menken and lyrics by David Zippel . The soundtrack was recorded at Air Studios in London and released by Walt Disney Records on July 19, 2011. At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, some footage that had been shot in the previous week was shown at the San Diego Convention Center . The first television advertisement aired during Super Bowl XLV on
7650-532: The other prisoners, and confronts Schmidt. The latter escapes, but first he removes a mask to reveal a red, skull-like visage that has earned him the sobriquet "Red Skull". Rogers recruits Barnes and other freed prisoners to form the Howling Commandos . Stark outfits Rogers with a circular shield made of a rare, nearly indestructible metal called vibranium . Rogers and his team sabotage various Hydra operations while he and Carter begin to fall in love. In 1945,
7752-481: The physical appearance of the character before he becomes Captain America. Captain America: The First Avenger premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on July 19, 2011, and was released in the United States on July 22, as part of Phase One of the MCU. The film was commercially successful, grossing over $ 370 million worldwide. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Evans' performance,
7854-453: The practical shield so he knew the arc and the speed at which he should move. We would take the shield from him and shoot the scene with him miming it. Then we would add in a CG shield". Hugo Weaving, who portrayed the Red Skull, wore a latex mask conceived by prosthetic makeup designer David White. The visual effects team had to manipulate his face considerably, as the mask was bulky and they wanted to make it look like tight skin wrapped around
7956-496: The prequel X-Men: First Class , which all made between $ 3.25 million and $ 3.5 million in Friday midnights. On Friday, the film opened at the number one spot at the American and Canadian box office with $ 25.7 million. It then went on to make $ 65.1 million in what was the second highest-grossing opening weekend for a superhero film in 2011, behind Thor ($ 65.7 million). At the time of its release, Captain America: The First Avenger became
8058-563: The release of a film version of Spawn (1997), Image Comics ' leading character. After Marvel bought Malibu Comics (the company that owned The Men in Black comic series), Marvel and Columbia Pictures released the Men in Black film in 1997. This film was the first Marvel property to win an Academy Award and, at the time, was the highest-grossing comic book adaptation. While commercially successful, Joel Schumacher 's Batman & Robin (1997)
8160-574: The rest of the production would wrap in about three weeks. In February 2011, it was announced that Alan Silvestri had been chosen to compose the film score . In March 2011, it was reported that Captain America: The First Avenger would be undergoing reshoots in the United Kingdom and in Los Angeles in April 2011. A scene was also filmed in New York City's Times Square on April 23, 2011. The film features nearly 1,600 visual effects shots, which were split between thirteen different companies. To achieve
8262-399: The rest of the world great too." —Joe Johnston, director of Captain America: The First Avenger , about the film. In April 1997, Marvel Studios was in negotiations with Mark Gordon and Gary Levinsohn to produce Captain America , and Larry Wilson and Leslie Bohem were set to write a script. In May 2000, Marvel teamed with Artisan Entertainment to help finance the film. However,
8364-469: The same way that Captain America, when thawed from the Arctic ice, entered a world that he didn't recognize," similar to the way Stan Lee and Jack Kirby reintroduced the character in the 1960s. Likewise, Arad noted, "Captain America stands for freedom for all democracies, for hope all around the world. He was created to stop tyranny and the idea of stopping tyranny is important today as it was then. So I think that we will have some interesting challenges but at
8466-543: The screenwriters, said the unnamed group was "called the Howling Commandos in the script, but no one says that out loud". The design as a whole tried to create technology that could be built in the 1940s, though with the added Cube technology in Hydra's case. Abandoned Nazi projects or actual vehicles from the period were used as inspiration. Daniel Simon , who was previously responsible for many vehicle designs in Tron: Legacy ,
8568-439: The sequel titled Ultraman Zearth 2: Superhuman Big Battle - Light and Shadow premiered. In 1998, Marvel released Blade , a darker superhero film blended with traditional action elements, featuring a title character with the powers of a vampire and an arsenal of weaponry. The success of Blade is considered the beginning of Marvel's film success, and a catalyst for further comic book film adaptations. The popularity of
8670-518: The shrinking process, and Chris had to look at marks on the tops of the actor's head to represent their eyes. ... The second technique involved grafting Chris's head onto the body double. This technique was used mostly when Chris was sitting or lying down, or when a minimum of physical acting was required.... Captain America's shield , which serves as both a defensive tool and a weapon, came in four types: metal, fiberglass , rubber, and computer graphics (CG). Prop master Barry Gibbs specified that "We had
8772-523: The start of the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai franchises by famous manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori in 1971 and 1975, respectively. Similarly to Ultraman , many early Kamen Rider and Super Sentai episodes were released as films. Original Kamen Rider films released before 1978 include Kamen Rider vs. Shocker , Kamen Rider vs. Ambassador Hell , Kamen Rider V3 vs. Destron Mutants, and Five Riders vs. King Dark . Original superhero characters emerged in other, more comedy-oriented films , such as
8874-636: The sub-genre's success and ubiquity to new heights. Matthew Vaughn 's adaptation of Kick-Ass was released in 2010, followed by Iron Man 2 a month later. 2011 releases included The Green Hornet , Green Lantern , and X-Men: First Class . After referencing the " Avengers Initiative " in the Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk , Marvel released Thor on May 6, 2011, followed by Captain America: The First Avenger on July 22, 2011. While Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (February 17, 2012) had little audience interest, superhero films dominated
8976-548: The superhero film, setting the template for modern superhero blockbusters and inspiring the superhero renaissance in the early 21st century. John Kenneth Muir , in The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television , describes The Matrix as a revolutionary re-imagination of movie visuals, paving the way for the visuals of later superhero films. He credits it with helping to "make comic-book superheroes hip", and notes that its bullet-time effect effectively demonstrated
9078-442: The team assaults a train carrying Zola. They capture him, but Barnes falls from the train to his apparent death. Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using WMDs on major American cities. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's super-bomber as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract is freed from its container and Schmidt picks it up, opening
9180-408: The thing was really tight and I loved it, but there were a couple of opportunities to find his voice a little bit —and some of the other characters' — and make the connections so that you understood exactly why he wanted to be who he wanted to be. And progressing through the script to flesh it out a little bit". Samuel L. Jackson revealed in an interview that he would reprise his role as Nick Fury in
9282-453: The third highest-grossing motion picture set during the World War II era, after Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbor . The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 80%, with an average score of 7/10, based on 276 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "With plenty of pulpy action, a pleasantly retro vibe, and a handful of fine performances, Captain America
9384-605: The way that director Joe Johnston propelled the narrative. I got a sense of a broad story, rather than the impression of a series of sensational set pieces. If Marvel is wise, it will take this and Iron Man as its templates". A. O. Scott of The New York Times declared it "pretty good fun". Karina Longworth of The Village Voice gave the film a negative review, calling it "[A] hokey, hacky, two-hour-plus exercise in franchise transition/price gouging, complete with utterly unnecessary post-converted 3-D". Peter Debruge of Variety said, " Captain America: The First Avenger plays like
9486-420: Was Ōgon Bat (1966), starring Sonny Chiba and based on the 1931 Kamishibai superhero Ōgon Bat . The kaiju monster Godzilla , originally a villain, began to transition into a superhero role in subsequent films. He has been described as "the original radioactive superhero," due to his nuclear origin story predating Spider-Man's 1962 debut, although Godzilla did not become a hero until Ghidorah,
9588-670: Was a critical and commercial success. The same year, Toei Company 's Spider-Man reimagining and the first Super Sentai crossover film, JAKQ Dengekitai vs. Gorenger , were released. Other successful entries emerged throughout the 1980s, including Eight Riders vs. Galaxy King (1980), Kamen Rider Super-1: The Movie (1981), Richard Lester 's Superman II (1981), Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1981), and Paul Verhoeven 's RoboCop (1987). These were followed by Kamen Rider Black: Hurry to Onigashima and Kamen Rider Black: Terrifying! The Phantom House of Devil Pass , both released in 1988. Other superhero films released during
9690-545: Was announced that the film would shoot in London in late July and was expected to include scenes featuring key London landmarks. War scenes were filmed in September at the former Royal Navy Propellant Factory in the Welsh village of Caerwent . Filming was scheduled to take place that month in the Northern Quarter of Manchester , where parts of the 2004 film Alfie and the 2009 Sherlock Holmes had been shot, followed by
9792-482: Was appointed Lead Vehicle Designer. Director Johnston cited Simon's book Cosmic Motors as a reason to trust his influence, saying "he's sort of the guy I wanted to be when I was designing stuff for Star Wars ". The Red Skull 's car, for instance, was based on two Mercedes-Benz vehicles from the 1930s, the 540K and the G4 . In March 2010, it was reported that Chris Evans was cast as Captain America and Hugo Weaving as
9894-402: Was cast in part because of his relatable humility alongside a vulnerability and strength that could portray both "skinny" Steve Rogers and Captain America. In April 2010, Sebastian Stan , who also originally auditioned for the title role, was cast as Bucky Barnes . Stan is contracted for multiple films. Also in April, Marvel announced that Hayley Atwell had been cast as Peggy Carter , and that
9996-432: Was critically panned for its campiness and deviation from the darker style of the series' first two films directed by Tim Burton. Some have cited it as a factor in the temporary decline of the superhero film sub-genre. Starting with the 1990s, original Ultraman films became more common. In 1996, Tsuburaya released Ultraman Zearth , which parodied the original TV series and later installments. The following year,
10098-685: Was put on hold during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike . However, in January 2008, Marvel Entertainment reached an interim comprehensive agreement with the Writers Guild of America that would put writers immediately back to work on various projects that were under the company's development. On May 5, 2008 (after the success of Iron Man ), Marvel announced the film The First Avenger: Captain America (the working title) for release on May 6, 2011 (before being pushed back to July 22). Louis Leterrier , director of The Incredible Hulk , viewed some of
10200-535: Was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 26, 2019. Captain America: The First Avenger earned $ 176.7 million in North America and $ 193.9 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $ 370.6 million. Captain America: The First Avenger opened on July 22, 2011, in the United States and earned $ 4 million in midnight showings, outgrossing other 2011 original superhero films like Thor and Green Lantern as well as
10302-490: Was released on April 4, 2014. Evans, Stan, Atwell, Toby Jones, and Jackson reprise their roles as Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Peggy Carter, Arnim Zola, and Nick Fury, respectively. They are joined by Scarlett Johansson , Anthony Mackie , Cobie Smulders , Frank Grillo , Emily VanCamp , and Robert Redford as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow , Sam Wilson / Falcon , Maria Hill , Brock Rumlow , Sharon Carter , and Alexander Pierce , respectively. Captain America: Civil War
10404-801: Was released on May 6, 2016, and again is directed by the Russo brothers. Evans, Johansson, Stan, Mackie, Grillo and VanCamp reprise their roles from The Winter Soldier , and they are joined by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man , Paul Bettany as Vision , Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye , Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine , Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch , Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross all reprising roles from previous MCU films. Chadwick Boseman , Tom Holland and Daniel Brühl also star as T'Challa / Black Panther , Peter Parker / Spider-Man and Helmut Zemo , respectively. In September 2013, Marvel released
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