FILM · 2016 · USA
Captain America: Civil War
- Directed by
- Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
- Runtime
- 147 min
- Studio
- Marvel Studios
233 archived facts 7 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Sep 2026
Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies.
Summary: TMDB
156 Interesting Facts About Captain America: Civil War
- #001
Sebastian Stan explained that the backpack Bucky wears in the trailers contains journals compiled from his scattered memories.
- #002
Tom Holland said that when he came in for the Spider-Man screen test he was very scared, and that Robert Downey Jr. pulled him aside and told him: "Listen, I remember the screen test I did for Iron Man. I remember how scared I was. Think of this as an audition. It's not that scary. If you get it wrong, we start again. No pressure."
- #003
Tom Hiddleston admitted that although he is not in the film, one of his favorite moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the helicopter scene it contains. He was excited, saying: "I mean Chris Evans does a bicep curl, with a helicopter! If you don't love that, we can't be friends."
- #004
No CGI was used in the highway chase scene in which Bucky takes a moving motorcycle out from under its rider. The whole stunt was practical.
- #005
(At about 1 hour 19 minutes) Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) says how attractive Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) is. Downey and Tomei had a relationship in the 1990s and appeared together in two more films: Chaplin (1992) and Only You (1994).
- #006
T'Challa had a much smaller role in earlier drafts and did not even appear in costume, because the writers intended to focus more on Spider-Man and save Black Panther's origin for his own film. However, when it became clear that Marvel would not get permission to use Spider-Man, Black Panther's role was significantly strengthened. By the time they began using Spider-Man, T'Challa had become such an integral part of the plot that they decided to leave his role as it was and give Spider-Man a smaller part.
- #007
The film revealed that Bucky Barnes was hiding in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Sebastian Stan (Bucky) is a Romanian-American actor born in the Romanian city of Constanța, where he grew up until the age of eight. In the first scene set in Bucharest, Bucky buys fruit at a neighborhood market. Stan's native language is Romanian, so he spoke it perfectly.
- #008
Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's original idea for this film was a much different and much smaller film without the other Avengers, but producer Kevin Feige suggested they adapt Civil War instead. Parts of the original ideas still remain in the film, such as the emphasis on Steve and Bucky's relationship and the use of Baron Zemo as the villain.
- #009
Chris Evans said of the famous helicopter shot: "That was really my arm, and you know, I took a page out of Anthony Mackie's book. While shooting Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), I worked out right before filming for certain scenes, but there were a lot of scenes where I was the only one among the actors doing it and I would be embarrassed and embarrassed. So I didn't do it that often, and then we started Civil War and Mackie—there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Before every take, Mackie was constantly lifting weights and I was thinking: 'Yeah! What are you doing Chris? Just lift some weights. Who cares about judging me even though two hundred million people will see this scene forever? Before the helicopter scene, I lifted a lot of weights to get pumped. I didn't look like that when I woke up; I was lifting weights for hours before shooting that scene. There was definitely a lot of pressure. I was fully aware of what they wanted that shot to be. So I wanted that shot to be great."
- #010
(At around 1 hour 9 minutes) Assistant director Joe Russo said that "The most powerful shot of the film" is Steve Rogers stopping a helicopter from taking off with his bare hands. This shot appeared in the film's first teaser trailer. Russo said that Chris Evans worked hard in the gym to physically embody the character, because they wanted to test the limits of Steve's physical strength. Of the shot itself, he noted: "On set we got this great shot of Chris straining against a crane, holding the helicopter, his muscles bulging, and you can feel his energy and determination as he tries to stop it."
- #011
When the film's production was completed, Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie raced each other in their superhero costumes.
- #012
The film coincides with Captain America's 75th anniversary, the 10th anniversary of the original Civil War comic book, and Black Panther's 50th anniversary.
- #013
Sebastian Stan gained 35 kilos of muscle for the film, increasing his weight from 165 pounds to a solid, muscular 200 pounds.
- #014
The film depicts the bond beginning to form between Scarlet Witch and Vision, who have been married for some time in the comics.
- #015
In the film, Falcon uses a falcon drone named Redwing. In the mainstream Marvel comics, Redwing was a real falcon who served as Sam Wilson's companion.
- #017
Robert Downey Jr. played a young Tony Stark alongside John Slattery and Hope Davis. Lola FX provided the visual effects for the "de-aging" of Downey's face and hair, using footage and photographs from the early part of his career as reference.
- #019
Tom Holland is the youngest person to play Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man, taking the role at the age of nineteen.
- #021
(Around 33 minutes) Sharon Carter's eulogy at Peggy's funeral is taken from a Captain America speech in Amazing Spider-Man #537: "Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — 'No, you move.'".
- #025
Anthony Mackie described the film as "The Avengers: Part 2.5." Jeremy Renner said that because so many characters are involved, the film would resemble an Avengers film.
- #026
Contains a major spoiler — show
Giant-Man's appearance was kept secret throughout production and marketing, as shown by the character's absence from all trailers and television commercials. However, Funko Pop! figures depicting the airport battle scene featuring Giant-Man and a Lego set were released and advertised before the film's premiere date.
- #027
Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans described the dynamic between Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, and Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, as a marriage, saying: "We love each other but it's very explosive. You're working toward the same goal but you have very different approaches to it. It's murky and that's what makes it great. Nobody's right, nobody's wrong. It's going to make it even harder for them to reach an agreement. An agreement."
- #028
Mark Ruffalo being seen on the set of this film sparked rumors that the Hulk might also appear in the film. However, his role was ultimately cut from the final draft of the script.
- #031
Tom Holland's talkative, excited portrayal of Spider-Man in the fight is closer to the character's comedic counterpart than previous versions of the character.
- #032
The producers describe Bucky Barnes as a divided character, saying: "He's no longer Bucky Barnes, he's not the Winter Soldier. He's somewhere in between. Part of his personality was under mind control and he killed a lot of people. So he has a very complicated past. Who is that person? How does this character move forward?"
- #034
This is the first live-action film of Black Panther T'Challa, one of the first black superheroes in American comic books, who appeared as a superhero in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966).
- #036
Paul Bettany describes Vision as discovering what it means to be human and what love is: "The only way one can guarantee one's loyalty is love."
- #038
(Around 1 hour 40 minutes) When F.R.I.D.A.Y. shows Tony Stark the photos of Zemo, he asks whether the facial recognition feature has been run, and she replies: "What do I look like?" "I don't know. I've been picturing a redhead." Kerry Condon, who voices F.R.I.D.A.Y., is a redhead.
- #039
(Around 2 hours 5 minutes) Toward the end of the film, the image of Iron Man blasting Captain America's raised shield is a tribute to the cover of the seventh issue of the Civil War comic book.
- #040
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the post-credits scene, Peter's web-shooter emits a light that closely resembles the "Spidey Signal" seen in the comics. This is the first on-screen appearance of the Spidey Signal.
- #041
Hope van Dyne was set to become the Wasp in an earlier draft of the script, but the role was cut down to a cameo along with other characters out of concern that this would harm her as a character. Evangeline Lilly's pregnancy at the time was likely also a factor in the decision. Producer Kevin Feige later confirmed that she would officially take on a major role as the Wasp in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) at a later point in Phase 3. This also contributed to jokes throughout the film about Hope being angry at Scott Lang for not bringing her along to the Avengers battle at the airport.
- #042
Some clips from the airport scene were reshot from a different angle from Spider-Man's point of view and were used in the "video diary" opening scene of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
- #043
The absence of Thor and the Incredible Hulk from the film was explained in Thor: Ragnarok (2017): Thor was searching for the Infinity Stones, while the Hulk was finding the Avengers' Quinjet on the planet Sakaar, where he was being used as a gladiator.
- #044
Marisa Tomei was in her fifties when she played Aunt May, while Rosemary Harris was in her seventies in Spider-Man (2002) and Sally Field was in her sixties in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).
- #045
Spider-Man's costume design is based on his original comic-book appearance from his 1962 debut. The lenses change size to reflect Spider-Man's expressive eyes in the comics and also allow him to enhance his senses and focus.
- #046
(At about 1 hour 24 minutes) Wanda (Scarlet Witch) can disable Vision because she draws her powers from the Mind Stone. One of Vision's powers is to alter his body density so that he can become stronger than a ghost or diamond. She made him so dense that he became too heavy to move and fell to the ground.
- #047
(At about 1 hour 27 minutes) On The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015), Paul Rudd admitted that most of the starstruck reactions Ant-Man gives when meeting Captain America and his allies were largely based on his own real first reactions after meeting these actors. He even had the inappropriate "arm fondling" bit, though he was actually far more interested in Sebastian Stan's mechanical arm than in Captain America's as depicted in the film.
- #048
Contains a major spoiler — show
The mid-credits scene shows waterfalls in the kingdom of Wakanda. These scenes were shot at Iguazú Falls in Misiones, Argentina.
- #049
In the Civil War comic series, Tony Stark makes Spider-Man an "Iron Spider" costume. It is red and gold and full of armor and gadgets. In this film, Spider-Man gets a suit in his normal red and blue cloth outfit, but it has gadgets inside. The Iron Spider costume would be introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and officially introduced in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
- #050
This film sets up Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
- #051
In the German dub of the film, Daniel Brühl (Helmut Zemo) voiced himself.
- #053
This film marks the beginning of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is the thirteenth film overall.
- #054
(At about 1 hour 29 minutes) In the airport scene, when Iron Man calls Spider-Man to show himself and grab Captain America's shield, he does so by shouting: "Underoos!" Underoos is a line of children's underwear featuring superheroes, first released in 1977. One of Underoos' most popular sets featured Spider-Man.
- #055
Contains a major spoiler — show
In this film, T'Chaka is killed by Zemo, and his son T'Challa joins the Avengers to track him down. In the comics, T'Chaka was killed by Klaw, and T'Challa joined the Fantastic Four.
- #056
Vision's civilian clothes (trousers, sweater, ascot) were inspired by the outfits of 1940s actor Cary Grant.
- #057
Robert Downey Jr.'s personal trainer, Eric Oram, said the key to pitting Captain America against Iron Man was "showing that Iron Man uses the minimum force necessary to win the fight and not looking like he's going berserk and trying to kill someone."
- #058
Costume designer Judianna Makovsky said her favorite character to design for was Paul Bettany's Vision. She said she dressed him very stylishly in cashmere sweaters and cardigans and gave him an ascot from "dandiest accessories." She said that although it is not seen in the film, he wears the ascot in most of his civilian scenes.
- #059
At around 1 hour 20 minutes, during his meeting with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Peter Parker (Tom Holland) says he has had his powers as Spider-Man for only six months, clarifying that the character had not appeared in previous Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
- #060
The Wakandan language spoken by King T'Chaka and Prince T'Challa is Xhosa, the native language of many South Africans.
- #062
At around 1 hour 55 minutes, when Steve and Bucky recall going on double dates in Brooklyn as kids, the Captain mentions that Bucky's date was a redhead named Dolores with the nickname "Dot." This description matches Dottie Underwood, one of Peggy Carter's enemies in Agent Carter (2015) who was also used as a weapon by the Soviets. This is somewhat incorrect, because Dot is not Delores's nickname. Dotty is sometimes how small children mispronounce Dorothy; Dot is a shortened version of that.
- #063
Chadwick Boseman, who is introduced as T'Challa/Black Panther in this film, sadly learned that he had stage III colon cancer the year this film was released. He kept his condition secret while also appearing in Marvel's Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) before his death in 2020.
- #064
After the "Civil War" crossover event in the Marvel comics was completed, another major crossover event was "Secret Invasion." It revealed that the shape-shifting alien villains the Skrulls had replaced key people in the government and the super-powered community for decades and were at least partly responsible for causing the civil war, with the aim of softening up human society for a full-scale invasion. Since the Skrulls were villains of the Fantastic Four, it was assumed that Disney and Marvel could not use them in future films, but it was later discovered with the announcement of Captain Marvel (2019) that the Skrulls could be used by Marvel Studios as long as they did not include certain ones owned by FOX. However, the idea of a "secret invasion" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe already closely resembles what happened with the emergence of H.Y.D.R.A. It revealed that they had grown inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
- #065
Zemo is the first main antagonist in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film who is not an enhanced supervillain. However, the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, in Netflix's Daredevil (2015).
- #066
Vision, Hawkeye, Ant-Man and Scarlet Witch were not part of the original comic book story. The first three were dead at the time, while Wanda was missing and had gone insane.
- #068
Unlike in previous Marvel films, Scarlett Johansson never took part in any interviews, premieres, press conferences or other events promoting the film.
- #069
According to commentary, Cap dropping the shield foreshadows the arrival of the Nomad costume, a brief period in the 1970s comics when Cap continued to act as a hero without government approval.
- #070
The film's title was announced as "Captain America: Serpent Society" during Marvel's Phase 3 announcement. This was confusing before it was confirmed that the film was an adaptation of "Civil War." The Serpent Society eventually appeared in Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
- #071
Martin Freeman described Everett Ross as "someone who works for the American government and works alongside superheroes and certain organizations that help rein in the power of superheroes." Regarding whether Ross would side with Stark or Rogers in the film, Freeman said Ross is "ambiguous" and "You don't know if he's good or bad," so "You're not exactly sure which side he's on. He seems to be playing a bit of a game, but he's actually playing another game."
- #073
Contains a major spoiler — show
Before the final showdown, when Tony tells Natasha that Ross will come after her for letting Cap and Bucky escape, Black Widow (2021) reveals that Ross is actively hunting Natasha.
- #074
The working title used to make the film was "Sputnik." In the comics, "Sputnik" triggered the Winter Soldier's mind control, much like the "Longing, Rusted, Seventeen, Daybreak, Furnace, Nine, Benign, Homecoming, One, Freight Car" sequence does for his cinematic counterpart.
- #075
In the comics, Spider-Man starts on Iron Man's side, but later switches to Captain America's side after learning that the pro-registration side imprisoned captured unregistered heroes without any legal process, against their will, in a prison built in another dimension known as the "Negative Zone" until they agreed to register (technically because they were not on American soil). In this film, he fights alongside Iron Man before being sent home by Iron Man after the battle at the airport in Germany.
- #076
Contains a major spoiler — show
(At about 2 hours 10 minutes) At the climax, before destroying the suit's arc reactor, Captain removes the Iron Man helmet from Tony's face. If he had not done this before the suit lost power, Stark would probably have suffocated, implying that Rogers was only trying to end the fight rather than kill Tony.
- #078
Contains a major spoiler — show
(At about 2 hours 10 minutes) During the battle at the H. Y. D. R. A. Siberian facility, when Captain America is asked by Iron Man to stand down, he replies: "I could do this all day." This line was also said by Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), when he is beaten by a bully in an alley, and later twice by Red Skull. In all three cases, Rogers is rescued or helped immediately after the line is delivered.
- #080
This is the fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to gross over 1 billion dollars worldwide.
- #081
Contains a major spoiler — show
(At about 2 hours 5 minutes) Near the end of the film, Bucky loses his left (cybernetic) arm. This continues the Marvel Cinematic Universe tradition, begun in Phase 2 films as a tribute to Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), of a character losing his left arm or hand. Other characters who lose an arm in Marvel Cinematic Universe films: Aldrich Killian in Iron Man 3 (2013), Bucky in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Phil Coulson in Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. (2013) and Darren Cross, also known as Yellow Jacket, in Ant-Man (2015). So this also means it is the second time Bucky loses his left arm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- #083
According to Ryan Coogler's statement about Chadwick Boseman's death in 2020, Executive Producer Nate Moore noted that Chadwick (T'Challa/Black Panther) and John Kani (King T'Chaka) decided to speak to each other on set in Kani's native language, Xhosa, on the same day as filming. Xhosa remained the official language of Wakanda in Black Panther (2018).
- #084
Filming began on May 7, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. The cast worked in costumes in ninety-degree Fahrenheit (thirty-two degrees Celsius) heat.
- #086
Thor and Bruce Banner/Hulk do not appear in this film. Besides being off-planet due to the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), the writers also felt that including them would resolve the conflict too easily: rather than the deadlock that leaves half of the Avengers fugitives, whichever side Hulk was on would win.
- #087
This is Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross's first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since his debut in The Incredible Hulk (2008). It is the longest gap to date between a character's appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (eight years). Despite the long absence, William Hurt reprised the role, though Ross now serves as Secretary of State rather than the General of The Incredible Hulk (2008). This also makes William Hurt the first actor besides Robert Downey Jr. and Stan Lee, who appeared in The Incredible Hulk (2008), to return in a later Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
- #088
Mutants (such as the X-Men) play a role in the original comic book story, since human society always held a prejudice against the mutant species while also accepting non-mutant heroes. When the situation turns against all powered people, some characters find this fitting, because non-mutant heroes had found the job so easy for so long, while others find it disturbing. This was not part of the film because Twentieth Century Fox owned the rights to the Marvel concept of "mutants."
- #091
(At about 57 minutes) When Bucky, Captain America, Falcon and Black Panther are first captured in the film, Bucky is placed in a cell marked "D23." D23 is The Walt Disney Company's official fan club, and the fourth D23 Expo was held August 14-16, 2015, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, where the first footage from the film was shown.
- #092
Ant-Man's helmet design has changed since the previous film. In Ant-Man (2015), the face mask consisted of two pieces. In this film, the mask comes as a single solid piece.
- #093
In the B.A.R.F. sequence, Maria Stark tells Tony to "say goodbye to your father." At the press conference in Iron Man (2008), Tony's opening words are: "I never got to say goodbye to my father."
- #094
Contains a major spoiler — show
Ragnarök (a clone of Thor) is an integral part of the comic book version of Civil War, but not an integral part of the film.
- #097
(At about 1 hour 50 minutes) In one scene, Hawkeye refers to Tony Stark as "the futurist," which was also the name of the album Robert Downey Jr. released in 2004 on the Sony Classical label.
- #098
Marvel producer Kevin Feige informed the writers that they could use Spider-Man in this film (and in the MCU) by opening the door of the writers' room, making the iconic Spider-Man hand gesture, and then leaving without saying a word.
- #099
Alfre Woodard plays Miriam, the mother of a young man killed during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) in Sokovia. In the Civil War comic, Miriam's son (Damian, who is in elementary school in the comics) was killed when a battle between the superhero team New Warriors and some villains (including Nitro) destroyed a nearby school bus and caused a massive gas explosion that destroyed the school, causing hundreds of deaths. This was the driving force behind the Superhuman Registration Act.
- #100
(At about 13 minutes) In the virtual reality scene at M.I.T., Maria Stark (Hope Davis) plays the piano and sings "Try To Remember" from the 1960 musical The Fantasticks. The song's lyrics associate the nostalgia of September with the singer's lost youth: "Try to remember the kind of September / When life was slow and oh, so mellow / Try to remember the kind of September / When grass was green and grain was yellow / Try to remember the kind of September / When you were a tender and callow fellow…" After Maria finishes singing and the virtual reality presentation is complete, Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) makes an announcement at M.I.T. He tells the students that he is giving grants for all research projects under the auspices of his new foundation, the "September Foundation."
- #101
According to the Russo Brothers, the title of this film had existed for over a decade.
- #103
At roughly 43 minutes in, Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier) is shown in Bucharest, Romania, buying plums at a fruit market. Plums are beneficial in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, which suits Bucky because his brain was washed and he is trying to remember his life before becoming the Winter Soldier.
- #104
Peter Parker's homemade costume resembles Ben Reilly's original Scarlet Spider costume from the comics, but with the colors reversed.
- #105
In earlier drafts of the third Captain America film, Brock Rumlow, also known as Crossbones, was secretly working as a mercenary for Red Skull (just as in the comics), but when the producers decided to follow the "Civil War" story, these ideas were set aside and reworked.
- #106
Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. released the poster and trailer while appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) on November 25, 2015.
- #107
This is the fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have a "cold open" scene with the pre-Marvel Studios logo. The first of these was Iron Man 3 (2013), the second was Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and the third was Ant-Man (2015).
- #108
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the comics, the second Giant-Man, Bill Foster, is one of the anti-registration heroes killed by Thor's clone Ragnarok in the first battle between the two sides. The concept is similar here: Scott Lang becomes Giant-Man to fight against Iron Man's team (who cannot grow in the mainstream universe but becomes Giant-Man in the Ultimate Marvel universe), and War Machine is injured as a result of Vision's attack (though it was accidental).
- #109
Co-director Joe Russo cited Seven (1995) and Fargo (1996) as influences on this film.
- #110
This is Robert Downey Jr.'s seventh appearance as Tony Stark (counting his cameo in The Incredible Hulk (2008)).
- #111
As in the comics, this film shows the most common side effect of all attempts to replicate the post-Erskine super-soldier formula: madness.
- #113
At around the 1 hour 40 minute mark, when Redwing strikes Iron Man's head during the airport scene, a circle of what is presumably shrapnel, resembling "feathers," can be seen, a reference to the way characters are struck in cartoons or comic books.
- #116
Real-life German news anchors Laura Dünnwald and Michael Marx are shown on television in two scenes. The program "Newstime" airs daily on the German channel Pro7.
- #117
This film is the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Robert Downey Jr. did not receive top billing in a starring role. His appearance in The Incredible Hulk (2008) was uncredited, and he was the most prominently billed name in all three "Iron Man" films and in both "Avengers" films up to this point.
- #118
Tom Holland said that his scene with Robert Downey Jr. was initially cut down significantly due to time constraints, but that "Downey was the one who said: 'No, you're going to want to spend time on this. Let's shoot all of it… You can always cut it, but you're going to want to have it.' And they used all of it. I owe that to him."
- #119
In the comic books, The Raft is a facility operated by S.H.I.E.L.D. as part of Ryker's Island Prison in New York City, designed to hold captured super villains. In the film, it is located somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean and is instead run by the U.S. military, as S.H.I.E.L.D. has disbanded. Notably, the first story of the New Avengers series, which began shortly before the start of the Civil War crossover event, involved a prison riot and was the Raft's first appearance in the comic books. The Raft was not used in the original Civil War comic book storyline.
- #121
This was the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to feature Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) without Bruce Banner. The second was Black Widow (2021).
- #124
It is often referred to by fans as "Avengers 2.5" because it includes all the Avengers except Thor and Hulk and involves the team breaking up, which has major consequences in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
- #125
Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie appeared together in The Hurt Locker (2008) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
- #126
Contains a major spoiler — show
Tony Stark's MIT speech at the beginning of the film indirectly influences some of the storylines of Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019), which takes place years after the events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
- #127
This was the first film in which Spider-Man appeared alongside other Marvel superheroes.
- #129
Contains a major spoiler — show
In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America, Black Widow and Falcon are arrested by H.Y.D.R.A. posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. and escape after being freed by Maria Hill. In this film, Captain America, Falcon and Bucky are arrested by German Special Forces and escape with the help of Agent 13, Sharon Carter, after Bucky's rampage as the Winter Soldier. The consequences of Carter's actions are explored in more detail in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021).
- #130
Although it is well known that someone loses an arm or a hand in every Marvel Cinematic Universe film as a tribute to Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Bucky is the first character to lose his arm twice.
- #131
Chris Evans's screen time is five minutes longer than Robert Downey Jr.'s.
- #132
Captain America: Civil War marks the sixth collaboration between Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in twelve years, following The Perfect Score (2004), The Nanny Diaries (2007), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
- #133
Alt-J's song "Left Hand Free" plays during the final title sequence. The song is significant because Bucky loses his robotic left arm during his fight with Iron Man.
- #139
Chris Evans was paid 15 million dollars for this film, 50 times his salary for Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
- #140
Every phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins with a film in which Tony Stark is at least one of the main characters. Phase One began with Iron Man (2008), Phase Two began with Iron Man 3 (2013), and Phase Three began with this film.
- #142
Contains a major spoiler — show
At the start of the film, Natasha tells Wanda that looking over her shoulder needs to become a habit, and Sam says Wanda looks paranoid. At the end of the film, Cap, Sam, Nat and Wanda are all fugitives and therefore necessarily have to be on their guard at all times.
- #143
The car Tony drives toward the compound is a 2015 Orange Audi R8.
- #144
While playing Peter Parker, Tom Holland based his performance on Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future (1985). Coincidentally, Back to the Future co-writer Bob Gale wrote many Spider-Man comic books.
- #145
At roughly 1 hour 40 minutes, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) refers to Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) during his fight with Giant-Man (Paul Rudd). The reference is apt because Marvel has regained the rights to create Star Wars comic books (and has been doing so again since January 2015). Additionally, what Spider-Man does to Giant-Man closely resembles what Mickey Mouse does to a giant in the Disney cartoon Brave Little Tailor, and Disney currently owns both Star Wars and Marvel.
- #147
Contains a major spoiler — show
For viewers watching the film with subtitles, Zemo's reveal as a psychiatrist is spoiled somewhat early, as Zemo is identified as the speaker as soon as he begins talking to Barnes at the CIA facility. Although it could be argued that any listener with a sharp ear could make the same connection in that scene before the character's face is revealed, the audience is only meant to learn his name, background and purpose later. However, this may only be true of the Disney+ streaming version and may not apply to other formats.
- #148
At roughly 1 hour 16 minutes, when the film introduces Peter Parker in Queens, the establishing shot is from behind him and shows the character casually holding a DVD player against the side of his body. In The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), one of the first few establishing shots of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) similarly showed the character holding a skateboard, with an almost identical frame composition.
- #149
The first film shot with the Alexa IMAX camera, including fifteen minutes of footage. The Alexa IMAX camera was a joint development between Arri and IMAX, customizing the Alexa 65 6.5K camera to make viewing in IMAX theaters easier without having to rework the equipment.
- #150
In the German version, Chris Evans was dubbed by Dennis Schmidt-Foß, Ryan Reynolds' standard German voice in Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018). Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) was dubbed by his brother Gerrit, who also voiced Kraglin for Sean Gunn in both Guardians of the Galaxy films.
- #151
This is the only Marvel Cinematic Universe entry in Phase 3 to be shot primarily on Panavision (anamorphic).
- #153
He plays Theo Broussard, who is killed by Baron Zemo and left in the hotel bathtub.
- #154
The Marvel video game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (2009) was also based on the Civil War comic book.
- #157
(At about 1 hour 11 minutes) According to Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers' mother was named Sarah.
- #158
This is the second Marvel Cinematic Universe film in which Gwyneth Paltrow does not appear as Pepper Potts alongside Tony Stark. The first was Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) (excluding The Incredible Hulk (2008)).
- #159
When Secretary Ross presents the Accords to the Avengers, he compares the Captain's lack of awareness of Bruce Banner's whereabouts to the loss of a nuclear warhead. The 2008 film The Incredible Hulk (2008) focuses on then-General Ross's manhunt for Banner and his second personality, The Hulk.
- #160
When a device emits an electromagnetic pulse to disrupt a power grid, it makes the same sound as the seismic charges Jango Fett used in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002).
- #161
Damion Poitier, who played Thanos in The Avengers (2012), also appears in this film as a mercenary, making it his second Marvel Cinematic Universe film.
- #162
Chris Evans does not appear alongside Samuel L. Jackson in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film for the first time, excluding their cameos in Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Ant-Man (2015).
- #163
The first trailer received 61 million online views in its first 24 hours, and with 112 million views it became the second most-watched trailer in history after Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015).
- #164
Although this is the third Captain America film, it is technically, though unofficially, the third Avengers film; Avengers: Infinity War (2018) is the official third Avengers film.
- #165
All three Captain America films feature Captain America falling into a body of water: the Arctic Ocean in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), the Potomac River in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), and presumably the Spree River in this film.
- #166
Robert Downey Jr. appears as one of the main characters in another character's film for the first time.
- #168
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the final fight between Bucky, Iron Man and Steve, Bucky initially grabs Iron Man's right hand and crushes the repulsor in his palm before forcing the arm away from himself as he fires a missile. Almost immediately afterward, and throughout the rest of the fight, Iron Man frequently uses the undamaged repulsor in his right hand. The damage Bucky inflicts on Iron Man's chest plate, which nearly destroys the arc reactor, also disappears.
- #169
The film takes place in 1991 and 2016.
- #170
When Daniel Brühl's character (Zemo) mentions the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra leaks, Zemo says he has "experience." Daniel Brühl had played a character in The Fifth Estate (2013) who helped publish information leaked for WikiLeaks.
- #171
It is one of two films released the same year that show the parents of a multibillionaire superhero being killed. In this film, Tony Stark's parents are killed in a flashback. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) featured a scene in which Bruce Wayne's parents are killed. Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark share many traits: both are highly intelligent superheroes with no superhuman powers beyond their gadgets and suits. Tony Stark is the CEO of Stark Industries (founded by his father), while Bruce Wayne is the CEO of Wayne Corp (founded by his merchant ancestors).
- #172
When Tony captures Cap and Bucky near the end of the film, Tony tells Bucky, "relax Manchurian Candidate, we have a truce." Anthony Mackie was in the 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate (1962) (Manchurian Candidate (2004)).
- #173
Contains a major spoiler — show
T'Chaka's assassination was first mentioned in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). While the Avengers leaf through paper files to get information on Baron Strucker's associates, they find a file on Ulysses Klaue. Under "Personnel File" it reads: "Ulysses Klaue was an assassin hired to overthrow T'Chaka at the Bilderberg Conference if Wakanda refused to negotiate its resources, including vibranium. However, Klaue was also present in person when the Panther killed his great-grandfather while he tried to annex Wakanda in the nineteenth century. He was paid ten million dollars to kill him." This is an official S.H.I.E.L.D. file referring to Klaue as "personnel," in S.H.I.E.L.D. Black Panther Vol. 4 #3 (June 2005). However, the assassination was ultimately changed to be carried out by Zemo disguised as the Winter Soldier.
- #174
It was said the film would end with Crossbones killing Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes becoming the new Captain America in Avengers: Infinity War (2018). This happened in the comic book story "The Death of Captain America" (2007-08), which serves as a direct epilogue to "Civil War." The rumor turned out to be false, but Steve did pass the Captain America mantle to Sam Wilson at the end of Avengers: Endgame (2019).
- #175
Don Cheadle and Chadwick Boseman share the same birthday, November 29.
- #176
Alfre Woodard and Robert Downey Jr. first appeared together in Heart and Souls (1993).
- #177
Contains a major spoiler — show
T'Challa's surprise at Bucky's metal arm is somewhat odd, since Bucky's arm is visible in the fight early in the film. And as is also stated in the film, S.H.I.E.L.D. documents from the previous Captain America films are widely known as "Winter Soldier" because of the film's premiere. Perhaps Wakanda paid little attention to the news because it isolates itself from the outside world and lives in secret seclusion. And since the only metal part visible during their fight was Bucky's hand, T'Challa may not have realized that Bucky's entire left arm was metal.
- #178
Spider-Man makes his first MCU appearance in this film alongside Captain America. Both characters share many similarities with rival DC's flagship hero Superman. Captain America and Superman first appeared in the 1930s as one of their publishers' signature heroes, and both fought the Third Reich in their own titles. Captain America was the only character still in use in the 1960s, when Stan Lee created most of Marvel's other popular characters. Peter Parker, like Superman, quickly became a fan favorite. Both characters wear glasses and work at a major metropolitan newspaper, though Parker works more as a photographer, like Jimmy Olsen. All three characters have red-and-blue color schemes reminiscent of the American flag.
- #179
Tom Holland (Peter Parker) and Daniel Brühl (Zemo) were Chris Hemsworth's (Thor) co-stars in In the Heart of the Sea (2015) and Rush (2013), respectively. Brühl's character returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (without Thor) in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), while Holland reappeared alongside Hemsworth's Thor in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), though the two did not interact.
- #180
Immediately after his father's death, T'Challa says of the Winter Soldier, "I'll kill him myself." This was the second time a Chadwick Boseman character delivered that same line in a film; the first came in The Kill Hole (2012), at the 1 hour 13 minute mark, while he was portraying a war veteran.
- #181
Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Paul Rudd all appeared on Robot Chicken (2005).
- #182
Contains a major spoiler — show
This film is regarded as the Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) of the Captain America trilogy (2011, 2014, 2016). Zemo, seeking revenge, causes friction between Captain America and Iron Man and tears the Avengers apart, manipulating the two heroes by revealing the truth behind the death of Tony Stark's parents and forcing them to turn on each other and fight.
- #183
Before John Kani was cast, Ernie Hudson was said to be playing T'Chaka.
- #184
Black Panther first appeared in 1966 in a story focused on the Fantastic Four. In Tales of Suspense #98 (February 10, 1968), Black Panther comes to the United States, fights Captain America and others, and eventually joins the Avengers as an official member.
- #186
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) was a massive box office hit within two weeks of its release.
- #188
In 2010, 20th Century Fox was developing its own version of Civil War featuring the X-Men and Fantastic Four, which it owned at the time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the plot "saw Johnny Storm experience a new development while trying to capture the villain Molecule Man. Johnny opens a hole in Manhattan, and in response to the carnage the superhero registration act is triggered." After the success of X-Men: First Class (2011), Fox decided to focus on the X-Men and shelved the Civil War project in order to develop X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).
- #189
Before Sony and Marvel closed the deal to integrate Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony considered selling the film rights to Spider-Man back to Marvel for 5 billion dollars. These plans came to light with the 2014 Sony hack.
- #190
According to producer Nate Moore, the original pitch for the third Captain America film was an adaptation of the "Madbomb Saga," published in Captain America #193-200 (1975-76) and written and drawn by Jack Kirby. The plan had Cap and Bucky finding the Madbomb, a sonic weapon that causes people to suddenly attack one another. Kevin Feige felt "There wasn't a big enough idea that would get audiences excited" and instead suggested "Civil War." Moore was hesitant because Marvel did not own the rights to many of the characters featured in that story, but he was ultimately pleased with the final result: "We still got to pay off the Bucky story… but the main idea of the film was something audiences would gravitate toward, and they did."
- #191
This was Robert Downey Jr.'s tenth film to gross over 100 million dollars domestically (or his eleventh if his small role in The Incredible Hulk (2008) is counted).
- #193
With the announcement that William Hurt would return as Thaddeus Ross, a rumor emerged that Ross would become Red Hulk in this film. Director Joe Russo denied the rumor, explaining: "Of course we consider everything, but when there are that many characters in a film, as there are in this one, to try and add another character and entertain it and get to Red Hulk, you'd have to add a backstory. You have to justify the narrative to get there. [Ross] was there as a kind of government agenda on our priority list, not to add another complicated super-powered character to the mix." Red Hulk appeared in Captain America: Brave New World (2025), with Harrison Ford taking over the role of Ross after Hurt's death.
- #194
Coinciding with the film's release, Marvel published the second Captain America Omnibus in 2016.
- #196
The first Captain America film grossed over 100 million dollars domestically in its opening weekend.
- #197
Contains a major spoiler — show
Marisa Tomei and Frank Grillo are named in the main credits, but each appears in only one scene (excluding the post-credits scene).
- #198
Anthony Mackie and Marisa Tomei had previously appeared together in Love the Coopers (2015).
- #199
It is featured in "The A to Z of Superhero Movies: From Abar to ZsaZsa via the MCU," written by Rob Hill.
- #200
Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter) had previously worked with Margarita Levieva, Sebastian Stan's (Winter Soldier) girlfriend, on the film Revenge (2011).
- #201
It is the fifth Walt Disney Studios film written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
- #227
After the full cast of Captain America: Civil War was revealed, many outlets and fans nicknamed the film "Avengers 2.5" because its ensemble cast was unusually large for a Captain America film and it no longer felt centered on that character as The Winter Soldier had.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Captain America: Civil War — Wikipedia
- IMDb IMDb
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