Confirmation Of Baron Zemo In Captain America: Civil War?

You’d think that Captain America and Iron Man squaring off against each other would be enough conflict to carry Captain America: Civil War, but where there are Marvel super heroes, villains are always around as well. We know that Frank Grillo is back as Brock Rumlow and should be assuming the Crossbones identity, but a recent Disney casting call suggests that another well-known bad guy will also be in the fold.

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The call in question is on MovieCastingCall.org, and it’s seeking talent for both “co-starring and supporting roles.” It mentions a shoot in Atlanta to run from April 4 through August 8, which pretty much jives with what we know so far.

For our purposes, the really interesting part is this:

"Golden Globe nominee Daniel Bruhl has joined the cast as Baron Zemo."

That falls into the “news to us” category. It’s the first time any mention has been made of Bruhl’s role in the film, and while Baron Zemo is indeed one of Cap’s greatest foes — one with a more personal vendetta against the super hero than Red Skull, in many ways — he has yet to be established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Doing so now would probably require some deviation from the source material. In the comics, Captain America tangles with Baron Helmut Zemo in the present. But his feud actually began with Helmut’s dad, Heinrich Zemo, during World War II. The elder Zemo had one of the greatest motivations in comic book history, being upset that Cap had accidentally caused his mask to be permanently bonded to his face.

(That involved a super-strong adhesive of Zemo’s own design, because comics.)

Because so much more time has passed between World War II and the present, the idea of Captain America fighting a father-son duo is pretty unlikely in the MCU. Still, Helmut could very easily be made Heinrich’s grandson instead, or there could simply be passing mention of the Zemo legacy. What can’t be changed is that Heinrich Zemo was the villain Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were trying to catch when the incident happened that threw them both into suspended animation; in the MCU, Bucky was presumed dead in an earlier confrontation, and both men were attempting to stop the Red Skull.

It’s also hard to know what to make of this part of the casting call:

"In Captain America: Civil War, billionaire Tony Stark is pitted against Captain America aka Steve Rogers in an ethical face-off over the U.S. Government’s Superhuman Registration Act, which requires all superpowered individuals register their powers and report to S.H.I.E.L.D."

That’s a pretty good summation of the premise of the comic book version of Civil War, but we’re a long way from knowing that the Registration Act is going to be the crux of the super hero feud on film. Many fans and media outlets seem convinced that the schism in the superhuman community will arise from something else.

Then again, it’s possible the info in the actual casting call is correct in regards to Bruhl and the site simply ran a little wild with its plot description. We’ll wait for Marvel to confirm who the actor is going to play, but keep this in the back of your mind until then.

(via Blastr)

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