KEVIN FEIGE: I'm not sure we could have done
this notion of an interlinked Marvel Cinematic Universe
without Captain America.
Whether it's bit by a spider or exposed to gamma rays,
the notion of a super-powered human started with Steve Rogers.
He is the backbone of the universe.
As we were developing Captain America: The First Avenger,
we brought in these two writers
named Chris Markus and Steve McFeely.
They were the sole writers on the first Captain America film.
They went on to become the sole writers
on Captain America: The Winter Soldier,
sole writers on Civil War,
and now Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
They deserve as much credit for Captain America as anybody else.
When we were talking to them, they had two movies out.
And so the idea that, "No, this is going to build
"into a giant, ongoing interconnected universe"
was like, "Uh-huh. Yeah, sure, of course it will."
- "I have no doubt." [CHUCKLING]
Chris and I sort of coincidentally had been sort of blue-skying about,
"You know what someone should do. A period superhero movie."
Right? When they were invented, when they were created,
what would it be like to use them in the proper time?
And then when we heard that Marvel was going to do that, we were,
"Oh, my. We need to go chase that down."
MARKUS: As for the writing,
we never worried about the larger universe.
McFEELY: The mission is
always make the best movie in front of you,
because this whole thing
is dependent on making good movies one at a time.
We had the same goal in the first Captain America.
We subtitled the Captain America film "The First Avenger"
for a reason,
because putting a star in red, white and blue
on that scrawny kid
who yearns to be a part of the battle,
that is where it all started.
We knew that the movie wouldn't work
if you didn't buy Steve Rogers at the top.
ROGERS: I don't like bullies.
I don't care where they're from.
Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war.
Maybe what we need now is the little guy, huh?
JOE JOHNSTON: The spectacle and the action sequences only work
if you're engaged in the characters.
You know, all the visual effects
and it doesn't matter how big your budget is,
if you're not engaged in Steve Rogers/Captain America,
I think you're wasting your time, really.
McFEELY: We needed to fall in love with skinny Steve Rogers
before he ever became Captain America.
- And never forget that he's in there. - Yeah.
The serum amplifies everything that is inside,
so good becomes great,
bad becomes worse.
This is why you were chosen.
Because a strong man who has known power all his life
may lose respect for that power.
But a weak man
knows the value of strength.
MARKUS: Steve Rogers, more than any of the other superheroes,
really kind of loses who he was
in the process of becoming Captain America.
The old him ceases to exist.
There's no life of Steve Rogers that he goes back to.
In The Avengers, he's the leader
because he's completely dedicated to everything,
partially because he doesn't have anything else to turn to.
JOSS WHEDON: His desire to keep it ordered and to keep some meaning,
all that stuff is still an issue for him.
He's always been this very austere kind of guy,
but had this real loyalty to institutions and to people.
We have orders. We should follow them.
Following's not really my style.
I think they slowly strip that away from him.
You know, he loses his faith in government in Winter Soldier.
He loses his faith in his friends and his family in Civil War.
You know, I think when we see him in Infinity War,
he's just turned his back on a lot of things.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: Earth just lost her best defender,
so we're here to fight.
And if you want to stand in our way,
we'll fight you, too.
EVANS: With this movie, they let him kind of return back to that
hopeful soldier, leader.
This is the fight of our lives...
and we're gonna win.
Whatever it takes.
When we first met the folks at Marvel,
we chased the Captain America job
and certainly had no idea
that it would lead to the next 10 years of our career.
And we've had Cap most of the way.
It's been a lot of fun having someone with that gravity.
It's a rare character.
You don't get to write that character much anymore.
McFEELY: He's an aspirational figure.
It's a combination of where we put him in the universe
and Cap rising to the challenge.
You just don't know when to give up, do you?
[BREATHING HEAVILY] I can do this all day.
FEIGE: When our characters are beginning to come to life,
it all starts with artwork.
Our visual development group,
led by Ryan Meinerding for the better part of a decade,
has been that very important step
between the comics and the final product
that has brought Captain America to life.
RYAN MEINERDING: One of the great things about the comics
is that Captain America was always designed
to read really quickly.
And also, because they had limited colors in the printing,
there's a simplification that happened with a lot of them,
that they were just, you know, this guy's red, white and blue.
There's a really fast, iconic thing that happens
with the characters as the source material.
Trying to bring that into a real setting, like for a film,
whatever they simplified for the design for the comics,
we're trying to fill out in a way that makes it feel real.
If they only had line work and four colors
and they're able to make something that resonates with people
for 60, 70 years, how can we find a way of putting it into our work?
In the case with Captain America,
we're trying to find reference materials
that bring him into sort of the world of a soldier.
The first time he puts on the costume
in Captain America: First Avenger,
it's about him being that sort of patriotic icon that's on the...
in the USO show.
So that was where we were trying
to sort of take those really classic
and iconic lines that were designed back in the '40s
and turn it into something
that was always kind of meant to be a little bit goofy,
sort of put him on stage and say, "You're a symbol for America.
"Show us how much of a symbol you are."
"Not all of us can storm a beach or drive a tank,
"but there's still a way all of us can fight."
One of the amazing things about being able to work on a character
through multiple movies is that you actually get
to tell the story of the character through the costume.
Seeing Cap's change from Captain America: The First Avenger
through Avengers and into Winter Soldier, for example,
is a pretty big visual change.
Being a person in the 1940s
and coming forward into 2012
and sort of living in that period of time
and being a fish-out-of-water
and then sort of acclimating very quickly and becoming
this very stealth-oriented, extreme tactical ops person
is a crazy change.
And it worked so well because...
Partially because the costume actually reflects what he's going through.
ANTHONY RUSSO: What made Cap unique in the Marvel Universe
and sort of in the nature of his powers, he's sort of
basically a man, only more so.
His fighting technique's a very visceral,
surprising experience of action.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
JOE RUSSO: From a visual standpoint,
you take the script and you identify, like,
10 great moments in the movie
and then you take a brilliant artist, like Ryan,
and you say, "Here's what we're looking for from this moment."
And then Ryan draws up
and colors and inks a beautiful,
you know, frame from the movie.
Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?
JOE: They do incorporate lighting.
They incorporate a strong visual element, where will the camera be,
in a very, you know, sort of dynamic and specific moment.
And that does inspire the movie.
FEIGE: For Captain America,
almost every iconic sequence came right out of Ryan's original drawings,
where he was just by himself with his drawing pad at his computer.
MEINERDING: I've been at Marvel for about 12 years,
which is almost the entire time
that Marvel Studios has existed.
There's a sort of a craziness to the notion
that I've been able to stay with the character
over the course of nine years.
Being that sort of medium between the comics
and what is actually on the screen
has been a joy that I couldn't have imagined.
When we really distilled
the core qualities that we wanted
out of Captain America,
I think there's a moral fiber to him
that really isn't something that you act,
that it's something you need to possess.
And Chris Evans was someone
who seemed to inhabit all of those qualities the most.
So everyone was in love with the idea of Chris,
except Chris.
EVANS: The only reason there was hesitation to begin with
was because of the commitment.
It's a big movie and, you know,
those are the movies that if they succeed,
there's a change, a lifestyle change.
And if it fails, it's a whole other can of worms.
Even Chris's reluctance to be a star... [LAUGHS]
spoke to how right he was for the role
because Captain America was not looking for the limelight.
He was humble. He was modest.
He needed to feel that in his bones.
EVANS: I love the character.
He's everything that I wish I could be as a man, you know.
And the creative forces behind the film are fantastic,
between Joe and Kevin Feige.
I mean, you know, Marvel in general,
they know what they're doing, so in the end, I was so excited.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: Once he committed, he committed 1,000%.
You know, he stands there, tells the truth and then kicks ass.
NATE MOORE: I think there's a confidence
that he really brings to the character
and an integrity that people really respond to.
FINN: There's something so endearing, so charismatic, so charming.
He has so much heart. There was something very heroic.
MOORE: There is something that he brings to the character
beyond what we could write on the page,
beyond what we could illustrate in, you know, special effects
that is uniquely Chris.
DOWNEY JR.: It's no secret, I love Chris Evans.
And I love Captain America.
Captain America was the single hardest character to launch in this universe.
This kind of guy out of time,
and is it too retro? Are people going to get it?
SCARLETT JOHANSSON: I cannot imagine anybody but Chris
playing this role.
It's really... It's a very difficult role to play because on one hand,
you have this character that has this very strong moral compass
and you try to think, "Where's the conflict in that?"
CHADWICK BOSEMAN: He allows himself to be vulnerable,
but he allows himself to not take it so seriously.
- Don't worry about it. It's just a... - What's that do?
He makes you love that character,
and it makes people want to follow him.
SEBASTIAN STAN: It's been really great watching him sort of pull this off.
What he does in these movies may look effortless,
but it's effortless because, you know,
it's a testament to what he's done with the character.
EVANS: It's tough to try and present challenges
to someone who is so selfless.
The biggest worry is not only trying to make the guy entertaining,
but also keep him interesting enough
to have audiences want him coming back.
DOWNEY JR.: Every time I see Evans,
he's like more and more like Cap.
It's like we've invested him with that.
And Chris is up for that
because that's what makes it exciting and different.
There's this huge amount of love for the character.
There's 20 Captain America shirts wherever I go.
It's ceased to become just about him
and how well he inhabited the role and all that stuff.
It's become part of our culture just as a symbol.
It's that thing that gives you kind of, you know, teenage goosebumps.
JOE: I think we have a lot emotionally invested in Cap as a character.
We have a lot emotionally invested in Chris
as a friend and a collaborator.
It's a proud moment to be able to sit back
and look at with perspective,
the journey that that character's gone on.
EVANS: You're looking at yourself in this old makeup
and you're trying to tap into Steve's journey,
but you can't help but think about your own
and think about what this entire experience has meant to you.
It's just been littered with so many good memories.
They never want to work, these kids, but I'll get them there.
EVANS: It is because of this journey,
of just such an embarrassment of riches
and such good fortune and just good luck.
And again, it's just so unblemished
because there's so many wonderful people around me.
This has been such an incredible chapter in my life.