With three Marvel Studios films under his belt, there are few people in the world that understand Captain America quite like Chris Evans. The actor has lived in his skin, understands how he thinks, and knows him inside and out. But while the actor has taken ownership of the superhero role that has made him a global superstar, going into The Avengers: Age of Ultron he only had one request for writer/director Joss Whedon: he wanted to make sure Cap’s powers stayed consistent.
It was Chris Evans himself who revealed this interesting bit of Captain America trivia, speaking to myself and a small group of other journalists on the set of the Avengers sequel last summer. Asked if he had talked to the film’s director before production to try and emphasize any aspect of the character, the actor revealed that he put his complete faith in Joss Whedon and trusted him with the patriotic hero – but added that he also requested that the displays of his incredible abilities not be toned down in any way. He explained,
The only thing I kind of talked to [Joss Whedon] about was his ability consistency. You know, with the second Captain America we really pushed the envelope in terms of what this guy is capable of, which I was excited to see because the first Captain America he’s just strong. In Avengers it was still in my opinion a little bit punch, punch, kick, kick.
Looking back on the events and action sequences featured in Captain America: The Winter Solider, there’s no denying that things were taken up a few notches. In that film, Cap was diving out over airplanes sans-parachute, jumping out of skyscrapers, leaping off of motorcycles to destroy jets, and much more. And because the hero isn’t exactly the kind of guy who is going to start being lazy and give up on his training, Chris Evans insists that there can be no stepping backwards, only forwards. He told us,
His fight style needs to advance a little bit. I don’t wanna go full Bruce Lee, but there needs to be more than just haymakers and fun kicks. There needs to be a style of fight. There needs to be a consistent display of strength.
Evans even went as far as to cite past examples of inconsistency and express confusion over them, As he explained, if Captain America can punch a heavy bag off its chain across the room, how would a normal person be able to take a hit? Fortunately, that’s an issue that’s solving itself in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, as the movie’s robotic villains are quite a bit more durable than Hydra soldiers or Chitauri. Said Evans,
The foes are a bit more of a challenge, so in a way he’s not as effective as I’d like him to be [in Avengers: Age of Ultron]. You know, you have to measure your enemy’s ability based on his capacity to win, and sometimes Cap has to take that one to the chin, be the one who gets thrown around a little bit – because these Ultrons are pretty powerful.
Whether or not Captain America will be able to withstand and survive the powerful and deadly hordes of Ultrons is unknown now, but all will be revealed when The Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1st. In the meantime, stay tuned for more of our coverage from the set!
