CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Directors Discuss What The Sokovia Accords Are and General Ross' Involvement


In the Civil War comic book event a Superhero Registration Act was the focal point of the story arc. On one side was Tony Stark, who was for heroes registering their powers with the government. On the other side was Steve Rogers who opposed it. Each hero had their own respective teams and it was a huge rift in the Marvel comic book universe.

Now, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is adapting the comic book story of the same name. And while this is totally a Captain America movie — there is a major focus on the relationship between Cap, Falcon and Bucky / Winter Soldier — it also has a focal point with its own registration act. However, the movie version of it is being called 'The Sokovia Accords' (also will be referred to as 'The Accords'), which is a way for the world to govern the Avengers.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, spoke to Empire about The Accords, as well as how actor William Hurt's reprisal of his character General Thaddues 'Thunderbolt' Ross is involved.

“We’re using the essence of what Civil War was about,” Joe Russo said. “The comic book isn’t applicable to the storytelling that we’ve structured up to this point, but the concept of registration, the notion that heroes need to be either monitored or controlled because their power can be scary, is applicable.
“The Accords are the world jointly trying to govern the Avengers moving forward," Joe continued."It has to do with the effects of Ultron and Sokovia [the small city that Ultron tried to drop on the Earth from a great height at the end of AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON], and New York City [roundly trashed at the end of THE AVENGERS], and Washington D.C. [nearly devastated by falling helicarriers at the end of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER]. Examining the third acts of all the Marvel movies, we’re saying, if you could point to the collateral damage in all those incidents, could you use that against the Avengers to control them?"

Anthony Russo added the following.

“The challenge was, we’re doing the story of Civil War," Anthony said. "Which everybody knows is nominally about superhero registration. And in a lot of ways that can be a political issue, and we didn’t want the conflict of the movie to solely exist on that level. We wanted to figure out very personal reasons why everyone’s relationship to this idea of registration is going to become complicated. That’s what the relationship between Steve and Bucky allowed us to do, to get very personal in terms of why people would lean one way or the other.”




So how is General Ross involved?

“We thought it would be interesting to take a character who had a fanatical anti-superhero point of view,” Joe said. “Now he’s become much savvier and more political and has put himself in a position of power, not unlike a Colin Powell. He’s cornering the Avengers politically now, he’s out-maneuvering them.
“You cannot have a character called Captain America without examining the politics of what that means, especially in this day and age,” Joe continued. “The heroes in this universe operate under their own auspices, not under the directive of a government, and that can cause a lot of problems. There’s a certain level of imperialism that we’re examining – what right do those that have power have to use that power, even if it’s to do good? How do you govern that kind of power?”

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR releases on May 6, 2016.