Marvel almost ruined the perfect introduction of Chris Evans’ iconic character, Steve Rogers aka Captain America, to the big screen as part of the OG Six. The period setting of the film that dealt with the character’s origin story did a number of things right and was equally impactful later in the franchise. The new book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, released recently, revealed a lot of secrets and behind-the-scenes stories, including the challenges faced during the storyboarding of the movie. Here’s what happened!
Marvel Didn’t Want Captain America: The First Avenger to Be a Period Film
The movie that introduced Steve Rogers to the roster was an instant hit. The First Avenger primarily focused on voicing Chris Evans‘ Captain America’s origin story, whose narrative was inexplicably intertwined with World War II. But, as it turns out, the movie that fans now love and cherish almost didn’t happen, since the new book, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, pointed out that during the brainstorming process, Marvel executives fought against the film being set in a period.
Initially, to please everyone, it was decided that the movie would be split into two parts, the first set in the 1940s and the other in the present day. However, Marvel deemed period films to be “poison” and strongly fought against it.
Thanks to the producers, even after the pressure from the studio, they stood their ground as they found themselves growing fonder of the period aspect of it as they continued their exploration. And they were eventually successful in persuading the studio.
Lo and Behold, it was indeed a success. The elements that The First Avenger introduced proved to be impactful later in the franchise in a huge way, in addition, Cap’s origin story also made him a certified fan favorite in no time.
Why Marvel Was Deadly Wrong About Their Stance on the Movie?
Marvel wanted to base the Captain America movie on the present day, which would have required them to just gloss over the compelling origin story of the character. In this case, the audience would have been bombarded with a bunch of information about Rogers’ past rather than being shown what he went through and how he was before he transformed into a super soldier.
Thus, being a period movie helped the film to show Steve Rogers’ life as it was, rather than telling stories and using flashbacks, which made the audience grow fonder of the character. It can be said that it was crucial for the film to be set in the World War II era. Marvel fans are now thankful to Feige and Louis D’Esposito for enduring the fight and making this film a memorable one.
Captain America: The First Avenger is available on Disney+ to stream.
