Captain America: Civil War footage debuts at D23 with Avengers doing battle

LOS ANGELES — Captain America: Civil War stars Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie were on hand at Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim to debut the first footage from the hotly anticipated Marvel movie.

The action-packed reel positioned Evans’ Steve Rogers/Captain America and his team of Avengers (including Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, Falcon/Sam Wilson and Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff) against Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man and Don Cheadle’s War Machine, with Avenger pitted against Avenger in a battle near the end of the trailer. “Are we still friends?” Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff asks Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye at one point during the brawl. “Depends how hard you hit me,” Clint quips.

The disagreement between the former allies seems to stem from a speech delivered by William Hurt’s General ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, who tells Steve: “The world owes you an unpayable debt — a great many people see you as a hero, but there are some who prefer the word vigilante. People are afraid.”

In one scene, Downey’s Tony Stark tells Evans’ Steve, “Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth”. In a turnaround from Age of Ultron, Tony seems to be arguing for more accountability from the superheroes.

The footage also showed Frank Grillo in costume as the villainous Crossbones during a fight with Cap, with Crossbones tossing Cap against cars and gloating about Steve’s former friend Bucky (Sebastian Stan). “He remembered you, you know — your pal, your buddy, your Bucky.” The trailer delivered on the promise of Captain America: Winter Soldier and the stinger at the end of Ant-Man, showing Bucky shedding his Winter Soldier programming to join forces with Cap in the fight against Iron Man.

The footage didn’t show Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, but did show Ant-Man star Paul Rudd as Scott Lang meeting Captain America for the first time, and thoroughly geeking out.

Civil War also stars Chadwick Boseman, Martin Freeman, Paul Bettany, Emily VanCamp, and many more stars from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige also debuted a concept art trailer from Doctor Strange, which has not yet started production. Although Benedict Cumberbatch couldn’t make it to the Expo because of his Hamlet in London, he sent a video message, promising, “girls, cars, explosions, a bit of astral projection — the usual fare”. Of his mystical titular role, Cumberbatch said, “He’s an extraordinary character and brings in a whole other dimension- multiple dimensions” to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain America: Civil War hits theatres on May 6, next year. VARIETY.COM/REUTERS