The First Avenger (soundtrack)
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''Captain America: The First Avenger'' is a 2011 American superhero film based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
character
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
. Produced by
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
and distributed by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
, it is the fifth film in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU). The film was directed by Joe Johnston, written by
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely Christopher Markus (born January 2, 1970) and Stephen McFeely (born February 24, 1970) are American screenwriters and producers. McFeely and Markus were the second and the third most successful screenwriters of all time in terms of U.S. box offic ...
, and stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America alongside
Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...
,
Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six AACTA Awards, Australian Academy of Cinema and Tel ...
, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper,
Toby Jones Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama ''Orlando'' in 1992. He ...
, Neal McDonough,
Derek Luke Derek Nathanial Luke (born April 24, 1974) is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance as the titular character in the 2002 film ''Antwone Fisher'', directed and produced by Denzel Washington. ...
, and Stanley Tucci. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Steve Rogers, a frail man, is transformed into the super-soldier Captain America and must stop the Red Skull (Weaving) from using the Tesseract as an energy source for world domination. The film began as a concept in 1997 and was scheduled for distribution by Artisan Entertainment. However, a lawsuit disrupted the project and was not settled until September 2003. In 2005, Marvel Studios received a loan from
Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
, and planned to finance and release the film through Paramount Pictures. Directors
Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
and Louis Leterrier were interested in directing the project before Johnston was approached in 2008. The principal characters were cast between March and June 2010. Production began in June, and filming took place in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, Caerwent,
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Several different techniques were used by the visual effects company Lola to create the physical appearance of the character before he becomes Captain America. ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on July 19, 2011, and was released in the United States on July 22, as part of Phase One of the MCU. The film was commercially successful, grossing over $370 million worldwide. Critics particularly praised Evans' performance, the film's depiction of its 1940s time period, and Johnston's direction. Two sequels have been released: '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014) and '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016).


Plot

In the present day, scientists in the
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
uncover an old, frozen aircraft. In March 1942,
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
lieutenant general Johann Schmidt and his men steal a mysterious relic called the Tesseract, which possesses untold godly powers, from the town of Tønsberg in
German-occupied Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...
. In
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Steve Rogers is rejected for
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
military recruitment due to his various health and physical problems. While attending an exhibition of future technologies with his best friend, Sgt. James "Bucky" Barnes, Rogers again attempts to enlist. Overhearing Rogers' conversation with Barnes about representing his country in the war, Dr. Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist. He is recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Colonel Chester Phillips, and British MI6 agent
Peggy Carter Margaret Elizabeth Carter is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character in books featuring Captain America. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirb ...
. Phillips is unconvinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure but relents after seeing Rogers jump on a grenade to save his comrades, unaware that it is a test. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Schmidt underwent the procedure prematurely and suffered permanent side-effects. Schmidt and Dr.
Arnim Zola Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers (comics), Avengers. The character first appeared in ''Captain America (comic ...
harness the energies of the Tesseract, intending to use the power to fuel Zola's inventions, mounting an offensive that will change the world. Schmidt discovers Erskine's location and sends assassin
Heinz Kruger This is a list of Captain America's enemies: A * Adolf Hitler: the leader of Nazi Germany "Mein Führer" Who wanted to rule the world and destroying Jews during World War II. * Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.): A terrorist organization of scien ...
to kill him. Erskine subjects Rogers to the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with a special serum and dosing him with "vita-rays". After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, an undercover Kruger kills Erskine and flees with a vial of the serum. Rogers pursues and captures Kruger, but the assassin avoids interrogation by committing suicide with a
cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...
capsule. With Erskine dead and his super-soldier formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt has Rogers tour the nation in a colorful costume as "Captain America" to promote
war bonds War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are a ...
while scientists study him and attempt to
reverse-engineer Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...
the formula. In 1943, while on tour in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes' unit was MIA in a battle against Schmidt's forces. Refusing to believe that Barnes is dead, Rogers has Carter and engineer
Howard Stark Howard Stark is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the fou ...
fly him behind enemy lines to mount a solo rescue attempt. Rogers infiltrates the fortress of Schmidt's
Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...
division, freeing Barnes and the other prisoners. Rogers confronts Schmidt, who removes a mask to reveal a red, skull-like visage that earned him the sobriquet "the Red Skull". Schmidt escapes and Rogers returns to base with the freed soldiers. Rogers recruits Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan,
Gabe Jones Gabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in World War II war comics series ' ...
,
Jim Morita ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I ...
, James Montgomery Falsworth, and
Jacques Dernier ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...
to attack other known Hydra bases. Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, most notably a circular shield made of vibranium, a rare, nearly indestructible metal. Rogers and his team sabotage various Hydra operations, while he and Carter begin to fall in love. In 1945, the team assaults a train carrying Zola. Rogers and Jones succeed in capturing Zola, but Barnes falls from the train to his apparent death. Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located, and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...
on major American cities. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's aircraft as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract's container is damaged. Schmidt physically handles the Tesseract, causing him to be sucked into a portal into space. The Tesseract burns through the plane and is lost in the ocean. Seeing no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating its weapons, Rogers radios Carter and says goodbye to her before crashing in the Arctic. Stark later recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate Rogers or the aircraft, presuming him dead. Rogers awakens in a 1940s-styled hospital room. Hearing a radio broadcast of a baseball game that he attended in 1941, Rogers grows suspicious, flees outside and finds himself in present-day
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
, where
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...
director
Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...
informs him that he has been "asleep" for nearly 70 years. In a post-credits scene, Fury approaches Rogers and proposes a mission with worldwide ramifications.


Cast

* Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America:
A frail young man who is enhanced to the peak of human ability by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States
war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size ...
. Evans, who previously worked with Marvel as the Human Torch in the ''Fantastic Four'' film series, said he declined the part three times before signing a six-picture deal with Marvel, explaining that, "At the time, I remember telling a buddy of mine, 'If the movie bombs, I'm f—-ed . If the movie hits, I'm f—-ed!' I was just scared. I realized my whole decision-making process was fear-based, and you never want to make a decision out of fear. I can't believe I was almost too chicken to play Captain America." Evans ultimately agreed to the role, saying, "I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now, and it's a fun character. ... I think the story of Steve Rogers is great. He's a great guy. Even if it erejust a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn't necessarily about the comic itself." Regarding the extent of the character's abilities Evans remarked, "He would crush the
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
. Any Olympic sport he's gonna dominate. He can jump higher, run faster, lift stronger weight, but he can be injured. He could roll an ankle and be out for the season. He's not perfect, he's not untouchable. So a lot of the effects, if I'm going to punch someone they're not going to put them on a cable and fly them back 50 feet, but he's going to go down, probably not getting back up, which I think humanizes it. It makes it something that, again, I think everyone can relate to a little bit more, which I really like." Theater actor Leander Deeny was Evans'
body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
in some shots for Steve Rogers' pre-transformation physique, and also appears as a bartender. *
Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...
as Chester Phillips:
A colonel in the United States Army and member of the Strategic Scientific Reserve who heads the project to create super soldiers. The character was updated from the comics, where Phillips was the one to recruit Rogers to join Project Rebirth that made him Captain America. Jones described the character as "the one you've seen in a thousand movies: the gruff, skeptical officer overseeing a team of talented, slightly sarcastic, specially talented soldiers". *
Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six AACTA Awards, Australian Academy of Cinema and Tel ...
as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull:
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's head of advanced weaponry and commander of the terrorist organization
Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...
whose own plan for world domination involves harnessing the power of the magical object known as the Tesseract. Weaving stated that he patterned Red Skull's accent on those of
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...
and Klaus Maria Brandauer. About the character, Weaving remarked, "I think the major difference between Skull and Cap, they've both had the serum, and the serum seems to augment certain qualities that each of them have. Cap is much more in tune with other people I think. Schmidt is in tune with himself, and his own needs, and his own ego, so I suppose it augments that. From that point of view, they're quite opposite." * Hayley Atwell as Margaret “Peggy” Carter:
An officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve who works with Phillips on the super soldier project. Regarding her preparation for the role, she said, "I'm training at the moment six days a week to make her a bit more military and make it convincing that I could kick butt." About the character, Atwell stated, "I likened her character to that famous Ginger Rogers quote. She can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels. She's an English soldier through and through, although she always looks fabulous. She might stand there with a machine-gun shooting Nazis, but she's obviously gone to the loo beforehand and applied a bit of lipstick. She doesn't need to be rescued. That's exciting to me – her strength." She added, "I think she's quite stubborn, a slightly frustrated woman who struggles with being a woman in that time. But more importantly she's a modern woman and she sees something in Captain America that she relates to, and becomes kindred spirits. He treats her very differently to how she's been treated by lots of men, in this kind of dominated world she lives in. So she's very much a fighter." * Sebastian Stan as James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes:
A sergeant in the United States Army, Rogers' best friend, and member of his squad of commandos. Stan has signed on for "five or six pictures". He revealed that he did not know anything about the comic books, but watched a lot of documentaries and films about World War II in preparation for the role, calling '' Band of Brothers'' "very helpful". About the role, Stan stated, "Steve Rogers and Bucky are both orphans and kind of like brothers. They kind of grow up together and look after each other. It's a very human, relatable thing... I also wanted to look out for how their relationship changes once Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. There's always a competition and they're always one-upping each other. I paid attention to how Bucky is affected by Steve's change and suddenly Steve is this leader". * Dominic Cooper as
Howard Stark Howard Stark is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the fou ...
:
The father of Tony Stark who worked on various government projects dating back to the World War II era. About the role, Cooper stated, "It's an opportunity where you can see his future because I know the guy who becomes my son and I see myself as an older version in '' Iron Man 2'' which is great for an actor to have those tools. All I know of him is that he's a fantastic engineer and inventor and a very slick
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
type that's into aviation and women!" *
Toby Jones Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama ''Orlando'' in 1992. He ...
as
Arnim Zola Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers (comics), Avengers. The character first appeared in ''Captain America (comic ...
: A
biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...
for the
Nazi party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
. * Neal McDonough as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan:
A member of Rogers' squad of commandos. McDonough wore the character's signature bowler hat and said he grew Dugan's trademark mustache. About his role in the film he remarked, "Oh, I'm going to see a lot of action. 'mthe go-to guy, so I'm very happy with that." McDonough was signed on to appear in multiple projects for Marvel, not limited to films. *
Derek Luke Derek Nathanial Luke (born April 24, 1974) is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance as the titular character in the 2002 film ''Antwone Fisher'', directed and produced by Denzel Washington. ...
as
Gabe Jones Gabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in World War II war comics series ' ...
:
A member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Luke said he was cast without a script or much of a description of the character. As to why he took the part, "I just believed that Marvel was doing some really great work, great messages in films. The good versus evil and I was just like, 'How can I be down? * Stanley Tucci as Abraham Erskine:
The scientist who created the Super Soldier Serum. Tucci said that what drew him to the role was the opportunity to do a German accent, which was something he always wanted to try.
Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
reprises his role as
Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...
, the director of the super-spy agency,
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...
Kenneth Choi appears as
Jim Morita ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I ...
, a Japanese-American member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Choi said he was the last actor to audition for the part and that he read sides from ''Saving Private Ryan''. About his preparation for the role, Choi said, " did a lot of WWII research especially in regards to the ' Nisei' soldiers, or Japanese-American soldiers. I wanted to get as much true, real-life information for a guy like Jim Morita fighting in WWII. I felt that if I had built a factual basis for him, I could then let go and permit the character to exist in the Marvel Universe, which allows for a lot of imaginative circumstances." Bruno Ricci stars as
Jacques Dernier ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...
, a French member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Ricci auditioned for and got the part while filming the French series ''The Hawk''. JJ Feild appears as James Montgomery Falsworth, a British member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Feild called his part in the film "a very physical job. I play one of the Captain's sidekicks so I've been running around shooting things and blowing things up and trying to look cool for about a year." Additionally, Richard Armitage portrays
Heinz Kruger This is a list of Captain America's enemies: A * Adolf Hitler: the leader of Nazi Germany "Mein Führer" Who wanted to rule the world and destroying Jews during World War II. * Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.): A terrorist organization of scien ...
, the Red Skull's top assassin,
Lex Shrapnel Alexander Carey Shrapnel (born 6 October 1979) is an English actor and voice actor. Early life Shrapnel was born on 6 October 1979 in London, the second of three boys for actor John Shrapnel and Francesca Ann (née Bartley). He is the brother of ...
portrays Gilmore Hodge, a candidate for the super soldier program,
Michael Brandon Michael Brandon (born Michael Feldman; April 20, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey in the British drama series ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' (1985–1986). His theatre credits include the original Broadway (theat ...
portrays Brandt, a United States Senator who recognizes the PR potential of Captain America.
Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and '' Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. ...
had originally been approached to play the part; he later played Grandmaster in '' Thor: Ragnarok''. David Bradley appears as the church keeper where the Tesseract is held.
Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
who attempts to seduce Rogers, and
Jenna Coleman Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986), known professionally as Jenna Coleman, is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Clara Oswald in the science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Qu ...
appears as Connie, Bucky's date at the World Expo.
Laura Haddock Laura Jane Haddock (born 21 August 1985) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Zoë Walker in ''White Lines (TV series), White Lines'', Kacie Carter in ''Honest (TV series), Honest'', Lucrezia in ''Da Vinci's Demons'', Meredith Quil ...
, who would go on to portray Meredith Quill in '' Guardians of the Galaxy'', has a brief appearance as an autograph seeker. Writer and director of ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' James Gunn jokingly claimed that this was
Peter Quill Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 1976) ...
's grandmother.
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
has a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
as a
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
.


Production


Development

In April 1997, Marvel was in negotiations with Mark Gordon and
Gary Levinsohn Gary Levinsohn is an American film producer. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon for the film ''Saving Private Ryan''. He is the co-owner of Mutual Film Company. Filmogra ...
to produce ''Captain America'', and Larry Wilson and
Leslie Bohem Leslie "Les" Bohem (born 1951) is an American screenwriter, television writer, and former bassist. He is the son of screenwriter Endre Bohem. Biography Bohem played bass in the 1980s with the pop groups Sparks and Gleaming Spires. Bohem's writi ...
were set to write a script. In May 2000, Marvel teamed with Artisan Entertainment to help finance the film. However, a lawsuit arose between
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
and
Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...
over the ownership of ''Captain America'' copyrights, disrupting the development process of the film. The lawsuit was eventually settled in September 2003. Following the settlement, Marvel was preparing to license the film rights to
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
until producer David Maisel suggested that the company produce the film themselves. In 2005, Marvel received a $525 million investment from
Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
, allowing them to independently produce ten films, including ''Captain America''.
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
agreed to distribute the film. Originally, the film would stand alone; producer Kevin Feige said "about half" the movie would be set during World War II before moving into the modern day. Producer
Avi Arad Avi Arad (; he, אבי ארד; born 1948) is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founde ...
said, "The biggest opportunity with Captain America is as a man 'out of time', coming back today, looking at our world through the eyes of someone who thought the perfect world was small-town United States. Sixty years go by, and who are we today? Are we better?" He cited the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy as an influence, and claimed he had "someone in mind to be the star, and definitely someone in mind to be the director". In February 2006, Arad hoped to have a summer 2008 theatrical release date.
Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
approached Arad to direct the film as a comedy, but he chose to make ''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'' instead. In April 2006,
David Self David Christopher Self (born January 8, 1970) is an American screenwriter best known as the author of the screenplays for the films '' The Haunting'', ''Road to Perdition'', and '' The Wolfman''. Early life David Self was born in Texas City, Tex ...
was hired to write the script. He explained that Captain America was his favorite superhero as a child because "my dad told me I could one day be Captain America". Joe Johnston met with Marvel to discuss directing the film. ''Captain America'' was put on hold during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. However, in January 2008,
Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American show business, entertainment company (law), company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York (state), New York, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment ...
reached an interim comprehensive agreement with the Writers Guild of America that would put writers immediately back to work on various projects that were under the company's development. On May 5, 2008 (after the success of ''Iron Man''), Marvel announced the film ''The First Avenger: Captain America'' (the working title) for release on May 6, 2011 (before being pushed back to July 22). Louis Leterrier, director of '' The Incredible Hulk'', viewed some of the concept art being created for the film and was impressed enough to offer his services, but Marvel turned him down. Johnston finally signed on in November 2008, and he hired
Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely Christopher Markus (born January 2, 1970) and Stephen McFeely (born February 24, 1970) are American screenwriters and producers. McFeely and Markus were the second and the third most successful screenwriters of all time in terms of U.S. box offic ...
to rewrite. Feige cited Johnston's directorial work on ''
October Sky ''October Sky'' is a 1999 American biographical drama film directed by Joe Johnston and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Chris Owen, and Laura Dern. The screenplay by Lewis Colick, based on the memoir of the same name, tells the true ...
'' and ''
The Rocketeer The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes f ...
'' and his special effects work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy to explain why he was an appropriate choice. ''
Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronal ...
'' was an influence on the film, because they hoped the film would not feel like a period piece. When asked whether anti-US sentiments would affect the film's box office, Feige said, "Marvel is perceived pretty well around the world right now, and I think putting another uber-Marvel hero into the worldwide box office would be a good thing. ... We have to deal with much the same way that Captain America, when thawed from the Arctic ice, entered a world that he didn't recognize," similar to the way Stan Lee and Jack Kirby reintroduced the character in the 1960s. Likewise, Arad noted, "Captain America stands for freedom for all democracies, for hope all around the world. He was created to stop tyranny and the idea of stopping tyranny is important today as it was then. So I think that we will have some interesting challenges but at the end of the day if the movie is terrific and the movie talks to the world, it's not about one place, it's about the world and I think nthat basis it will be very successful." Later, after the election of US President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, Feige commented, "The idea of change and hope has permeated the country, regardless of politics, and that includes Hollywood. Discussions in all our development meetings include the
zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' () ("spirit of the age") is an invisible agent, force or Daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Now, the term is usually associated with Georg W. F. ...
and how it's changed in the last two weeks. Things are being adjusted".


Pre-production

In December 2009, director Joe Johnston indicated that he planned to start filming in April 2010. In a separate interview that month, he described the film's pre-production: "
Rick Heinrichs Richard Heinrichs is an American production designer, effects artist, art director and film producer. He is well known for his work on the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series, Ang Lee's ''Hulk'' and ''The Nightmare Before Christmas''. He starte ...
is production-designing and we're set up down in Manhattan Beach, California. ... We have eight or ten really talented artists, and we all just sit around all day and draw pictures and say, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we could do this?' It's that phase of the production where money doesn't matter: 'Let's put all the greatest stuff up on the wall and hen latersee what we can afford. The film, he said, will begin "in 1942, 1943" during World War II. "The stuff in the '60s and '70s omic bookswe're sort of avoiding. We're going back to the '40s, and then forward to what they're doing with Captain America now." In February 2010, Johnston stated that the
Invaders ''InVader'' is the fourth album by Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love, released on 4 March 2016 through Spinefarm Records. Track listing All songs written by Olli Herman, Pepe Reckless, and Ikka Wirtanen, unless otherwise noted. Reception Wr ...
will appear in "the entire second half" of the film, leading fans to speculate this was the World War II-era Marvel superhero team of that name, and in November Johnston refuted speculation that the Sub-Mariner, an Invaders team-member in the comics, would be included. Johnston later explained that "the Invaders" had been discussed simply as a possible name for the squad of commandos Captain America leads in the film. Christopher Markus, one of the screenwriters, said the unnamed group was "called the Howling Commandos in the script, but no one says that out loud". The design as a whole tried to create technology that could be built in the 1940s, though with the added Cube technology in Hydra's case. Abandoned Nazi projects or actual vehicles from the period were used as inspiration.
Daniel Simon Daniel Simon (born 1975) is a German concept designer and automotive futurist. He is best known for his vehicle designs in movies like '' Tron: Legacy'' and '' Oblivion'', and his book ''Cosmic Motors''. Early life Simon grew up in Stralsund, G ...
, who was previously responsible for many vehicle designs in '' Tron: Legacy'', was appointed Lead Vehicle Designer. Director Johnston cited Simon's book ''Cosmic Motors'' as a reason to trust his influence, saying "he's sort of the guy I wanted to be when I was designing stuff for ''Star Wars''". The Red Skull's car, for instance, was based on two
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
vehicles from the 1930s, the 540K and the G4. In March 2010, it was reported that Chris Evans was cast as Captain America and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull; Marvel Studios confirmed the latter in May. Ryan Phillippe and
John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...
were also considered for the role of Captain America. In April 2010, Sebastian Stan, who had been mentioned in media accounts as a possibility for the title role, was cast as Bucky Barnes. Stan is contracted for multiple films. Also in April, Marvel announced that Hayley Atwell had been cast as Peggy Carter, and that the film's name had been changed from ''The First Avenger: Captain America'' to ''Captain America: The First Avenger''. The next day it was reported that
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
would be rewriting the script as part of his negotiation to write and direct ''
The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
''. Whedon said in August, "I just got to make some character connections. The structure of the thing was really tight and I loved it, but there were a couple of opportunities to find his voice a little bit —and some of the other characters' — and make the connections so that you understood exactly why he wanted to be who he wanted to be. And progressing through the script to flesh it out a little bit". Samuel L. Jackson revealed in an interview that he would reprise his role as Nick Fury in the film. In May, Toby Jones entered final negotiations to play Arnim Zola. ''Iron Man'' director Jon Favreau said a younger Howard Stark would appear in the film, played by Dominic Cooper. Atwell revealed that Tommy Lee Jones would have a role in the film. By June, Neal McDonough was in talks to play Dum Dum Dugan. Four days later, he confirmed he was taking the part. The same day, Stanley Tucci joined the cast as Dr. Abraham Erskine, the scientist who created the super-soldier serum.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on June 28, 2010, with the
working title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
''FrostBite''. On the same day, Marvel confirmed that Tommy Lee Jones had been cast to play US Army Colonel Chester Phillips. The next day Marvel confirmed that Dominic Cooper would portray the younger version of Howard Stark, the character played by John Slattery in '' Iron Man 2''. It was announced that the film would shoot in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in late July and was expected to include scenes featuring key London landmarks. War scenes were filmed in September at the former Royal Navy Propellant Factory in the
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
village of Caerwent. Filming was scheduled to take place that month in the Northern Quarter of
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, where parts of the 2004 film ''
Alfie Alfie may refer to: Theatre and film * ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton * ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine * ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film * ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...
'' and the 2009 ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
'' had been shot, followed by the
Stanley Dock Stanley Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool and is part of the northern dock system. The dock is connected to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to the east ...
area of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, both doubling for the period's
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...
of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. Further scenes were scheduled to be shot in Liverpool's
Albert Dock Albert Dock may refer to: *Albert Dock, Hull, in Kingston upon Hull, England *Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, a dock and warehouse system in Liverpool, England *Royal Albert Dock, London The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal ...
. Johnston included a scene of a technology fair that includes in passing a display case containing the 1940s android superhero known as the original Human Torch, another character, like Captain America, in comics published by Marvel Comics' predecessor, Timely Comics. Some filming also took place at Pinewood Studios, with Pinewood's A Stage, their South Dock, and their Underwater Stage all being used by the crew. Six months of filming also occured at Shepperton Studios, with nine stages being used. In July 2010,
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
head
Kevin Feige Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer who has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a combin ...
said that both this film and ''
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
'' would be released in 3-D. Johnston did a one-day test shooting with a 3-D rig, rather than shooting in 2-D and converting, and found it "a nightmare" due to bulky gear, calibration issues and restricted filmmaking options. Nevertheless, he said he believes 3-D is "a new challenge and it's exciting". Feige insisted that the conversion would not compromise the film's image quality, as the decision to release the film in 3-D was made early in development, and that "an unprecedented amount of time" would be devoted to the conversion process, to render all the film's
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
in true 3-D.


Post-production

In November 2010, Stanley Tucci stated that he had completed filming his scenes and that the rest of the production would wrap in about three weeks. In February 2011, it was announced that
Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Back ...
had been chosen to compose the
film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
. In March 2011, it was reported that ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' would be undergoing reshoots in the United Kingdom and in Los Angeles in April 2011. A scene was also filmed in New York City's Times Square on April 23, 2011. The film features nearly 1,600 visual effects shots, which were split between thirteen different companies. To achieve the appearance of the skinny, pre-serum Steve Rogers, director Joe Johnston stated that he used two major techniques: Captain America's shield, which serves as both a defensive tool and a weapon, came in four types: metal,
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
, rubber, and
computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
(CG). Prop master Barry Gibbs specified that "We had the 'hero shield,' which was made of aluminum, for our beauty shots ndclose-up work. We then created a lighter shield that was aluminum-faced with a fiberglass back, for use on a daily basis. ... And then we had a stunt shield made of polyurethane, which is sort of a synthetic rubber ... and we made an ultrasoft one we put on vans'back, so that if there were an accident, it wouldn't hurt him." Visual effects supervisor Christopher Townsend said Evans "would practice swinging the practical shield so he knew the arc and the speed at which he should move. We would take the shield from him and shoot the scene with him miming it. Then we would add in a CG shield". Hugo Weaving, who portrayed the Red Skull, wore a latex mask conceived by prosthetic makeup designer David White. The visual effects team had to manipulate his face considerably, as the mask was bulky and they wanted to make it look like tight skin wrapped around a very bony structure. They thinned out Weaving's cheeks and lower lip, hollowed out his eyes, and removed his eyelashes and nose to make him appear more like the Red Skull character. Closing credits were created by visual effects firm Rok!t by means of 3-D and stereoscopic processing that used iconic American war propaganda, such as
James Montgomery Flagg James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 – May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1 ...
's Uncle Sam recruitment poster from World War I and
J. Howard Miller "We Can Do It!" is an American World War II wartime poster produced by J. Howard Miller in 1943 for Westinghouse Electric as an inspirational image to boost female worker morale. The poster was little seen during World War II. It was rediscover ...
's "
We Can Do It! "We Can Do It!" is an American World War II wartime poster produced by J. Howard Miller in 1943 for Westinghouse Electric as an inspirational image to boost female worker morale. The poster was little seen during World War II. It was rediscove ...
" poster from World War II.


Music

The soundtrack album for ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' includes the original score by Alan Silvestri, as well as an original song, " Star Spangled Man", with music composed by
Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989), ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ''A ...
and lyrics by David Zippel. The soundtrack was recorded at Air Studios in London and released by Walt Disney Records on July 19, 2011.


Marketing

At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, some footage that had been shot in the previous week was shown at the
San Diego Convention Center The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive. The center is managed by the San Diego Con ...
. The first television advertisement aired during Super Bowl XLV on the
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
network in the United States. Paramount paid $3 million to run the 30-second advertisement. The first full trailer was released in March 2011. In May 2011, the
USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
girls from the film performed aboard the at the
Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum The ''Intrepid'' Sea, Air & Space Museum is an American military and maritime history museum in New York City with a collection of museum ships. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street, along the Hudson River, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhoo ...
as a part of the 2011
Fleet Week Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week. Once the ships dock, ...
celebration in New York City. In June 2011,
Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...
and Baskin-Robbins teamed with Marvel to search for real-life super-soldiers. The contest sought nominations for veterans or active U.S. servicepersons making a difference where they live or serve. In July 2011, Paramount Pictures promoted the film during an
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
celebration hosted by the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
. Promotional partners include
Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. In February 2011, Marvel Comics launched the eight-issue digital comic '' Captain America: First Vengeance'', on the same day as the first trailer aired. Written by Fred Van Lente and featuring a rotation of artists, the story is set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
. Each of the eight issues focuses on a specific character from the movie, heroes and villains alike, and what brought them to the point where the movie begins.
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
announced a video game
tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...
titled '' Captain America: Super Soldier'', that was released on July 19, 2011, for the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
,
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
,
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
, and
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
. Marvel released the
mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
, ''Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty'', in July 2011. A toy line was released as well.


Release


Theatrical

The world premiere of ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' was held on July 19, 2011, at the El Capitan Theatre in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. The film was screened at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 21, 2011. It was commercially released in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2011. ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' is part of Phase One of the MCU. Paramount opted against altering the American-centric title when distributing to foreign territories, instead offering international markets a choice between the official title and the alternative ''The First Avenger''. Many international distributors chose to retain the original title, believing the franchise name to be more identifiable than the alternative, and that the latter would risk losing ticket sales. Three countries chose the alternative title:
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. An "insider" speaking to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' explained that the name change in these countries stemmed from cultural and political concerns, though Marvel and Paramount both declined to state an official reason. In July 2011, it was thought that the film would not be released in China because of a policy limiting the number of foreign films screened there each year, but it eventually opened there in the second weekend of September. Days before the film's release, a teaser trailer for ''The Avengers'' that served as a post-credits scene of ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' was briefly leaked online. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' speculated it came from a preview screening and described the footage as "shaky, fuzzy, flickering and obviously filmed on a cell phone". ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' was formatted and screened in
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...
for the first time on August 31, 2018, as part of Marvel Studios' 10-year anniversary IMAX festival.


Home media

''Captain America: The First Avenger'' was released by Paramount Home Entertainment on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
, Blu-ray 3D and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on October 25, 2011. The three-disc set includes the film on Blu-ray in high-definition 3D and in high definition 2D, as well as on standard definition DVD with a digital copy. The two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes a high-definition presentation of the film and a standard-definition presentation with a digital copy. Both sets include over an hour of bonus material, including the short film ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer'', a sneak peek of ''The Avengers'', six behind-the-scenes featurettes, and deleted scenes with commentary by director Joe Johnston, director of photography Shelly Johnson and editor Jeff Ford. In its first week of release, ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' topped the Blu-ray and DVD sales charts, selling 1.54 million Blu-ray units and 726,000 DVD units and making a combined total of $52.6 million. The film was also collected in a 10-disc
box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
titled " Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled" which includes all of the Phase One films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on April 2, 2013. ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' was released by
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
on Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 26, 2019.


Reception


Box office

''Captain America: The First Avenger'' earned $176.7 million in North America and $193.9 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $370.6 million. ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' opened on July 22, 2011, in the United States and earned $4 million in midnight showings, outgrossing other 2011 original superhero films like ''
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
'' and '' Green Lantern'' as well as the prequel '' X-Men: First Class'', which all made between $3.25 million and $3.5 million in Friday midnights. On Friday, the film opened at the number one spot at the American and Canadian box office with $25.7 million. It then went on to make $65.1 million in what was the second highest-grossing opening weekend for a superhero film in 2011, behind ''Thor'' ($65.7 million). At the time of its release, ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' became the third highest-grossing motion picture set during the World War II era, after '' Saving Private Ryan'' and ''
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
''.


Critical response

The
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported an approval rating of , with an average score of , based on reviews. The website's consensus reads, "With plenty of pulpy action, a pleasantly retro vibe, and a handful of fine performances, ''Captain America'' is solidly old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a weighted average score, rated the film 66 out of 100 based on 43 reviews from critics indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Moore of the ''
Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
'' gave ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' a positive review, saying, "Johnston has delivered a light, clever and deftly balanced adventure picture with real lump in the throat nostalgia, with Nazis – who make the best villains, and with loving references to ''Star Wars'' and ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' remarked, "I enjoyed the movie. I appreciated the 1940s period settings and costumes, which were a break with the usual generic cityscapes. I admired the way that director Joe Johnston propelled the narrative. I got a sense of a broad story, rather than the impression of a series of sensational set pieces. If Marvel is wise, it will take this and ''Iron Man'' as its templates".
A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
of ''The New York Times'' declared it "pretty good fun".
Karina Longworth Karina Longworth (born July 10, 1980) is an American film critic, author, and journalist based in Los Angeles. Longworth writes, hosts and produces the podcast ''You Must Remember This'', about the "secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywoo ...
of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' gave the film a negative review, calling it " hokey, hacky, two-hour-plus exercise in franchise transition/price gouging, complete with utterly unnecessary post-converted 3-D". Peter Debruge of ''Variety'' said, "''Captain America: The First Avenger'' plays like a by-the-numbers prequel for Marvel Studios' forthcoming ''The Avengers'' movie". Kirk Honeycutt of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' had mixed feelings about the film, writing, "As the last Marvel prequel that includes two Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies before next summer's ''The Avengers'', this one feels perhaps a little too simplistic and routine".


Accolades


Future


Sequels


''Captain America: The Winter Soldier''

A sequel, ''Captain America: The Winter Soldier'', directed by Anthony and Joseph Russo, was released on April 4, 2014. Evans, Stan, Atwell, Toby Jones, and Jackson reprise their roles as Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Peggy Carter, Arnim Zola, and Nick Fury, respectively. They are joined by Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie,
Cobie Smulders Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders (born April 3, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014) and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the Ma ...
,
Frank Grillo Frank Anthony Grillo (born June 8, 1965) is an American actor and martial artist. He played Brock Rumlow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014), '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), '' Avengers: ...
, Emily VanCamp, and
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Sam Wilson / Falcon,
Maria Hill Commander Maria Hill ( ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch, the character first appeared in '' The New Avengers'' #4 (March 2005). As a form ...
,
Brock Rumlow Crossbones (Brock Rumlow) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of Captain America, and played a part in his assassination. The character has been ad ...
, Sharon Carter, and
Alexander Pierce Alexander Goodwin Pierce is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in stories featuring the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. as an agent. A re-imagining of the character ...
, respectively.


''Captain America: Civil War''

''Captain America: Civil War'' was released on May 6, 2016, and again is directed by the Russo brothers. Evans, Johansson, Stan, Mackie, Grillo and VanCamp reprise their roles from ''The Winter Soldier'', and they are joined by
Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...
as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Paul Bettany as Vision,
Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as '' Dahmer'' (2002) and ''Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as ''S.W.A.T.'' (2 ...
as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch,
Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross all reprising roles from previous MCU films. Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland and
Daniel Brühl Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo (; born 16 June 1978) is a Spanish-German actor and filmmaker. He received his first German Film Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' Das Weisse Rauschen (The White Sound)'' (2001), ''Nichts ...
also star as T'Challa / Black Panther, Peter Parker / Spider-Man and Helmut Zemo, respectively.


Marvel One-Shot

In September 2013, Marvel released the
One-Shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...
short film, ''Agent Carter'', on '' Iron Man 3''s home media release, featuring Atwell reprising her role as Peggy Carter. Set a year after ''The First Avenger'', the film sees Carter on an SSR mission post-World War II.


See also

* " What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?", an episode of the MCU television series '' What If...?'' that reimagines the events of this film


Notes


References


External links

* * *
''Captain America'' Movie Hub
at
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
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