Which Captain America Villain Is Daniel Bruhl Playing In ‘Captain America: Civil War?’
What’s sure to be one of the biggest films of 2016 just added another cast member, as Marvel has announced that Daniel Bruhl, of Inglorious Basterds and Rush fame, will be joining Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. in Captain America: Civil War.
The new announcement came Friday afternoon via Marvel.com (h/t: ComicBook.com), and it’s pretty light on details. There’s no word on whom, exactly, Bruhl will be portraying in Captain America: Civil War, but it looks as though his role will be a meaty one, if only judging by Marvel’s praise for Bruhl in the announcement.
“With Daniel’s ability to deliver intense, nuanced performances,” Marvel producer Kevin Feige said, “we knew we had found yet another great actor to share the screen with some of our biggest heroes.”
Marvel also notes the new Captain America addition’s previous roles, which include some truly laudable turns on film. Bruhl won acclaim for his portrayal of Formula 1 racer Niki Lauda in Ron Howard’s Rush. Bruhl has also worked with Quentin Tarantino, Paul Greengrass, and Michael Winterbottom.
He’ll be splitting screen time with not only Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, but also Robert Downey’s Iron Man and Chadwick Boseman, who will debut in costume as the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War.
Marvel’s announcement doesn’t give details on Bruhl’s role in the third Captain America film, but Variety is reporting that Bruhl is going to play a villain in the film, though maybe not the main one. In fact, Variety says that Bruhl could go on to be a major villain in 2016’s Doctor Strange, though there isn’t too much detail on that aspect.
If it is in fact the case that Bruhl is taking another villain turn, Marvel is keeping an extra tight lid on Bruhl’s character, and there are a wealth of German villains that Bruhl could play, since fighting Nazis is kind of Captain America’s thing.
Marvel’s options for a villain are wide open, given Captain America’s history. There’s Baron Zemo, a longtime Captain America nemesis who started out as a Nazi commander before moving on to found the Masters of Evil. The original Baron Zemo, of course, would be long dead by the time Civil War kicks off, but Zemo fortunately had a son who took up the name and mask.
There’s also Doctor Faustus, a Nazi psychiatrist who bends others to his will. With no actual superpowers, Faustus is much more of a mindbender, tricking others into doing his work for him. Faustus in particular could have a great shot at being Captain America: Civil War’s villain, as the character played a big role after the Marvel Comics incarnation of Civil War, manipulating one character in particular into “killing” Captain America.
There are a number of other characters Bruhl could be playing, but those two look like the most likely for right now. Then again, Marvel could surprise us all by bringing back a new, younger Red Skull… or maybe even MODOK.
