Captain America: Brave New World director Julius Onah is opening up about how the Serpent Society would have originally been portrayed in the latest MCU movie.
Captain America 4, also known as Captain America: Brave New World, is now playing in United States theaters. The Marvel Studios flick sees Anthony Mackie reprise his role as Sam Wilson/Captain America, while Harrison Ford plays Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/Red Hulk.
Speaking with Variety, Onah was asked how Giancarlo Esposito’s character, Sidewinder, was brought into the film. In Marvel Comics, Sidewinder formed the Serpent Society and, at one point, more members of the villainous organization were believed to have a role in the movie.
What did Captain America: Brave New World’s director say about the Serpent Society reshoots?
“This is another case of the grounded aesthetic and tone of the film. Serpent Society had always been a part of the story since I joined, but as you are probably well aware, in publishing, these characters dress up in snake-like outfits and have snake-like powers,” Onah answered. “Some of them are, you know, so over the top that they can even be a little bit cartoonish. As we were iterating through how to bring them into the MCU, we leaned into versions that were a bit more heightened and also versions that were a bit more grounded. We found that the more grounded version, though it didn’t have some of the really fun, cool stuff in publishing, just felt way more authentic to the film. “
Onah noted that “additional photography” that was “planned from the very beginning” led to Esposito’s casting and helped them “refine how the Serpent Society would work in the film.”
“You always want to honor publishing,” Onah said. “You always want to honor what the fans love, but at the same time, you want to do what’s right for the movie. So I wouldn’t say it was ever what it was in the comics, but it leaned toward that a little bit more. As we got further in our process, it was just clear, this wants to sit in a [grounded] tone. I was trying to bring references like The Day of the Jackal and Point Blank, procedural, paranoid, and political thrillers, and having a Serpent Society that felt more grounded would make more sense. So we started thinking about private military companies, thinking of this Sidewinder as a leader of a group that could be something of a combination between that and a warlord. That started to become really, really interesting.”
Marvel‘s Captain America: Brave New World is now playing in United States theaters.
Originally reported by Brandon Schreur on SuperHeroHype.
