Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger and following on from The Avengers. It is currently filming and the ninth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will be released on April 4, 2014. Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson return as Steve Rogers, James Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Maria Hill, Peggy Carter, Arnim Zola, Howard Stark and Nick Fury. The film will be directed by the Russo Brothers.

Plot
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.

Cast

 * Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
 * Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
 * Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
 * Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon
 * Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
 * Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter
 * Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones
 * Toby Jones as Arnim Zola
 * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
 * Maximiliano Hernández as Jasper Sitwell
 * Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce
 * Callan Mulvey as Jack Rollins
 * Georges St-Pierre as Georges Batroc
 * Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
 * Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark
 * Garry Shandling as Senator Stern
 * Chin Han as a World Security Councilman Yen
 * Jenny Agutter as a World Security Council member
 * Alan Dale as a World Security Council member
 * Bernard White as a World Security Council member

Production
Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus were hired to return to write the script for the sequel. Chris Evans is contracted to reprise his role as Steve Rogers in future installments in the Captain America franchise. In September 2011, Chris Evans said that a sequel may not be released until 2014. In January 2012, Neal McDonough mentioned that a sequel would likely be filmed after the completion of Thor 2, which would likely be before the end of 2012.

In March 2012, it was reported that Marvel has whittled down a field of ten directors to three potential candidates; George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job) and brothers Anthony and Joseph Russo (Community) to helm the sequel. In April 2012, Walt Disney Studios announced that it will release the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger on April 4, 2014. Disney stated, "The second installment will pick-up where … The Avengers leaves off, as Steve Rogers continues his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world. Later in April, it was announced that F. Gary Gray was not going to direct. Filming began in April of 2013 in Los Angeles. Additional filming will take place in Cleveland, Ohio and Washington, D.C.

Trivia

 * Disney stated, "[The second installment] will pick-up where The Avengers leaves off, as Steve Rogers continues his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world."
 * Anna Kendrick, Felicity Jones, Imogen Poots, Teresa Palmer, Alison Brie, Emilia Clarke and Jessica Brown Findlay were considered to play the female lead but ultimately Emily VanCamp was cast as Sharon Carter. Jones would later be cast in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Jessica Brown Findlay later appeared in "Iron Man 3" as the film used footage of her from "Downton Abbey".
 * At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, it was announced that the official title for the sequel will be Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
 * In September 2012, Chris Evans stated that filming would begin in March 2013. Evans also stated that Rogers's adjustment to the modern world, which was originally set to be included in The Avengers, would be better suited for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
 * The working title for on-set was "Freezer Burn."
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kevin Durand and Josh Holloway screen tested for the lead villain role.
 * In February 2013, Emily VanCamp entered negotiations to play the female lead in the film. Later in the same month, producer Kevin Feige described the film as a political thriller.
 * In January 2013, Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger, said that she will not appear in the sequel. However Stanley Tucci, who played Dr. Abraham Erskine in the previous film, later said that Atwell will reappear in a flashback scene. He also stated that he, as Erskine, will not be making an appearance.
 * Ed Brubaker was as surprised as the fans were when Marvel announced the title of 2014's Captain America sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which directly references Brubaker's work on the title and his biggest contribution to the Marvel Universe - the return of Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier. "It's definitely out of my hands," Brubaker says, laughing. "But no, I got to go out to Marvel Studios a couple months ago and read one of the later drafts of the script. I went out to dinner with directors Joe and Anthony Russo and talked about the project and gave them feedback on what I liked or didn't like or what parts didn't work. I mean, the script I read was [frick]ing fantastic. It was the best Marvel movie."
 * Marks the fourth time Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson have worked together, both starring in The Perfect Score, The Nanny Diaries and The Avengers prior to filming.
 * This is composer Henry Jackman's first work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not his first film with Marvel Studios. He previously composed the score for "X-Men: First Class".
 * Unlike the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "The Winter Soldier" minimizes the use of visual effects as much as possible.