Captain America: Civil War: Gwyneth Paltrow will return as Pepper Potts

She has not appeared in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film since Iron Man 3

Tuesday 23 February 2016 09:37

As the release of Captain America: Civil War draws ever closer, more and more information regarding the film is hitting the internet.

Lately, Anthony Mackie hinted that yet another Avenger would be in the film, followed soon after by the revelation over who character Martin Freeman will be playing.

Thanks to the most recent edition of Empire, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts has been confirmed to appear alongside Iron Man in a “small yet key role”.

The actor was reportedly on set for reshoots, yet the context of how she will appear in the film is currently under wraps.

Captain America: Civil War trailer shot-by-shot analysis

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1/14Captain America: Civil War trailer shot-by-shot analysis

Ah, the very first scene of the trailer. If you've seen Ant-Man (and decided to wait around until the end of the credits) you will recognise the location. In that post-credit scene, Falcon and Cap discuss not telling Tony Stark about finding Bucky, and here the trio are being hunted by soldiers. Speculators believe Tony has likely found out that the Winter Soldier killed his father when he was a brainwashed Hydra-killer, and is thus hunting him down. Cap, on the other hand, recognises that Bucky has remembered he's actually a good guy (as hinted at the end of Winter Soldier) and has therefore tracked him down to get him on-side.

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Getting Bucky on side, however, has angered this guy, Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross, or, in the comics, the Red Hulk. The last time this guy appeared in the MCU was in The Incredible Hulk - possibly the most unloved and unconnected MCU movie (even Guardians of the Galaxy had Thanos!). He's handing over papers to Cap that read 'Sokovia', our first reference to the events of Ag of Ultron. He questions the flag-wearer over being a 'vigilante', accusing him of acting with "unlimited power and no supervision. That is something the world can no longer tolerate." He's obviously expecting Cap and the other Avengers to sign up to some sort of government watchdog scheme, working with/for them rather than on their own terms. Obviously, with S.H.E.I.L.D. turning out to be the villains Hydra, Cap doesn't want to sign up to another organisation that could turn bad.

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So Cap goes on the run, and he's turned to Black Widow for help. However, Scar-Jo's leading lady is warning him not to help Bucky (after all, she knew about he catastrophic acts as the Winter Soldier), which Cap replies to with "Are you saying you'll arrest me?"

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And she seemingly does try to arrest him! Cap takes off his shield while Thunderbolt's voice over says "There will be consequences". It's apparent that he is being hunted for not wanting to sign up to the government's scheme while also helping out Bucky.

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Here he is, Tony Stark himself. He's on the other side to Cap in almost every way: believing they should be monitored and likely wanting Bucky in a cell. He's also probably feeling super guilty about unleashing a robot, hell-bent on destroying the human race in Age of Ultron. Expect some a Stark experiencing some serious PTSD.

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Stark looking suited and booted, and ready to punch Cap in the face. Steve Rodgers really knows how to grind his gears.

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Here's Falcon having just kicked ass. He's definitely on Cap's side.

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Tony and his pal, War Machine. The rest of his team isn't revealed here, but is expected to contain Black Widow and the Vision as well as Black Panther (more on that in a moment).

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First and only look at Hawkeye and Scarlett Witch on Cap's team. Hawkeye is the mysterious one here (Witch would certainly be against Stark after one of his missiles almost exploded her and Quicksilver *Sniff*). His role on Cap's side will likely tie into his family, and keeping them hidden.

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Our first look at the man from Wakanda. He's on Tony's side, and seems to be seeking out Bucky in particular. Like Tony, it is thought his father, the ex-king of Wakanda, was assassinated by the Winter Soldier as well, and is therefore seeking out revenge. His armour, previously only seen in leaked photographs, is very close to that seen in the comic books.

As cheesy as this shot is, it is also completely awesome!

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Now that's the face of an angry man. This looks like the same scene we see at the end of the trailer where both Bucky and Cap fight Iron Man together, so the analysis will have to wait until then!

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Now this... This is exciting. Why is War Machine looking almost dead?!? Would Cap's team really do this to him? Surely not?!? The airport in the background looks like it has been heavily hit by something, or someone, but surely Cap's team aren't out to kill or destroy anything, they are supposed to be the good guys. This could actually be a misleading shot, as there will be actual villains in this film: both Crossbones and Baron Zemo. Perhaps they were responsible for almost/outright killing War Machine, it's more likely than Cap going on a killing spree.

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Now here's a really interesting scene: Bucky and Rodgers working together to take down Iron Man. With Bucky using the shield there are obvious allusions to his comic book history in which he becomes Captain America. Going back to the Winter Soldier attempting to take out Iron Man's core, could it be possible he has killed Cap and that's why he is so angry? Chris Evans has been quoted before that he would like to retire the suit at some stage, could this be his final film? Fan theorists also think he may be brought back for Thanos in Avengers 3, but could this really be the moment the torch gets passed to Bucky? If so, this could be the biggest game-changer in the MCU to date.

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Last time we saw Potts, at the end of Iron Man 3, she had just had the Extremis in her body stabilised, having had the virus injected into her by Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian.

Paltrow’s character did not appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron, although she was mentioned by Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man.

Joining Downey Jr. and Paltrow in Civil War is Chris Evans, Scarlett Johanson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renny and Elizabeth Olsen among many, many more well-known actors. The film will also introduce the characters Black Panther and Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Captain America: Civil War will reach UK cinemas 29 April and is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.

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