Marvel’s Kevin Feige reveals if Red Guardian really did fight Captain America

The Marvel boss opens up about Red Guardian’s alleged fight with Captain America

Marvel president Kevin Feige has revealed more about whether or not Captain America really did fight Red Guardian.

In Marvel’s latest film, Black Widow, Red Guardian – who is played by Stranger Things actor David Harbour – claims he once fought Captain America.

In one scene set in prison, Red Guardian, aka Alexei Shostakov, is seen boasting to his fellow inmates that he fought Captain America in the early Eighties. However, it’s pointed out to him that during this time, Captain America was actually out of action.

Now, while taking part in a Black Widow watch party with fans yesterday (20 July), Feige was asked directly by a fan: "Did Red Guardian actually fight Captain America back in his glory days?"

Feige replied: “Good question... Although, wasn’t Captain America frozen in ice then?” strongly hinting that Red Guardian was in fact lying.

Speaking to Inverse last month (via Digital Spy), Harbour also spoke about his character’s propensity to lie.

"Part of the fun thing about Alexei is that I wasn’t interested in reality. He doesn’t even know that he’s lying," Harbour said. "Sometimes as an actor, I’ll have to know the reality because I’ll know [if] the character is lying. But Alexei simply believes this stuff is true.

"There’s a thing, confabulation... where people actually just believe their lies to such a degree that even when confronted with reality, they can’t process it. It doesn’t make sense [to them]."

Scarlet Johansson in Black Widow (Marvel Studios)

Meanwhile, The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) this week (July 20) criticised Disney for the release strategy of Black Widow, which saw the film released in cinemas and the studio’s streaming service simultaneously.

In a press release, NATO criticised Disney for the film’s underperformance at the box office and urged the media giant to revert back to cinema only releases.