The most important decision was filling the director’s chair for this one. Joe Johnston, who helmed “First Avenger,” did not return for the follow-up. Marvel, instead, turned to up-and-coming directors who had yet to make a blockbuster. They landed on the Russo Brothers, a duo known for work on shows like “Community” and “Arrested Development” who, on paper, did not at all seem like the obvious choice to tackle a big-budget comic book movie. Yet this would prove to be one of the most consequential decisions Marvel Studios would ever make.
“To us, when we knew it was about the Winter Soldier storyline, we couldn’t run faster to the meeting at Marvel,” Joe Russo said in a 2014 interview from the film’s set. Ultimately, Marvel felt they were right for the gig (in part thanks to a kind word from Steven Soderbergh). Speaking a bit more, Russo revealed the films that inspired them in crafting the picture:
“There is certainly a very strong element of espionage like a political thriller. I mean this movie draws upon ‘The French Connection’ and ‘The Conversation’ and ‘Three Days of the Condor’ and all of these ’70s thrillers in a way that there is paranoia and mistrust at the heart of the movie.”
Those were, to say the least, unexpected influences for a Marvel comic book movie. But it gelled with what Marcus and McFeely put on the page, and it helped set the movie apart. They had the actors train hard. They tried to make the fights look and feel real. As Anthony Russo explained in the same interview:
“The movie was shot largely in a very verite style, which is unique for Marvel’s movies. They really embraced the approach to it, and it’s a very experimental approach. It’s a very grounding approach. There’s a strong edge to the film. It’s very visceral. It’s got a lot of action in it, but I think it’s definitely a movement, tonally, in a different direction. It’s just great to be able to add another color to the pastiche of these movies.”
