Russo Brothers Say Captain America: Civil War Was Influenced By The Godfather

Of all the Marvel Studios films, the Captain America movies are, arguably, the movies that most clearly wear their influences on their sleeve. Captain America: The First Avenger has a pulpy war story feel to it, much like the early Captain America comics, while Captain America: The Winter Soldier drawsinspiration from espionage and conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s.

Captain America: Civil War's influences may be a bit less obvious. Director's Joe and Anthony Russo tell Collider that Se7en was one influence, because it's a "sensitive, complicated character thriller." They also name Fargo and The Godfather, clarifying that the Godfather comparison isn't about quality, but because The Godfather is a "sprawling film with a lot of characters that tells very intricate stories. Each character has an arc."

They also note the influence Scarface director Brian De Palma, and the showdowns of classic westerns.

Marvel's Captain America: Civil War finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark's surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.

Check out when Captain America: Civil War and other movies are coming out in ComicBook.com's Movie Release Schedule.