Captain America: Civil War first trailer and analysis

Take your first look...

The first trailer for Captain America: Civil War has landed online so, we're giving you a detailed breakdown of the teaser, including who the players are, why they're fighting and what this means for the future of the Avengers.

Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, and starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, Captain America: Civil War hits UK cinemas on April 29 2016 and May 6 2016 in the US.

Bucky and Steve have made up

Captain America's last solo outing saw him go head-to-head with childhood friend Bucky Barnes who'd been turned into deadly assassin Winter Solider. Although Cap saved the day (no surprise there), he couldn't kill his friend and has spent the time since then desperately searching for him with the help of Sam Wilson (aka Falcon).

Well, as we can see from the trailer, they've found him and although Buck certainly doesn't look in great shape, he does seem to have given up his evil ways, telling Cap: "I dont do that anymore". However, it quickly becomes clear that he's still a wanted man so either the authorities haven't forgiven his past crimes (even though he was brainwashed), or he's been framed for something he didn't do.

General "Thunderbolt" Ross is back

Fans of Louis Leterriers The Incredible Hulk will recognise William Hurt's General "Thunderbolt" Ross (now US Secretary Of State), who has shown up to presumably cause as much trouble as he did when he tried to capture Edward Nortons Hulk.

It's clear from the start of his menacing speech that he's here to fill the role of evil government guy in Civil War, as he tells Captain America: "While a great many people see you as hero, there are some whod prefer the word vigilantly." This is the first sign that after the events of Age of Ultron the governments of the world are looking to keep a closer eye on superheroes.

The Sokovia Accords

During the trailer we also get a quick look at the The Sokovia Accords, which is the MCU equivalent of the comic's Superhuman Registration Act demanding all superheroes be registered for the safety of humanity. The events of Age of Ultron (which saw Tony Stark and Bruce Banner 'accidentally' create the AI villain, which the Avengers took down in a final epic battle in... you've guessed it, Sokovia) have led the world to calling for action. Youve operated with unlimited power and no supervision. Ross says. Thats something the world can no longer tolerate.

Note, Ross passes the Accords - which was name-dropped in Ant-Mans post-credits scene - to Scarlet Witch, who lost her brother Quicksilver as a result of the events of Age of Ultron.

The Avengers are splitting up

It's now that we start to see the cracks appear in the Avengers as Black Widow desperately tries to convince Cap to stay out of it. We can assume the "it" is the manhunt for Bucky, but with Natasha Romanova supporting The Sokovia Accords it won't be long 'til more tension festers between the heroes. Are you saying youll arrest me? asks Captain America. Something tells us he won't go quietly...

Iron Man joins the fight

Right behind Black Widow in the fight against Captain America is, surprise surprise, Iron Man. The two heroes have butted heads before, but something's obviously different this time as Tony Stark says: "You seem a little defensive?"

No prizes for guessing these two are on opposite sides of the fight given it's something we've seen coming for a while now (not to mention all the posters have the two squaring off), but this isn't just a disagreement. The look in their eyes says they don't trust each other anymore. Oh dear.

Did you spot Martin Freeman?

It was quick, but the eagle-eyed fans among you will have spotted Martin Freeman's mysterious character in the trailer. Marvel's staying silent on who The Hobbit star is playing, but the internet rumours say it's Everrett K. Ross, a liaison to fictional Marvel nation Wakanda, who works for the U.S. State Department.

He's joined by Emily VanCamps Sharon Carter (aka Agent 13) who joined the CIA at the end of The Winter Soldier after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. We're pretty sure she's loyal to Cap, but it doesnt look like shes doing much here to stop the government from confiscating all his gear.

Time to pick a side

There's a reason the film's called Civil War, but if you're wondering how the former allies could possibly go against each other, it all comes down to loyalty. They might join forces when the Earth is threatened, but the superheroes all have their own friendships and allegiances which take precedence.

Like Falcon tells Cap, "people that shoot at you usually wind up shooting at me too". So, when Cap decides to protect Bucky, Falcon sides with him, and when Iron Man stands up to them, War Machine (aka James "Rhodey" Rhodes) is at his side. It's kind of sweet really...

And everyone else gets dragged into it...

Much like any school yard fight between friendship groups, it's never just the main aggressors who end up against each other. Everyone else has to pick a side too and that's no different in Civil War.

With Black Widow and Iron Man agreeing with The Sokovia Accords and War Machine and Vision backing them up, this leaves Captain America, Winter Solider and Falcon against them. Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch join forces with Team Cap, leaving the other Avengers, Thor and Hulk off doing their own thing (they're not in this film, sorry!). But it's not just about them - Ant-Man, Spider-Man and more are also set to make appearances in the movie. Check out the teams (we think) below

Team Cap: Steve Rogers/Captain America, Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Sam Wilson/Falcon, Sharon Carter/Agent 13, Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch.

Team Iron Man: Tony Stark/Iron Man, James Rhodes/War Machine, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Peter Parker/Spider-Man, TChalla/Black Panther and Vision.

Hello, Black Panther!

The trailer also gives us our first proper look at Chadwick Boseman's TChalla (aka Black Panther), who'll be making his debut in Civil War before getting his own solo movie. Given that he's not an Avenger and has little reason to care about The Sokovia Accords, you might wonder what he's doing here.

His job, as the Black Panther of Wakanda, is to protect his nation and hes apparently hunting down the Winter Soldier when he crosses paths with our heroes. Hence, why he sides with Iron Man.

There will be consequences

The MCU is getting pretty crowded these days and the number of characters in Civil War alone is staggering, which begs the question, will some be leaving? It's not a nice thought, but the fact of the matter is, with even more heroes lined up (Doctor Strange, Spider-Man...) it's going to get unmanageable. In fact, it's a miracle it's worked this long...

As General Ross tells us in the trailer, "there will be consequences" and it would be naive to assume there isn't going to be some major fallout from the Avengers going head-to-head. This image of War Machine badly injured and Iron Man clearly in distress seems to point towards something grave, but we imagine Rhodey won't be the one to go as we can't see Iron Man forgiving this in time for Avengers: Infinity War Part 1.

Where's the bad guy?

You could be forgiven for thinking there is no 'villain' in Civil War as the antagonism between the heroes provides more than enough conflict, but, of course, there has to be a bad guy. Sadly, there's no sign of him in the trailer, but it's widely assumed that Daniel Bruhl will be playing classic Captain America villain Baron Zemo. He'll be joined by Frank Grillo's Crossbones (pictured here), the Hydra soldier from The Winter Soldier, and possibly Martin Freeman's character who's looking shifty.

Does this mean Marvel will be keeping him (and Martin Freeman's character) completely under wraps until the film's release? We've no idea, but villain or no villain, it looks like the Avengers have enough to deal with...