Already ‘shipping Captain America and Bucky (also known as The Winter Soldier) from the Captain America franchise? You’ll love the comments director Joe Russo made about their relationship this week. Even though he almost definitely meant it in the non-romantic way, Russo described Captain America: Civil War as a “love story.” As if online forums weren’t already as busy as ever reading into Cap and Bucky’s relationship, Russo surely got the presses going with this perspective. He followed the love story comment with more of an explanation, however, that backs away from any romantic implications.
“These are two guys who grew up together, and so they have that same emotional connection to each other as brothers would, and even more so because Bucky was all Steve had growing up.”
That doesn’t mean there’s nothing there, though. Surely Sebastian Stan, also known as Bucky/The Winter Soldier himself, would be on the fans’ side in the opinion that clearly the bond between Bucky and Cap is more than that of brothers or friends, right? Unfortunately not. In his own comments, Stan rebutted that point of view pretty solidly while still respecting that reading of their interactions.
“I think it’s easy and generalising it to say that they’re lovers, when you’re forgetting that one has a lot of guilt because he swore to be the protector of the other, the father figure or older brother so to speak, and then left him behind. I have no qualms with it but I think people like to see it much more as a love story than it actually is. It’s brotherhood to me.”
All I’m saying is that people who have an incredibly close bond to start with, go into a high pressure situation together, and then experience survivor’s remorse about losing someone in a war only to get that person back years later might develop pretty strong feelings. Try to backpedal on those comments all you want, Russo, but the fans are on to you and expect the next installment to be a full blown romantic comedy where the pair vacation together in the South Pacific. Maybe that’s what one of the estimated three post-credits sequences can be used for, if there’s still time for any last minute additions.
(via Empire)
