Despite ongoing rumors and the actor’s own on-the-record-comments, it took Marvel forever and a day to confirm that The Hobbit and Sherlock star Martin Freeman was playing Everett Ross in Captain America: Civil War. This might not mean much to the average moviegoer, but for die-hard Marvel Comics fans, the name should ring a bell since Ross was the United States government diplomat assigned to the African nation of Wakanda. The character has been altered for the film, but according to what Freeman said on The Graham Norton Show, there’s a good chance that Wakanda (and more Marvel films) are in his future.
Freeman joined fellow Civil War star Paul Rudd on Norton’s couch Friday night, though as he admitted to the host and the studio audience, they never worked together on the film. They didn’t even “know each other”:
“Apparently we are in the same film but our paths didn’t cross, in fact my path didn’t cross with an awful lot of people in that film.”
This makes sense as Civil War is a monstrously big film with a cast whose size rivals the two Avengers movies that precede it. Yet when Norton bugged Freeman about his future, if any, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward, the actor’s answers immediately turned cryptic and short. Even so, his protective manner didn’t last long:
“That’s the plan. It’s a fairly small role at this stage… I think my character will develop a bit more as I enter the Marvel world a bit more which seems to be happening.”
In the comics, Ross was a U.S. diplomat assigned to Wakanda and, eventually, T’Challa — otherwise known as the Black Panther. With Chadwick Boseman’s solo film slated for July 6, 2018, Freeman probably has nothing to fear regarding his chances for further outings in Marvel’s Phase Three.
https://youtu.be/MXGvgMGGCyU?t=14m50s
(Via Metro)
