Who is Martin Freeman playing in Captain America: Civil War?
UPDATED: The Sherlock and Fargo star has been cast in an undisclosed role in Marvel's forthcoming Captain America sequel
Martin Freeman, who is known for playing Dr Watson in the BBC series Sherlock, and for starring as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, has been cast in Marvel’s forthcoming Captain America: Civil War. But as who?
It’s not yet known exactly which part the 43-year-old British actor will be taking on in the film. But a new rumour from Latino Review suggests that Freeman could be playing "some sort of interrogator" and that "he will return to appear in Black Panther".
The website goes on to speculate that the role in question may well be that of comic book character of Everett Ross: "a US Government agent assigned to Wakanda who grows to become sort of a Wakandan expert".
Yesterday, when the news of Freeman's casting was announced, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said: "From his roles as Bilbo Baggins and Doctor Watson to Tim in The Office, Martin's range from the dramatic to the comedic has consistently impressed us. We couldn't be more honoured or excited to have such a talented actor join the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
Some fans initially speculated that, given his brilliantly dark turn as Lester Nygarrd in the US series Fargo, he would make an excellent minor villain.
On Twitter, a number of observers hinted that Freeman may have been cast as Henry Peter Gyrich, a government official who, in the Marvel comic books, is known for his dislike of super-humans, and has frequently come into conflict with the Avengers.
Meanwhile, others began joking that the actor had been cast as Spider-Man (who will be getting his own Marvel film in 2017, and is expected to make a cameo appearance in Civil War).
The Spidey role is currently uncast, but, sadly for Freeman, the two final contenders are said to be British 18-year-olds Asa Butterfield and Tom Holland.
In Civil War, Freeman will be starring alongside Chris Evans, who will (naturally enough) be reprising his role as Steve Rogers/Captain America. They will be joined by Rogers’s fellow-Avengers Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson)and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). The film will see Captain America and Iron Man argue over a new superhero registration act, but will also set up the plotline for Marvel’s final Avengers films, Infinity War Part One and Part Two.
Captain America: Civil War is released in May 2016.
