When Robert Redford agreed to join the production of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it was unclear whom he’d play on screen but assumed it would be a fairly major part. You don’t cast Mr. Redford, after all, and waste him as a background filler in a major superhero blockbuster. But even those who speculated on the importance of Redford’s character probably underestimated who he’s actually going to play.
The Web site SpinoffOnline spoke to Redford as part of a roundtable on behalf of his own film, The Company You Keep, and learned directly from the source that he’ll be playing “the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
The Captain America thing is just a very simple thing,” Redford explained. “I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something just to be different. Something bold, different. And that felt like a good thing to do. That was it, nothing more to it than that. Well, it’s bold in terms of expectations, I guess.”
Does this mean Redford will be Sam Jackson’s boss? His superior? And this must mean that S.H.I.E.L.D. will have a major function in the Captain America sequel, even as we learn that A.I.M. will be a big part of Shane Black’s upcoming Iron Man 3.
Redford's feature credits have been spaced out over the last few years, with the 2007 film Lions for Lambs being the last film in which he appeared before The Company You Keep. He joins a handful of familiar faces for the Capt sequel, from Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson to Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo and Sebastian Stan. Anthony and Joe Russo are helming the anticipated sequel, the next chapter in Marvel’s Phase Two. The Winter Soldier is expected in theaters basically one year from right now, opening on April 4, 2014.
