Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a 2014 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Captain America. The film is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and the ninth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, with a screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, Robert Redford, and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Captain America and the Black Widow join forces to stop a covert enemy that is hiding in Washington, D.C.

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote Captain America: The First Avenger, stated before that film's release that they were working on a sequel, and in June 2012, Anthony and Joe Russo entered negotiations to direct. The following month, casting of the supporting roles began with the additions of Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. Principal photography commenced in April 2013 in Los Angeles, California before moving to Washington, D.C. and Cleveland, Ohio. Captain America: The Winter Soldier premiered in Los Angeles on March 13, 2014. It was released internationally on March 26, 2014 and in North America on April 4, 2014, in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D. A sequel set to be directed by the Russo brothers is scheduled for release on May 6, 2016.

Plot
Two years after the Battle of New York, Steve Rogers lives in Washington, D.C., continues to work for the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and struggles to adapt to contemporary society. Rogers is called to help save a S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel from Algerian pirates led by Georges Batroc. Aboard, he discovers fellow agent Natasha Romanoff extracting data from the ship's computers, something Rogers was not briefed on. At the Triskelion, Nick Fury introduces Rogers to Project Insight: three Helicarriers linked to spy satellites and designed to preemptively eliminate threats.

Due to heightened encryption, Fury is unable to access the data Romanoff recovered. On his way to rendezvous with Maria Hill, he is ambushed by assailants disguised as police officers, led by a mysterious assassin called the Winter Soldier. Fury escapes, sneaks into Rogers' apartment, and warns Rogers that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised. Fury hands Rogers the USB flash drive that contains the data from the ship. He is then gunned down by the Winter Soldier, who escapes. Fury dies in surgery, and Hill recovers the body.

The next day, Rogers is summoned to the Triskelion by senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official Alexander Pierce. When Rogers withholds Fury's information, Pierce brands him a fugitive. Hunted by the agency, Rogers meets with Romanoff. Using data in the flash drive they discover an old S.H.I.E.L.D. underground base in New Jersey. There, they activate a supercomputer containing the preserved consciousness of Arnim Zola, who reveals that since S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded after World War II, HYDRA secretly operated within its ranks, sowing chaos across the world in the hope that humanity would willingly surrender its freedom in exchange for safety. Rogers and Romanoff narrowly escape death when a S.H.I.E.L.D. missile destroys the bunker.

Romanoff and Rogers enlist the help of Sam Wilson, a veteran Rogers befriended, and acquire his old "Falcon" winged-flight exoskeleton. After deducing that senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell is with HYDRA, they interrogate him until he divulges that Zola developed a data-mining algorithm that can identify individuals who might become future opponents to HYDRA's plans. The new Helicarriers will sweep the world, eliminating these individuals with their satellite-guided guns.

En route to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, they are ambushed by the Winter Soldier. In the fight, Winter Soldier loses his mask and Rogers recognizes him as Bucky Barnes, his old World War II comrade. They are captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. but are rescued by a disguised Hill. She leads them to a hideout where they discover Fury is alive, having faked his death. Fury plans to sabotage the Insight Helicarriers by replacing their controller chips.

After members of the World Security Council arrive for the Helicarriers' launch, Rogers reveals HYDRA's true motives to everyone in the Triskelion. Rogers and Wilson storm two Helicarriers and replace the controllers, but the Winter Soldier destroys Wilson's suit and confronts Rogers at the third. They fight, with Rogers trying to revive Bucky's memories. Meanwhile, Fury and Romanoff (disguised as one of the Council members) confront Pierce and force him to unlock access to S.H.I.E.L.D's database so she can expose HYDRA's motives to the public by leaking classified information. After a brief fight, Fury shoots Pierce dead. Aboard the third Helicarrier, a wounded Rogers replaces the final chip, allowing Hill to take control and destroy all three vessels. The Helicarrier carrying Rogers and the Winter Soldier crashes into the side of the Triskelion, where Wilson battles compromised agent Rumlow, who had earlier tried to capture Rogers.

Rogers falls off the vessel into the river. Slowly remembering his past, the Winter Soldier pulls Rogers from the water and disappears. With S.H.I.E.L.D. in disarray, Fury destroys the last traces of his identity before heading to Europe in pursuit of HYDRA's remaining cells, under the cover of his apparent death. Romanoff appears before a Senate subcommittee and later gives Rogers a dossier on the Winter Soldier program. Both Rogers and Wilson decide to track down the Winter Soldier.

A mid-credits scene takes place in a HYDRA lab, where Baron von Strucker is keeping Loki's scepter and two prisoners: one with superhuman speed, the other with telekinetic powers. In a post-credits scene, the Winter Soldier visits the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution to learn of his past.

Cast

 * Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America:
 * A World War II veteran who was enhanced to the peak of human physicality by an experimental serum, frozen in suspended animation, and is now struggling to adjust to the modern world. Describing his character's adjustment to the modern world, Evans said, "It's not so much about his shock with [technology]... It's more about the societal differences. He's gone from the '40s to today; he comes from a world where people were a little more trusting, the threats not as deep. Now, it's harder to tell who's right and wrong. Actions you take to protect people from threats could compromise liberties and privacy. That's tough for Steve to swallow." Evans received training in parkour, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, boxing, and gymnastics, as the Russo brothers believed that bringing Rogers into the modern day also meant that he had studied and mastered modern fighting styles and techniques. The filmmakers also looked to make the character's shield a more offensive weapon, which has traditionally been used for defense.


 * Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow:
 * A highly trained spy working for S.H.I.E.L.D., who partners with Rogers. Screenwriter Christopher Markus said that Black Widow was a "great contrast" to Captain America, describing her as "incredibly modern, not very reverent, and just very straightforward whereas Steve is, you know a man from the 40s. He's not a boy scout, but he is reserved and has a moral center, whereas her moral center moves." The Russos added, "She's a character who lies for a living. That's what she does. He's a character who tells the truth. Give them a problem and they'll have different ways of approaching it. She's pushing him to modernize, and he's pushing her to add a certain level of integrity to her life." When asked about Natasha's relationship with Steve, Johansson said, "By a series of unfortunate encounters, they will be in a situation in which their friendship becomes more intimate. They share many similarities because they live on the defensive without relying on anyone. Also, the two have been working for the government throughout their professional careers. With their friendship they begin to question what they want and what is their true identity."


 * Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier:
 * Steve Rogers' best friend, who has reemerged as an enhanced brainwashed assassin after being thought killed in action during World War II. About the character, Feige said, "Winter Soldier has been methodically, almost robotically, following orders for 70 years." Stan, who has a nine-picture deal with Marvel Studios including his appearance in The First Avenger, endured five months of physical training to prepare for the role and did historical research stating, "I dove into the whole Cold War thing. I looked at the KGB. I looked at all kinds of spy movies, and all kinds of documentaries about that time, and what it was about. I grabbed anything from that time period. Anything about brainwashing." Regarding Bucky's transition into the Winter Soldier, Stan said, "You know, the truth of the situation is although he looks very different and there's different things about him, it still comes from the same person. I think you'll get to see that no matter what. I think part of my goal here was to make sure that you see an extension of that version but just a different color of that same version in a way. I think he's still the same guy; he's cut from the same cloth."


 * Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon:
 * A Pararescueman trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack. About the role, Mackie said "[Wilson is] a really smart guy who went through major military training and becomes a tactical leader." Remarking, "He's the first African-American superhero. It makes me feel all the work I've done has been paying off. I have a son, nephews and nieces, and I love the idea that they can dress up as the Falcon on Halloween. They now have someone they can idolize. That's a huge honor for me." Marvel, who cast Mackie because of his "energy and sense of fun," did not let him read a script before signing on. Mackie spent five months doing two-a-day workouts and eating an 11,000 calorie per day diet to get into shape for the role. Commenting on Rogers' relationship with Wilson, Evans said, "Meeting Mackie's character, he used to serve, now he works at the VA counseling guys who come home with PTSD — they connect on that level. I think they're both wounded warriors who don't bleed on other people. Cap has no one to bleed on. I think Mackie knows how to handle people like that. … Sometimes when things are bad, trusting a stranger is the way to go."


 * Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill:
 * A high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who works closely with Nick Fury.


 * Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow:
 * An operative in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s counter-terrorism S.T.R.I.K.E. team. About the character, Grillo said, "He is a bad-ass guy. [He] pretty much beats the shit out of everyone in the movie and that's really it."


 * Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter / Agent 13:
 * A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent assigned to guard Rogers without his knowledge. About the character, VanCamp said, "I play Agent 13 / Sharon Carter which everyone knows but we don't really touch on that in this film. We're just sort of introducing her. When we first see her we realize she's living next to Captain America... they sort of have a little thing going on and as we all know in the comic books they had a love affair off and on for years. They had a very complicated relationship. It's almost as if they are planting the seeds now. Sort of leaving room to go wherever they want to go with it." Regarding her casting, Joe Russo said, "We wanted someone that Cap would have an immediate interest in. It had to be a strong-willed person, and we felt that Emily's work on Revenge was a great test tube for what this character could be. She's obviously very credible with physicality, she holds the screen really well, and she even looks like the character from the books."


 * Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter:
 * A retired officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve and former love interest of Captain America.


 * Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce:
 * A senior leader within S.H.I.E.L.D., a member of the World Security Council and an old comrade of Nick Fury. Redford was cast in part as an homage to his roles in 1970s thrillers such as Three Days of the Condor. As to what attracted him to the film, Redford said, "I wanted to experience this new form of filmmaking that's taken over where you have kind of cartoon characters brought to life through high technology."


 * Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury:
 * The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Regarding Fury's questionable code of ethics, Jackson said, "Almost everything that comes out of Nick Fury's mouth is a lie in some sense. He has to ask, is he even lying to himself, too? He has a very good idea of what's going on but his paranoia keeps him from believing some of it." Jackson added, "You see Nick Fury the office guy, him going about the day-to-day work of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the politics as opposed to that other stuff. It's great to have him dealing with Captain America in terms of being able to speak to him soldier to soldier and try to explain to him how the world has changed in another way while he was frozen in time. Some of the people who used to be our enemies are now our allies – him trying to figure out, 'Well, how do we trust those guys?' or 'How do we trust the guys that you didn't trust who don't trust you?' And explaining to him that the black and white of good guys/bad guys has now turned into this gray area." McFeely said, "Fury represents an obstacle for Steve in some ways. They don't always agree on how S.H.I.E.L.D. ought to be used."

Additionally, Toby Jones, Maximiliano Hernández, and Garry Shandling reprise their roles from previous MCU films as Arnim Zola, Jasper Sitwell, and Senator Stern, respectively. Georges St-Pierre plays Georges Batroc, a mercenary and a master of the French form of kickboxing known as savate. Callan Mulvey plays Jack Rollins, a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s S.T.R.I.K.E. unit. Chin Han, Jenny Agutter (who previously appeared in The Avengers), Alan Dale, and Bernard White appear as members of the World Security Council, Comedic actors Danny Pudi and DC Pierson have small roles as a S.H.I.E.L.D. technician and an Apple Store employee, respectively. Gary Sinise voices the narrator of a Captain America-themed Smithsonian Institution exhibit. Stan Lee cameos as a security guard there, and Winter Soldier creator Ed Brubaker makes a cameo as a scientist working on the Winter Soldier. Co-director Joe Russo cameos as a doctor, and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely cameo as two S.H.I.E.L.D. interrogators. Thomas Kretschmann, Elizabeth Olsen, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson appear, uncredited, as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, respectively, in the mid-credits scene.

Development
Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely said in April 2011 that they had begun writing a sequel for Marvel Studios. In a June 2011 interview, McFeely said, "The story will likely be in the present day. We're experimenting with flashback elements for more period World War II stuff. I can't say much more than that but we made it baggy enough to refer to more stories in the past". McFeely later revealed that 98% of the shooting script takes place in the present day, and that the first few months of writing were a back and forth process with Marvel, but that after an outline was finished, the story didn't change much. Markus and McFeely wanted to adapt Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier storyline from the comics, but it took them six months to convince themselves that they could do it. The two settled on the conspiracy genre for the screenplay and cited Three Days of the Condor, The Parallax View, and Marathon Man as influences.

In September 2011, Chris Evans said that a sequel may not be released until 2014. In January 2012, Neal McDonough, who played Dum Dum Dugan in Captain America: The First Avenger, mentioned that a sequel would likely be filmed after the completion of Thor: The Dark World, which would likely be before the end of 2012.

By March 2012, Marvel whittled down a field of ten potential directors to three candidates; George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau), F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job), and brothers Anthony and Joseph Russo (Community) to helm the sequel. Walt Disney Studios announced the planned release of the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger on April 4, 2014. Disney stated, "The second installment will pick-up where … The Avengers leaves off, as Steve Rogers continues his affiliation with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world." Markus later elaborated, "I think S.H.I.E.L.D. is the water [Rogers is] swimming in. It's definitely a Captain America movie. You know, if the first movie was a movie about the US Army, then this is a movie about S.H.I.E.L.D... You will learn about S.H.I.E.L.D. You will learn about where it came from and where it's going and some of the cool things they have." In April, F. Gary Gray withdrew his name from consideration, choosing instead to direct the N.W.A. biographical film Straight Outta Compton.

Pre-production
By June 2012, the Russo brothers entered negotiations to direct the sequel, and Samuel L. Jackson was confirmed to return as S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige sought out the Russos after watching the genre-parodying season 2 finale of Community, and for the additional ideas they brought to the initial story pitch. At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, it was announced that the official title for the sequel is Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and that the Russo brothers would direct the film. After signing on to direct, the Russo brothers met with Ed Brubaker to learn more about where the Winter Soldier character came from, his thinking and the themes behind the character. In July 2012, Anthony Mackie entered negotiations to star as Falcon alongside Chris Evans in the sequel. Sebastian Stan was also confirmed to be reprising his role as James Barnes. By August 2012, Anna Kendrick, Felicity Jones, and Imogen Poots were being considered front-runners for a leading role in the film.

In September 2012, Chris Evans stated that filming would begin in March 2013. Evans also stated that Rogers' adjustment to the modern world, which was originally set to be included in The Avengers, would be better suited for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. At the end of the month, The Greater Cleveland Film Commission announced that Captain America: The Winter Soldier would film in Cleveland, Ohio after the production was approved for a $9.5 million tax credit. Portions of the film were also scheduled to be shot in California and Washington, D.C.

By October, Emilia Clarke, Jessica Brown Findlay, Teresa Palmer, Imogen Poots, and Alison Brie were being considered for Rogers' love interest in the film, and Scarlett Johansson was brought back to reprise her role as Black Widow. Marvel decided to pair Steve Rogers with other characters from The Avengers like Black Widow and Nick Fury because unlike Tony Stark and Thor, who could return to their own supporting casts, Rogers had nowhere else to go. In late October, Frank Grillo was testing for the role of the villain Crossbones in the film. By the end of the month, Grillo closed a deal to portray the character and Cobie Smulders signed on to reprise her role as Maria Hill from The Avengers.

In January 2013, Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger, said that she would not appear in the sequel. However Stanley Tucci, who played Dr. Abraham Erskine in the previous film, later said that Atwell would reappear in a flashback scene. Also in January, Marvel Studios announced that the film would be released in 3D, and Anthony Mackie said filming would begin on April 1, 2013. Later that month, Toby Jones, who portrayed Arnim Zola in the first film, said that he would reprise the role in the sequel. By the end of the month, stages were being built for a shoot at Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles.

In February 2013, Emily VanCamp entered negotiations to play a female lead in the film. Later in the same month, producer Kevin Feige described the film as a political thriller. Feige later elaborated, "In our attempt to make all of our films feel unique and feel different we found ourselves going back to things like [Three Days of the Condor]. Also the other political thrillers of the '70s: The Parallax View, All the President's Men. This was a time that Cap existed in in the comics. He found himself in the swinging '60s followed by the Watergate Era followed by the Reagan Era followed by where we are today. In the comics it was a hell of a journey for Steve. And we couldn't take him through those years because in our cinematic universe he was asleep. But we wanted to force him to confront that kind of moral conundrum, something with that '70s flavor. And in our film that takes the form of S.H.I.E.L.D." By March 2013, Maximiliano Hernández was signed to reprise his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jasper Sitwell from Thor and The Avengers and Robert Redford entered in talks to join the cast, as a high-ranking member of S.H.I.E.L.D. Shortly thereafter, Redford confirmed he would appear in the film, saying it interested him since it was different from his usual work. Toward the end of March, UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre was cast as a character based on the comics' Batroc the Leaper in the film.

Captain America's uniform was altered from the ones seen in previous films, with a Kevlar-based ballistic component that would protect Captain America but at the same time function like a military uniform. Joe Russo said, "We wanted to use his Super Soldier outfit from the [Steve Rogers: Super Soldier series] as a way to represent, thematically, his place in the world of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the difference between working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and being Captain America." For the Falcon costume, the filmmakers were interested in adding more of a tactical design than was represented in the comic books, by including real-world webbing, straps and gear and stripping away the more comic book elements.

Filming
Principal photography began on April 1, 2013, at the Raleigh Manhattan Beach Studios in Los Angeles, under the working title Freezer Burn. Scenes taking place on the "Lumerian Star" were filmed on the Sea Launch Commander, docked in Long Beach, California. In early May, Dominic Cooper confirmed he would return as Howard Stark. On May 14, 2013, production moved to Washington, D.C. with filming taking place at the National Mall and the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. The following day, Garry Shandling was spotted on set reprising his Iron Man 2 role of Senator Stern. Other filming locations in Washington, D.C. included the Willard Hotel and Dupont Circle.

Filming in Cleveland began on May 17 and was scheduled to last until mid-June with locations scheduled on the West Shoreway, the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cuyahoga Heights and the Lakeview Cemetery Dam. Cleveland was chosen as a stand-in for Washington, D.C, with the city's East 6th Street doubling as 7th and D Streets in Southwest D.C. Other locations in Cleveland included the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Arcade, Tower City Center, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Western Reserve Historical Society. Interior shots were also filmed inside private homes and the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Tremont. Filming in Cleveland concluded on June 27, 2013.

Post-production
Anthony Mackie said the Russo brothers relied on minimal use of computer-generated imagery, stating, "The Russos, what they did that was so great was, they wanted to stay with live action, which is a dying art form. If they can build it, they built it. If we could do it, we did it. They wanted to do as little CGI as possible. That's why the movie looks so great." Nevertheless, five special effects companies are involved in creating the visual effects of the film, including Industrial Light & Magic and Scanline VFX. In December 2013, additional photography was scheduled for that and the following month.

Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, directed the mid-credits scene, featuring the first appearance of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.

Music
In June 2013, Henry Jackman announced that he would compose the film's score. About the score Jackman said, "...it's 50% production and all the tricks I've learnt from spending years in the record industry but then it's also got the kind of injection of symphonic, thematic, heroic music that all kind of merges into one musical, and hopefully coherent piece". A soundtrack album was released by Hollywood Records on April 1, 2014.

Marketing
In July 2013, Marvel Studios released a teaser poster depicting a damaged and discolored Captain America shield. The Los Angeles Times said, "the image suggests that [Captain America] might see some serious battle in the sequel" while Rolling Stone said, "the image hints at darker themes in the sequel". Later that month, Marvel Studios head and producer Kevin Feige, directors Joe and Anthony Russo, and cast members Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Emily VanCamp, and Frank Grillo held a panel at 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International and presented footage from the film. In addition, Marvel had booths depicting a Smithsonian-type exhibit showing Captain America and the Howling Commandos from Captain America: The First Avenger. At the end of the month, audiences were shown a glimpse of the film along with some of Marvel's other Phase 2 slate of films at Disney XD's Disney Fandom event.

In August 2013, Feige, Evans, Stan and Mackie presented a clip of the film at Disney's D23 Expo. In September 2013, Marvel announced that it is again partnering with Harley-Davidson, continuing their relationship from Captain America: The First Avenger, with Captain America riding the company's Softail Breakout motorcycle in the film.

In October 2013, Marvel released the first trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Hollywood Reporter said, "it looks like it'll live up to the 'political thriller' that's been promised for months now." The Los Angeles Times said, "[the] trailer runs 2½ minutes and teases plenty of action, conspiracy and clever banter between Captain America and his S.H.I.E.L.D. colleagues, with a smattering of the previously released Comic-Con International and D23 footage." The Los Angeles Times also noted that the day before the release of the trailer, the studio released "a teaser for a trailer." In November 2013, Jed Whedon, the co-creator of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., said that there are plans to reference events from the film into the show, stating, "Nick Fury is in [Captain America: The Winter Soldier], and S.H.I.E.L.D. makes an appearance, so we will definitely try to tee-up some stuff and probably play a little bit of the fallout from that film."

In January 2014, Disney announced that in honor of the film, Captain America will be making appearances at Disneyland. The meet and greet experience opened March 7, 2014 and is called Captain America: The Living Legend and Symbol of Courage, located at Innoventions in Tomorrowland. Also in January, Marvel Comics released a prelude digital comic titled, Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier Infinite Comic, written by Peter David, with art by Rock-He Kim. The comic sees the return of the "Zodiac", the mysterious weapon first seen in the One-Shot Agent Carter, which has fallen into the wrong hands. Captain America, Black Widow and Rumlow must track the weapon down and put it back in S.H.I.E.L.D. protection.

The first televised advertisement for Captain America: The Winter Soldier aired during Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney paid over $4 million per 30-second spot. The Los Angeles Times said, "The clip promoting the April 4 release had a recognizably melancholy tone as Chris Evans' patriotic hero grapples with the moral ambiguities of the modern age." Also in February, Gameloft announced that a mobile video game, titled Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The Official Game, would be released in conjunction with the release of the film in late March 2014 for iOS and Android platforms. A few days later General Motors announced that Cheverolet partnered with Marvel Entertainment and provided a specially designed Corvette Stingray C7 for use by the Black Widow in the film. The vehicle debuted at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, where fans received limited-edition Captain America comic books. Evans was named the grand marshal of the 2014 Daytona 500 to promote the film's release. Later in the month, a 30-second television spot received "a lot of attention on social media" for a line featured in the clip. The line, which was said by Captain America, suggests that Nick Fury would die in the film. The Hollywood Reporter noted that it all seemed "a bit too obvious", noting the fact that Jackson, who plays Fury, is reprising the role in Avengers: Age of Ultron, although pointing out that it could be in a postmortem flashback appearance.

In March 2014, Marvel released the Captain America Experience app, that allowed fans to capture a pictures of themselves with Captain America, and let them share it on Instagram and Twitter using specific hashtags to unlock 10 early screenings of the film across the United States, which took place on March 20. On March 18, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled, Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which included a sneak peek of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. On April 1, 2014, Evans and Stan rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange in honor of the film's theatrical release.

Release
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released in various international markets on March 26, 2014 and in North America on April 4, 2014, in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D. The world premiere took place on March 13, 2014 at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. The Paris premiere occurred on March 17 at Le Grand Rex, the London premiere took place on March 20 at Westfield London, the Beijing premiere took place on March 24 and the Cleveland premiere took place on April 1. Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson auctioned off passes to one of the premieres for charity.

Box office
Captain America: The Winter Soldier has earned $96.2 million in North America as of April 6, 2014, and $207.1 million in other countries as of April 6, for a worldwide total of $303.3 million.

During its first week of release, Captain America: The Winter Soldier earned $75.2 million in 32 overseas markets.
 * Outside North America

Captain America: The Winter Soldier made an estimated $10.2 million in Thursday night showings, more than double the midnight gross of its predecessor. By the end of its opening weekend, the film earned $96.2 million, a 47% increase over Captain America: The First Avenger. It also surpassed the $86.2 million opening of Fast Five to set the record for best April debut.
 * North America

Critical reaction
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 69 out of 100 based on 42 reviews. CinemaScore audiences gave Captain America: The Winter Soldier an "A" grade rating on an A+ to F scale.

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said the film "takes the bold (for Marvel) step of reducing CGI spectacle to a relative minimum in favor of reviving the pleasures of hard-driving old-school action, surprising character development and intriguing suspense." Scott Foundas of Variety said it is "chockfull of the breathless cliffhangers dictated by the genre, but equally rich in the quiet, tender character moments that made the first film unique among recent Marvel fare." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "While not on a par with The Avengers or the first and third Iron Man movies, this is another rock-solid chapter in the big-screen story of Marvel." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly noted the topicality of the film, stating, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the first superhero film since the terrorist-inflected The Dark Knight that plugs you right into what's happening now."

Conversely, Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "[Captain America: The Winter Soldier] is everything a big budget superhero film should be - except inspired." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "Like many others of its type, [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] gets off to a kinetic start only to lose steam before blowing everything up." Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph said, "You can't help but feel disappointment that a film with a relatively spicy premise becomes, in the end, so risk-averse."

Themes and analysis
According to the Russo brothers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was influenced by current events. Anthony Russo said, "It's hard to make a political film that's not topical. That's what makes a political thriller different from just a thriller. And that's what adds to the characters' paranoia and the audience's experience of that paranoia. But we're also very pop-culture-obsessed and we love topicality, so we kept pushing to [have] scenes that, fortunately or unfortunately, played out [during the time that Edward] Snowden outed the NSA. That stuff was already in the zeitgeist. We were all reading the articles that were coming out questioning drone strikes, pre-emptive strikes, civil liberties — [Barack] Obama talking about who they would kill... We wanted to put all of that into the film because it would be a contrast to [Captain America]'s greatest-generation [way of thinking]." Joe Russo added that Project Insight was a critique of the use of targeted killing. Joe said, "The question is where do you stop? If there are 100 people we can kill to make us safer, do we do it? What if we find out there's 1,000? What if we find out there's 10,000? What if it's a million? At what point do you stop?"

Sequel
By January 2014, Anthony and Joe Russo had signed on to return to direct a third installment, which they confirmed in March 2014, with Chris Evans returning as Captain America, Kevin Feige producing and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely returning to write the screenplay. The re-hiring of the directors, three months before the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, came as a result from impressive test screenings with Marvel executives. The film is scheduled to be released on May 6, 2016.