'The Road to CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR' Feature: Analyzing the Unconfirmed Russo Brothers Twitter Account
***This is the fourth in a series of 'The Road to Civil War' posts leading up to the release of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. ***
The website BirthMoviesDeath were the first to make people aware that the Russo brothers (Joe and Anthony) had supposedly started a Twitter account back in July 2015 when a trusted source told them to check it out. The almost secret account had been quietly tweeting a series of up-close and cryptic images since earlier that month.
With online fan’s attention turned to it, interest in the account spiked as geeks across the Internet tried to dissect the meaning behind the images. Were the Russos teasing stuff from the production of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR through a totally unofficial channel?
Further fuel was added to the fire when certain key members of Marvel and Disney, including actors set to appear in Civil War started following this account.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY director James Gunn, who is no stranger to Twitter, being probably the most active Marvel filmmaker on social media, was quick to denounce the account as a fake. Stating the Russos simply did not have a Twitter account. He then deleted those tweets.
So, was he mistaken? Asked by Marvel not to denounce it so easily? Were the Marvel brass who followed the account merely mistaken in thinking the account was legit? Have the Russos been trolling us this whole time?
@devincf Further proof you were right. These posts have since been deleted. pic.twitter.com/sA3aGMX1X8— Padraic Ó Cadhain (@Cadhain) July 25, 2015
So, was he mistaken? Asked by Marvel not to denounce it so easily? Were the Marvel brass who followed the account merely mistaken in thinking the account was legit? Have the Russos been trolling us this whole time?
Let’s take a look and see exactly what @Russo_Brothers has had to offer.
WARNING – These aren’t really spoilers, more like speculation. But if you want to remain 100-percent spoiler-free, STOP NOW! If you’re okay with theorising, feel free to continue...
Firstly, we have their Twitter avatar.
A quick reverse Google image search tells us this image is taken from Alex Ross: Battle of the Planets Artbook. Ross, a seminal comic book cover artist, has drawn (more accurately, painted) nearly all of the characters due to appear in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. The newly revealed Spider-Man even looks somewhat like Alex Ross’ depiction of the web-slinger.
But I remembered something... that the Twitter account hadn’t always had this image as its avatar. Thanks to waybackmachine.org I was able to see that it used to be this.
Again, searching for this image tells us that it is an image from Vampire Hunter D, the main character from a series of Japanese novels, manga and anime. So along with Battle of the Planets, there seems to be a strong Anime connection there. Maybe Joe and Anthony Russo are big fans of Japanese pop culture? Could it just be a fan with too much time on his hands. Well, no... and here’s why.
Their very first tweet was oddly enough the one that eventually ending up proving the account is (probably) legit. Or even if it isn’t the Russos themselves, it’s being posted by someone on-location for Civil War. Just look at that corridor and compare it to the images from the movie below.
We’ve literally seen it in the first trailer! It’s the corridor where Steve Rogers and Tony Stark face each other. Now granted, trailers chop and change shots around so the scene as presented in the trailer may not represent what happens in the final film. But unless the owners of this Twitter account just happened to snap a photo of a corridor that matches the one in the trailer, then we can assume to say first photo was taken by someone on set, even if it wasn’t one of the Russos.
Now the next image.
This one kind of set the Internet ablaze with theories. We knew Spider-Man was going to be in Civil War and it was rumoured he would be donning a prototype suit he had made himself. So here we have... early designed Spider-eyes? As seen in the second trailer, when we see Spidey in his full, totally recognisable Spider-man costume, the eyes change shape.
Specifically, they seem to move like the aperture on a camera lens. Something that a photography nerd like Peter Parker would be an expert on. Could these be his 'Mark I' Spider-lenses before getting a Tony Stark upgrade?
Next we have this.
Now most people seem to agree that it’s some type of high school, maybe even university or college shirt or jersey. Another hint at the high school aged Parker? The significance of the “108” and the lettering is lost on me, though. Does it mean anything to someone from New York? Is it similar in style to a real world shirt so easier comparisons can be made?
Then we have…
My GOD! We Spider-fans went NUTS for this. It could only be one thing to us... the new Spider-Man suit (or an oddly coloured basketball). Compare it to the one seen in the trailers and see what you think?
The next one is a whole lot simpler. The “_IA A_”?
Easy. In lieu of the Superhuman Registration Act of the comic book Civil War storyline — which makes much more sense when you have a larger community of heroes with secret identities — the movie version of Civil War is going to be about the broader theme of government oversight. Should the Avengers be allowed to operate free from accountability? Heck no! And the name of the law brought into effect to keep the Avengers in-check?
The Sokovia Accords, thus named after the Battle of Sokovia depicted in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. The final straw that broke the camel’s back in turning public opinion against superheroes. Presumably this tweeted image is that of a prop? It's different from the one seen in trailer sure, but perhaps it’s just the hardcover edition?
Next, we have this… thing?
Now, I’m pretty certain that it’s a close up of the chair the Winter Soldier is seen strapped to in the second trailer. Notice the colour of the padding and the placement of the arm restraints. Again, this was tweeted out months before the first trailer was released.
Up next we have... well, a bullet through glass.
Looks like someone’s getting shot. Who? I have a theory, but I’d rather leave it for now. Despite everything, I still want to be surprised when I see the film.
Next up!
Now this one, best I can tell, is a close up of the Black Panther’s eye, taken on a monitor of some sort. I’ve tried to find if it’s part of any image we’ve seen of the Black Panther so far without luck.
On to…
A lot of people assume this is a lens, which it is. A lot of those people assume it has to be one of Parker’s trademark camera lenses. But a little Google-Fu serching led me to the conclusion that it’s most likely a PV-mount 1200m lens, used is shooting video digitally or on film. In other words, this is a pro filmmaker’s camera right here.
For those in the know, this was another easy one. It’s long been reported that the production title of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVI L WAR was Sputnik. This is something that all the Marvel Studios films have done to try and keep fans off their scent when shooting their films. The fact we know these names is a testament to how far geeks will go to devour any scrap of info on these franchises they love. This appears to be a Call Sheet, a document that outlines which cast and crews members need to be present for each day of shooting, which scenes are going to be worked on, which locations used etc. Now, an enterprising fan could have come up with this, as I said the Sputnik title wasn’t exactly a secret, but coupled with the other evidence I believe it to be genuine.
Now we get what people have assumed to be another glimpse at the Spider-man suit. The corner of the eye to be exact. I don’t think it quite matches. Perhaps it’s another part of the suit entirely. Perhaps it the Russos (or whoever runs this account) having fun with us using some prop that they know looks Spidey-like. It doesn’t appear to be the only instance of them doing it, which I’ll get to in a bit.
Oh I liked this one. So much speculation, until someone discovered the first image was a close up of a classic Star Wars poster. The second image? Some more reverse image searching turned up that it was a close up of a trailer. Specifically a United States Trailer.
And what movie did the first Civil War trailer appear alongside? I’m hoping the answer is STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, because otherwise this all looks kind of stupid.
Now, remember when I said the Russos may be trolling us with images that looked similar to iconic Marvel comic book imagery? Well feast your eyes on this, the last image posted as of writing this post.
That’s got to be blood splatter on Cap’s shield yes? That’s what so many people seemed to think. But look again. The star on Cap’s shield is in the blue part, the red making up the striped rings outside it. This is the kind of detail you notice when you have a Cap shield key ring on you every day. So what is it? Well, turns out I found the answer in the weirdest of places. A record shop.
Now as I would discover, I was not the only person to have worked this out, not even being close the first, but I was certainly proud of myself for recognising the art work. The connection with CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR though? Maybe a soundtrack cue, but I have no idea. I’m sticking with the idea of them trolling us with the iconic imagery tease, unless someone can educate me. Is one of the band members the Russo’s nephew or something?
Anyway, I gave the album a go, it’s quite good. Give it a try.
All we’ve left to see is if they tweet out anything else between now and the movie being released. Will what we’ve seen match up, and most importantly, will the Russos come clean and admit to what they did? Or will this account go dark, until AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR starts shooting later this year?
All comments and theories are definitely welcome in the comment section below.
Written by Nick Whitney, MCU Correspondent -- Click here to read Nick's posts
Related Posts:
Watch the Extended CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Clip of ANT-MAN Meeting #TeamCap
'The Road to CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR' Feature: T'Challa, the Black Panther
'The Road to CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR' Feature: Iron Man - The Armored Avenger
'The Road to Civil War' Feature: CAPTAIN AMERICA - Sentinel of Liberty
WARNING – These aren’t really spoilers, more like speculation. But if you want to remain 100-percent spoiler-free, STOP NOW! If you’re okay with theorising, feel free to continue...
Firstly, we have their Twitter avatar.
A quick reverse Google image search tells us this image is taken from Alex Ross: Battle of the Planets Artbook. Ross, a seminal comic book cover artist, has drawn (more accurately, painted) nearly all of the characters due to appear in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. The newly revealed Spider-Man even looks somewhat like Alex Ross’ depiction of the web-slinger.
But I remembered something... that the Twitter account hadn’t always had this image as its avatar. Thanks to waybackmachine.org I was able to see that it used to be this.
Again, searching for this image tells us that it is an image from Vampire Hunter D, the main character from a series of Japanese novels, manga and anime. So along with Battle of the Planets, there seems to be a strong Anime connection there. Maybe Joe and Anthony Russo are big fans of Japanese pop culture? Could it just be a fan with too much time on his hands. Well, no... and here’s why.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 7, 2015
Their very first tweet was oddly enough the one that eventually ending up proving the account is (probably) legit. Or even if it isn’t the Russos themselves, it’s being posted by someone on-location for Civil War. Just look at that corridor and compare it to the images from the movie below.
We’ve literally seen it in the first trailer! It’s the corridor where Steve Rogers and Tony Stark face each other. Now granted, trailers chop and change shots around so the scene as presented in the trailer may not represent what happens in the final film. But unless the owners of this Twitter account just happened to snap a photo of a corridor that matches the one in the trailer, then we can assume to say first photo was taken by someone on set, even if it wasn’t one of the Russos.
Now the next image.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 9, 2015
This one kind of set the Internet ablaze with theories. We knew Spider-Man was going to be in Civil War and it was rumoured he would be donning a prototype suit he had made himself. So here we have... early designed Spider-eyes? As seen in the second trailer, when we see Spidey in his full, totally recognisable Spider-man costume, the eyes change shape.
Specifically, they seem to move like the aperture on a camera lens. Something that a photography nerd like Peter Parker would be an expert on. Could these be his 'Mark I' Spider-lenses before getting a Tony Stark upgrade?
Next we have this.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 10, 2015
Now most people seem to agree that it’s some type of high school, maybe even university or college shirt or jersey. Another hint at the high school aged Parker? The significance of the “108” and the lettering is lost on me, though. Does it mean anything to someone from New York? Is it similar in style to a real world shirt so easier comparisons can be made?
Then we have…
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 10, 2015
My GOD! We Spider-fans went NUTS for this. It could only be one thing to us... the new Spider-Man suit (or an oddly coloured basketball). Compare it to the one seen in the trailers and see what you think?
The next one is a whole lot simpler. The “_IA A_”?
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 16, 2015
Easy. In lieu of the Superhuman Registration Act of the comic book Civil War storyline — which makes much more sense when you have a larger community of heroes with secret identities — the movie version of Civil War is going to be about the broader theme of government oversight. Should the Avengers be allowed to operate free from accountability? Heck no! And the name of the law brought into effect to keep the Avengers in-check?
The Sokovia Accords, thus named after the Battle of Sokovia depicted in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. The final straw that broke the camel’s back in turning public opinion against superheroes. Presumably this tweeted image is that of a prop? It's different from the one seen in trailer sure, but perhaps it’s just the hardcover edition?
Next, we have this… thing?
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 22, 2015
Now, I’m pretty certain that it’s a close up of the chair the Winter Soldier is seen strapped to in the second trailer. Notice the colour of the padding and the placement of the arm restraints. Again, this was tweeted out months before the first trailer was released.
Up next we have... well, a bullet through glass.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 22, 2015
Looks like someone’s getting shot. Who? I have a theory, but I’d rather leave it for now. Despite everything, I still want to be surprised when I see the film.
Next up!
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 23, 2015
Now this one, best I can tell, is a close up of the Black Panther’s eye, taken on a monitor of some sort. I’ve tried to find if it’s part of any image we’ve seen of the Black Panther so far without luck.
On to…
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 24, 2015
A lot of people assume this is a lens, which it is. A lot of those people assume it has to be one of Parker’s trademark camera lenses. But a little Google-Fu serching led me to the conclusion that it’s most likely a PV-mount 1200m lens, used is shooting video digitally or on film. In other words, this is a pro filmmaker’s camera right here.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) July 24, 2015
For those in the know, this was another easy one. It’s long been reported that the production title of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVI L WAR was Sputnik. This is something that all the Marvel Studios films have done to try and keep fans off their scent when shooting their films. The fact we know these names is a testament to how far geeks will go to devour any scrap of info on these franchises they love. This appears to be a Call Sheet, a document that outlines which cast and crews members need to be present for each day of shooting, which scenes are going to be worked on, which locations used etc. Now, an enterprising fan could have come up with this, as I said the Sputnik title wasn’t exactly a secret, but coupled with the other evidence I believe it to be genuine.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) August 23, 2015
Now we get what people have assumed to be another glimpse at the Spider-man suit. The corner of the eye to be exact. I don’t think it quite matches. Perhaps it’s another part of the suit entirely. Perhaps it the Russos (or whoever runs this account) having fun with us using some prop that they know looks Spidey-like. It doesn’t appear to be the only instance of them doing it, which I’ll get to in a bit.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) October 26, 2015
Oh I liked this one. So much speculation, until someone discovered the first image was a close up of a classic Star Wars poster. The second image? Some more reverse image searching turned up that it was a close up of a trailer. Specifically a United States Trailer.
And what movie did the first Civil War trailer appear alongside? I’m hoping the answer is STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, because otherwise this all looks kind of stupid.
Now, remember when I said the Russos may be trolling us with images that looked similar to iconic Marvel comic book imagery? Well feast your eyes on this, the last image posted as of writing this post.
— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) January 20, 2016
That’s got to be blood splatter on Cap’s shield yes? That’s what so many people seemed to think. But look again. The star on Cap’s shield is in the blue part, the red making up the striped rings outside it. This is the kind of detail you notice when you have a Cap shield key ring on you every day. So what is it? Well, turns out I found the answer in the weirdest of places. A record shop.
Now as I would discover, I was not the only person to have worked this out, not even being close the first, but I was certainly proud of myself for recognising the art work. The connection with CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR though? Maybe a soundtrack cue, but I have no idea. I’m sticking with the idea of them trolling us with the iconic imagery tease, unless someone can educate me. Is one of the band members the Russo’s nephew or something?
Anyway, I gave the album a go, it’s quite good. Give it a try.
All we’ve left to see is if they tweet out anything else between now and the movie being released. Will what we’ve seen match up, and most importantly, will the Russos come clean and admit to what they did? Or will this account go dark, until AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR starts shooting later this year?
All comments and theories are definitely welcome in the comment section below.
Written by Nick Whitney, MCU Correspondent -- Click here to read Nick's posts
Related Posts:
Watch the Extended CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Clip of ANT-MAN Meeting #TeamCap
'The Road to CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR' Feature: T'Challa, the Black Panther
'The Road to CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR' Feature: Iron Man - The Armored Avenger
'The Road to Civil War' Feature: CAPTAIN AMERICA - Sentinel of Liberty