'Winter Soldier': A Deadlier Captain America (Even With Exposed Ears)

Chris Evans in Marvel's 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier.' Photo courtesy of Disney.

After visiting the super-secretive set of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," we can confirm this much: Cap doesn't have Dumbo ears, much to Chris Evans's surprise.
Last July, Yahoo Movies was invited to Marvel's Manhattan Beach, California, set to witness Cap in action, and speak at length with Evans, the man who, three movies in, now fully embodies America's most patriotic superhero.
Watching Cap run up and down a giant catwalk surrounded by even bigger green screens, we couldn't help but notice Cap's slick new suit, capped off by a redesigned helmet. For the first time on film, Cap's cap features open ear holes — which took Evans a bit of getting used to.
"I always liked the ears inside; I always thought I kind of had big Dumbo ears. Whenever they tried a helmet with the ears out, I was like, 'Please don't make me do this, I look so silly." But they did some really good things. It looks a lot better," Evans said.
As you can see when comparing our exclusive poster above with the photos below, Cap's ears are certainly more exposed than they were in "Captain America: The First Avenger" and "Marvel's The Avengers."

L to R, Chris Evans in 'Captain America: The First Avenger' and 'Marvel's The Avengers'.

Of course, more aerated ears aren't the only new aspect of Cap's second stand-alone film. As Marvel actors are wont to do, Evans knows his character inside out, and spoke to us in great depth about him. Here's 15 far-less ear-y thoughts from our set interview with Evans:

1. There's going to be plenty of action:

"We're trying to push it a little more in this one. ... You guys saw 'Avengers,' those guys are good. I gotta have a reason to be on this team."

2. They're turning Cap up to 11:

"We've had a little fun turning up his power, turning up his speed, so the fights are a lot more grisly, and impactful, and in my opinion cooler."

3. He moves a lot like the video-game version of Captain America:

"Has anyone played the Captain America video game? I love it, and I don't like video games. And I love it … 'cause I love the way Cap moves. He moves so well, he just beats a--. That's how the guy needs to be moving. This isn't just a guy who was given the ability of speed and power. He's been training. He's got the frame of mind to absorb this information. So you can only assume with training and his ability, the guy should really be dangerous. And we should show that."

4. And they do show that:

"Shield use. And acrobatics, too. He's flipping off things, and spinning and jumping and he's using his environment and it's not just punch, punch, kick, kick."

5. Evans had to train in all new ways to kick butt in all new ways:

"It was a bit of a chore, but it was fun. I was excited. They put me in gymnastics classes. We were doing combat stuff everyday for two months."

6. Cap's not just growing as a fighter, he's growing as a human:

"[Anthony] Mackie's character [Sam Wilson/The Falcon] and mine, we have an understanding, because it's not like Cap has that many friends; his life is his work. And Natasha [Romanoff/Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson] kind of gives him a hard time about that, too: about getting out and dating, finding a social life, finding yourself outside your work."

 character posters of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) & Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)

7. Speaking of Natasha:

"It's nice with Scarlett, some of the dialogue just feels like the way people speak. It's so nice, cause it's human. And there's a lot of that in this movie. My favorite scenes are the scenes with Scarlett."

8. But there's still plenty of conflict:

"Our characters both have issues in this movie. It's just such an odd pairing; we're such different people. Her moral compass is for sale. And Steve [Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America] is a boy scout."

9. Bucky's emergence as the Winter Soldier [Sebastian Stan] also plays a big part:

"The stakes are high. That was one of Steve's biggest sources of guilt: The fact that out of this whole crew of Howling Commandoes — these guys that he convinced to come to battle with him — that was the one guy that didn't make it back. And that was the one guy that was always there for him. And then to find out that he did make it and was subject to some of the things that he was subject to, that's a lot, that's a lot for Steve to process."

10. Robert Redford, who plays a mysterious S.H.I.E.L.D. higher-up, ups everyone's game:

"The first day we shot together, we shot like a 15-hour day… and at the end of the day, it was a lot of my stuff, he had very minimal lines, he really could have left — I know a lot of actors who would've left, and been like, 'You cool doing this with someone else?' Which I think kind of sucks when actors do that. But he didn't do it. He stuck around. It's past midnight and this guy's here doing off-camera for me."

11. Evans is feeling very comfy in the Captain America suit (even with the ear flaps):

"It's a nice feeling to kind of come into your own. I think the first movie when I'd see myself in the suit I'd be like, 'Who's that idiot in the suit?' It's starting to feel more like real, or home, or something. So you do start caring a little bit more. You know, you do run into those kids. And they do have this impact. And it's a really nice thing. It's a responsibility now."

12. Good thing he's comfy, cause he's in it for the long haul:

"We're going to run the contract. There's no way I'm not going to be doing [it]. We're going to do 'Avengers 2.' We're probably going to be doing 'Avengers 3.'"

13. This movie won't be as black and white:

"It's always been Cap's goal to do what's right and to be of service, and to help where he can; in this movie I think the question is 'What is right?' I think it was a lot easier in the 40's to know who the evil was. There's no disputing Nazis are bad. Now it becomes a little bit more of a difficult answer. There's a lot more of a grey area about what is the right thing, and are you of service to that cause? That's where it becomes a tricky dispute for Cap."

14. The change in tone suits the character:
"He is a really human superhero. He doesn't shoot lightning, he doesn't fly. It's a very meat and potatoes type power. I think it's only appropriate that the tone and the theme fit more of a human element. It does have more of a grounded, political-thriller tone to it. I think that goes hand-in-hand with the character. It just works."

15. The tone also suits the conflict:

"They're also trying to infuse a much more human conflict that doesn't necessarily have to do with fighting monsters and doing the giant stunts. It's just about him coping with moral issues. Right and wrong. Good and bad. That's stuff we can all relate to."

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" opens wide April 4, but if you can't wait to see new footage until then, there will be a brand new Super Bowl ad this Sunday.