With his trip to the Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit over, Martin Freeman is heading in a different direction by signing up for Captain America: Civil War, according to an announcement by Marvel.
There’s no news though on who he might be playing, although I think it’s safe to say he won’t be a Halfling with hairy feet, or indeed the companion of a super-genius detective. There’s also no hint on whether his deal is just for a single movie, or if this will set up his character for further films, either on the side of good or of evil.
My bet would be the latter, especially with the recent news that Civil War will directly set up the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Another interesting possibility is that he could also appear in Doctor Strange, which would reunite him with his Sherlock co-star, Benedict Cumberbatch.
In the comics, the Civil War storyline centres around the Superhero Registration Act, which demands that those with super-human powers register themselves with and serve the US government. Steve Rogers is unimpressed by this and rebels against it, while Tony Stark (yep Robert Downey Jr. is back) thinks it’s a good idea. As a result the various heroes split into factions that ending up doing battle with one another.
The movie’s due out May 6th, 2016.