In Flickering Myth’s interview with directors Anthony and Joe Russo, the pair spoke about the film’s controversial Russian release. The international version is the same in every single way – apart from the badges on the Siberian soldiers’ uniforms in the film. In the story, these soldiers work for Hydra and their badges have the Russian flag on. The Russian cut has these badges removed.

“That was a specific request from Disney Russia,” Anthony explained. “It was a complicated issue for us, but they felt it was important to remove the references from Russia to Hydra. We said ‘OK,’ because it didn’t affect the international release and it was always going to be available in the intended form.

“There was a sensitivity to the association between Hydra and Russia, even though if you look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe – just in our own work – Hydra was very much embedded in the United States in Winter Soldier. Hydra’s been embedded in Sokovia. At the end of the War in The First Avenger, Hydra went underground and showed up in weird parts of the world. Our story was that they worked as a secret organisation, a sleeper cell for decades and decades growing in strength, and part of that ended up in Russia as well. But Russian Disney was sensitive to that.”

“As filmmakers we’re sensitive to the fact that Russians are often portrayed in Western cinema as villains,” Joe continued. “And if I were a Russian citizen, I don’t need to go to the movies every week and be told I’m a villain, so we were sensitive to that when the request came in.”

It’s an oddly apt behind-the scenes production story. Civil War is, at some level, about governmental control and the potential misuse thereof. Here, the final cut has been affected by a similar type of interference.

What do you think about the changes Disney Russia requested? Let us know in the comments below.

Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.

SEE ALSO: Follow all of our Marvel Cinematic Universe coverage here

Captain America: Civil War releases in cinemas Friday April 29 in the UK and May 6th 2016 in the States, with Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) directing a cast that includes Marvel Cinematic Universe veterans Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch), Paul Bettany (The Vision), Don Cheadle (James Rhondes/War Machine), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Emily VanCamp (Sharon Carter), Frank Grillo (Brock Rumlow/Crossbones) and William Hurt (General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross) alongside new additions Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up) as T’Challa/Black Panther, Daniel Bruhl (Rush) as Baron Zemo, Tom Holland (The Impossible) as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Martin Freeman (Sherlock) as Everett Ross.

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