Mistaken Identity: Robert Redford “Confirms” Role In Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the sequel to 2011’s Captain America (duh; what did you think it was the sequel to? Ice Castles? Use your head) is in production now, which means that casing rumors and news are coming out on a semi-regular basis. The latest news, from about a week ago, was that Robert Redford was being cast to play… something. But exactly who was anyone’s guess. Was it one of Captain America’s old, pre-freezing, World War II buddies? Agent Coulson’s angry and vengeful father? Batroc The Leaper? Leatherface (Yeah, I know, but the man’s spent a lot of time in the sun, is all)?

Nope. Redford did a press conference to support The Company You Keep, the upcoming political thriller flick he directed, and he point blank told reporters the role he’s playing… and it turns out that, yeah, we still don’t know what role he’s playing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Because I don’t think Redford knows what the fuck he’s gonna be doing in the movie.

Why do I say that? Well, Redford told reporters he was playing:

Well, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. The head of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Oh, okay. The head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Got it. Thanks, Bob.

Wait, what?

“The Captain America thing is just a very simple thing,” [Redford] continued. “I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something just to be different. Something bold, different. And that felt like a good thing to do. That was it, nothing more to it than that. Well, it’s bold in terms of expectations, I guess.”

Yeah, it sure is bold… bold to think that you’ll be playing the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a movie that reportedly co-stars Samuel L. Jackson.

Portraying Nick Fury.

You know: the motherfucking head of motherfucking S.H.I.E.L.D.

Which make me wonder who Redford will really be playing in the movie – maybe the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a World War II flashback? – but it also makes me wonder just what the hell directors Anthony and Joe Russo told Redford he’d actually be doing in the movie.

“Hi, Bob; it’s Tony Russo. Listen, we’re looking to make Winter Soldier a kinda dark, 70s style, street-level espionage flick so… we want you to do a cameo as a guy in Central Park who offers to give Cap head under his shield… uh huh… now, hear me out – what? Holy shit, Joe! He said ‘yes!’ What? Yeah, he sounded confused and shitfaced; what’s your point?”

Ah, well. Regardless of who Redford is really playing, we’ll see it when Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens on April 4th, 2014.

(via Comic Book Resources’s Spinoff Online)