Last Friday's episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier saw Daniel Brühl make his return as Captain America: Civil War villain Zemo. However, the Baron was vastly more likeable than he was when we last saw him, and it feels like Marvel Studios could be setting him up as an anti-hero in anticipation of the inevitable coming together of the Thunderbolts.
Well, that or he'll do the predictable thing by turning on Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes!
Talking to Entertainment Tonight, Brühl was asked for his thoughts on fans getting behind Zemo.
"It's hilarious! They should all join Team Zemo. I think it's a good choice [Laughs]" he said of the fan support. "No, but what was established in Civil War already and what I loved about Kevin Feige's reinterpretation of that character was that he is not a cliché, one dimensional evil guy who just does that creepy stuff for no reason. He does it out of a very human motivation. He has suffered severe loss."
"So, although I always disagree with Zemo's radical methods, I kind of empathize with him, knowing where he was coming from. And that ambiguity is carried on in the show, as well, so you cannot totally dislike him."
Zemo is now Baron Zemo, as the show revealed that he's wealthy and comes from royalty. Captain America: Civil War never even hinted at that, and the actor was as surprised as the rest of us by the change.
"[He has] a lot of cars and a private jet, I didn't know that before either! There was a lot of surprises when I opened these scripts. It was just a different take on this character. And again, it's fun, because it doesn't become redundant. It doesn't become boring."
The site also asked about those theories that Zemo is wearing the purple mask as a way of reminding Earth's Mightiest Heroes about their loss to Thanos.
"Well, like my character Zemo, I love being opaque and mysterious and secretive and enigmatic, and I won't tell you a thing!" he teased. "You will have to check it out. I couldn't and wouldn't answer that question."
Zemo's story will continue in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier this Friday, though with a Wakandan hot on his tail, the villain/anti-hero is about to face a whole new threat...