The line around Amoeba Records wrapped around the store and down the block even though it was still another two hours before the event, a Blu-Ray signing with Joe and Anthony Russo.

The directors of the runaway sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier were inside the record store’s greenroom, a surprisingly spacious area with a high ceiling, several foldout chairs, and a couch.

As I was ushered in, I could see Anthony seated at the couch, but Joe was up grabbing a slice of pizza. He spots me and retreats back to the couch, trying his best not to be rude. I insist that they eat the pizza since I too understand what hunger can do to a creative type. Since my time with them is limited, they laugh, decline, and we dive right into the interview.

I started off with some inevitable questions about Cap 3 (which we’ll publish tomorrow), but the bulk of our conversation centered around The Winter Soldier, including who originally had the brilliant idea to pitch it as a conspiracy thriller rather than as a traditional “superhero film.”

It turns out that Marvel President Kevin Feige already knew what he was looking for when he recruited the Russos for the job.

“They had already gone down that road before we got involved,” said Joe. “We read the script and it was already in that world, in that zone.”

Although the superhero sequel was already leaning in that direction, it was eventually Joe and Anthony Russo that convinced Feige that they needed to take the subgenre within the movie to the next level. By making it more similar to conspiracy thrillers like Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View, it allowed them to adopt filmgoers that wouldn’t normally tune into Cap’s next adventure.

“It makes the movie more accessible to a wider audience,” said Anthony Russo. “It’s a populist art and you wanna be as inclusive as you can. Otherwise you should paint a picture and put it in your house and stare at it.”

It was this same shift in direction that attracted many fans that found The First Avenger a little hokey, or The Avengers just a little too jokey for their taste.

“We challenged them to take it even further,” said Joe. “We’ve never had more creative freedom than we had with ‘Cap 2.’ That movie is tonally very different from everything they’ve done up to that point. We shot it differently, we lit it differently. The violence was very aggressive. It could’ve been too aggressive for them.”

You know what other famous sequel could be considered “aggressive” compared to its predecessor? A little film called The Empire Strikes Back. Sometimes a shift in tone and style can inject new life into a franchise, and even ignite the imaginations of the people in the audience. Joe Russo admits that the first time he saw Empire, he stayed at the theater for 12 hours watching it over and over again.

“I remember as a kid I loved mature storytelling. I loved movies that treated me like an adult,” said Joe. “I loved movies that were emotionally impactful, because when I left the theater I felt like I had a real experience. So that’s what we’re trying to give to the fans.”

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital Download.

More from this interview

The Russo brothers tease potential ‘Captain America 3’ titles and overarching themes