'Captain America' Director: Film Targets Obama's 'Kill List'

President Barack Obama’s name isn’t mentioned during the new superhero sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The president, and particularly his so-called errorist “kill list,” was still very much on the mind of co-director Joe Russo and his creative team.

Russo told Mother Jones that the filmmakers wanted to bring a political edge to the new film. So they read, and read, the latest headlines for inspiration. They didn’t have to look too far to find material that would flesh out Captain America’s latest adventure, even if they fail to directly connect the plot to Obama.

So [Anthony] and I just looked at the issues that were causing anxiety for us, because we read a lot and are politically inclined. And a lot of that stuff had to do with civil liberties issues, drone strikes, the president’s kill list, preemptive technology”–all themes they worked into the film, working closely with screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Captain America: The First Avenger finds our hero (Chris Evans) battling forces willing to use the government’s spy data for nefarious purposes.

The film marks Hollywood’s second project this year with Obama drones on its mind. The recent RoboCop reboot also explored the morality behind government-run drones.