Baron Zemo was the villain in Captain America: Civil War who turned the heroes against each other, but he was underwhelming and slightly disappointing.
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel has fixed that problem by making Baron Zemo one of the most entertaining characters in the new Disney+ Marvel series.
In the third episode, viewers watched as Zemo broke out of prison, joined up with Falcon and Winter Soldier, and ended up dancing in a nightclub in a scene that has spawned countless memes and a new hashtag, #ReleaseTheZemoCut.
It was a good chance for actor Daniel Brühl to really stretch his acting muscles, which is always good since he is a two-time Golden Globe-nominee (The Alienist, Rush).
Daniel Brühl talks Baron Zemo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Daniel Brühl spoke to Entertainment Weekly about returning as Baron Zemo for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and how exciting it was for him to explore a new side of the classic Marvel villain.
“After reading the scripts, I thought, ‘Oh! This is a whole new game’,” Brühl said. “It gives me the opportunity to discover so much more [about the character] and to show different sides of Baron Zemo that, actually, I always had in mind knowing the comic books.”
In Captain America: Civil War, Zemo was a man who lost his wife and child during Ultron’s attack of Sokovia and wanted revenge against the Avengers — and all superhumans in general.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier really opens up his character.
On top of his intense hatred for superhumans and the super-soldier serum, it turns out that Baron Zemo was also extremely wealthy, explaining his Baron title. He also got the iconic mask from the comics.
“In Civil War, as much as I enjoyed playing the part, I thought, ‘Give me that mask at least for a second, for one scene!’ ‘What about Zemo’s aristocratic background?’ ‘Why is he called Baron?’,” Brühl said.
“That all was added here in the show, and it was so much fun to play around with it.”
The actor also talked about getting a chance to give Baron Zemo a touch of humor for the first time.
“I’m always a fan when this is part of the performance, no matter how serious the circumstances are.”
#ReleaseTheZemoCut
Brühl also said in the interview there is a longer cut of the Baron Zemo dancing scene that has captured the audiences attention.
“It’s so hysterical. [That moment] was improvised when I saw the crowd dancing, going loco,” Brühl said. “I felt the beat and was like, Zemo has been sitting in a dodgy German prison cell for years. So, he needs to let off some steam and show his moves. Let’s go for it!”
Check out the meme worthy dance moves here (its at the 25 second mark):
The big news is that Brühl said there is a lot more of his dance moves that didn’t make it to the scene.
“I enjoyed so much the reaction of Anthony and Sebastian looking at me,” Brühl said. “I was 100 percent sure that they would cut it out [of the show]. I was really surprised and happy that they kept it. It was a long dance. There’s more to it, but they cut this little moment.”
This, of course, started the #ReleaseTheZemoCut movement on social media, mocking the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag from Justice League.
There is no telling if fans will ever get their Zemo Cut, but everyone wants to see more of the Baron getting down on the dance floor.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier releases new episodes every Friday on Disney+.