Captain America: Civil War actor Daniel Brühl, who played Helmut Zemo, thinks the character could return in a future Marvel movie. Brühl's Zemo made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as an antagonist in the third solo film following Steve Rogers aka. Captain America (Chris Evans). Civil War saw Zemo mastermind a plan that split up the Avengers - particularly Steve and Tony Stark aka. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) - as revenge for the destruction of Sokovia. During the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Zemo's family was killed in the Battle of Sokovia, which was fought between the Avengers and Ultron.

To get his revenge, Zemo killed the king of Wakanda, T'Chaka (John Kani), and framed Bucky Barnes aka. the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), leading T'Challa aka. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) to hunt down Steve's best friend. As a result of his guilt over Sokovia, Tony sided with T'Challa and became an enemy of former teammate Captain America. To further drive a wedge between Tony and Steve, Zemo also revealed to Tony that the Winter Soldier killed his parents. Because of Zemo's plot to tear apart the Avengers from the inside, the team has been fractured ever since - which is particularly dire as Thanos is set to arrive on Earth in this summer's Avengers: Infinity War. However, for those hoping to see Zemo return to the MCU, Brühl has faith it's certainly possible.

Related: Black Panther Characters Returning In Infinity War

In an interview with Screen Rant to promote his latest film, 7 Days in Entebbe, Brühl also discussed his role in the MCU and whether he could see Zemo return in a future Marvel movie. For his part, Brühl is hopeful about the possible return of Zemo:

Well I hope so. I always say they didn’t kill me, which is always a good sign. As you can imagine, it’s extremely secretive. Even if I would know something, I would probably not be allowed to tell you. But again, I was very glad about the fact that he [did] not kill himself and [was] stopped by Black Panther and that he ends up in a prison. But I’m pretty sure he’s going to get out of that prison somehow.

Baron Zemo in Marvel Comics

Zemo is certainly still in the minds behind the MCU as Brühl's character received a name drop in Marvel Studios' latest release, Black Panther. That film picked up roughly a week following the events of Captain America: Civil War and, as such, T'Challa's capture of Zemo was still fresh for both himself and CIA agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman). Considering Zemo's ties to the newest king of Wakanda, perhaps he could show up in a Black Panther sequel - though, of course, his conflict with T'Challa was given a satisfying conclusion at the end of Civil War.

Still, the MCU's Zemo never quite became the comic book villain Marvel fans know as Baron Zemo, who is a long-standing antagonist for Captain America. Considering the MCU is set to go through some massive and lasting changes with the conclusion of Phase 3, marked with the release of Avengers 4, it's expected for someone new to take on the mantle of Captain America. Whether that's Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) remains to be seen, but whoever it is could potentially face a more comic book accurate version of Zemo if, like Brühl suggests, he escapes from prison.

With that said, the direction of the MCU after Avengers 4 is still very much unknown to the public. So, Marvel Studios could bring back Zemo, or they could go in an entirely new direction. Fans of Marvel and Baron Zemo will have to wait to find out.

Next: What Does ‘Culmination’ of the MCU Really Mean?

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