In the pages of Marvel Comics around 2010 after Steve Rogers came back from the dead and dealt with ‘Dark Reign’ and ‘Siege’, the former Captain America entered the ‘Heroic Age’ story arc as the Executive Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and “America’s top cop”. With the new job title, the Star-Spangled Avenger also donned a new uniform. Nearly nine months ago, we learned that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Sentinel of Liberty will be adorned with this same costume as he appears in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’. Since then, it has been revealed that Cap will be sporting a number of his costumes throughout the sequel, but we never really got an answer about why he gets the new one in the first place (besides the fact that they need to sell action figures). That is, until now.

In a recent interview with SFX, directors Joe and Anthony Russo opened up about why they went with the stealthier suit for Steve Rogers in their upcoming Phase Two film:

“It was about a real world grounding approach to the character, in the spirit of Ed Brubaker’s book, which is postmodern and deconstructionist and a grounded thriller. We wanted to put Cap in a space where he’s a special forces operative for S.H.I.E.L.D. who goes on missions around the world that are clandestine and sometimes require a certain level of anonymity or stealth. We wanted to use his Super Soldier outfit from the comic books as a way to represent, thematically, his place in the world of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the difference between working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and being Captain America. That’s something that gets explored on a very concrete level in terms of what outfits are used in the film.”

We didn’t feel like we were messing with the icon. People can say that they’re fans of the books if they’re only loyal to the ‘60s and ‘70s version of the character – well, then you’re a fan of that version of the character, but if you’ve been reading the books till the current runs then this is a journey that the character goes on and it’s a pretty explicit journey. We just felt like we were being faithful to the more recent issues of the books. The movie has a very thematic component in terms of the use of costumes. When you come to see the film I think you’ll understand why we made the choice we made…”

Based on Joe Russo’s explanation, the co-directors use a real unique way to show the difference in being an Avenger and working for S.H.I.E.L.D. by using Cap’s costume. I’m curious to see how all these wardrobe changes come into play throughout the movie when it finally comes out.

What do you think of the Russos’ reasons for giving Steve Rogers a new outfit in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’? Are you excited to see the Super Soldier costume in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know in the comments below.

‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ starring Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, and Emily VanCamp hits theaters on April 4, 2014.