At Marvel premiere, fans also get 'Captain America' sequel sneak peek

Superhero fans were out in full force Monday night as Hollywood’s Arclight theater played host to a special premiere screening of Marvel’s latest one-shot, All Hail the King, starring Ben Kingsley, who reprised his role as Iron Man 3’s Trevor Slattery for the 13-minute short.

EW senior movies writer Anthony Breznican moderated the event, which also included a brief Q&A with Sir Ben Kingsley, screenwriter Drew Pearce, and producer Kevin Feige. The surprise of the night, however, came at the end when fans were treated to a very special screening of the first 10 minutes of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Read on for a recap of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier preview and to hear what Drew Pearce, Kevin Feige, and Ben Kingsley had to say about working on All Hail the King:

In the latest Marvel one-shot, fans are offered a glimpse into Trevor Slattery’s life after the events of Iron Man 3. Though now incarcerated, Trevor seems to be living comfortably in jail, where he’s enjoying his new status as a celebrity thanks to having successfully pulled off impersonating the Mandarin — there’s even a filmmaker (Scoot McNairy) visiting him who’s suspiciously interested in creating an in-depth documentary about his life.

“The Marvel one-shots are honestly just a labor of love,” said Pearce, who recalled that the idea to center their latest short on Iron Man 3’s Trevor Slattery came to him and Feige over lunch one day.

Pearce also said that Trevor’s ability to survive “like a cockroach in the apocalypse” is what initially drew them to the idea of centering the short on his character. The screenwriter also divulged that they toyed with the idea of having All Hail the King serve as a prequel, alluding to early versions of the script where Trevor did not survive the events of Iron Man 3, but in the end they loved the character so much they decided to keep him.

Kingsley seemed all to pleased to come back and reprise his role for the one-shot, joking that he missed the now incarcerated thespian he portrayed in Iron Man 3.

“I actually worried about him — I visited him in rehab and I told him not to worry because he was going to be in a short!” joked Kingsley.

Kingsley also revealed that he loved playing Trevor because he felt as though the character was “beautifully conceived by Kevin and Drew.” In a moment that drew quite a chuckle from fans in attendance, Kingsley also revealed that his portrayal of the character was partially inspired by the Royal Shakespeare Company actors he would go to the pubs with after shows who just wouldn’t shut up.

“[Trevor] is a salute to the struggling actor, but he’s rooted in reality,” said Kingsley.

Finally, the filmmakers touched on a short sequence in the one-shot that features a clip from Trevor’s failed pilot, Caged Heat. While the pilot may have been fictional, it turns out Feige and Pearce were actually able to get famed theme-song composer Mike Post (NYPD Blue, Law & Order) to create an all-new theme for Caged Heat.

Originally, Pearce said they were just hoping Post could give them something from his vaults that he’d never used or sold, but both he and Feige, who is a huge fan of Post’s TV theme songs, were thrilled when the composer offered to “get all of his old ’80s equipment out of storage” and create something brand-new for All Hail the King.

As for the special preview of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, let’s just say it definitely packs a punch. The film opens on Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) running laps around Washington, D.C., effortlessly outpacing every jogger along the way. One such jogger happens to be Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), and the two end up connecting after their respective workouts over being in the armed forces. It’s clear that Steve is still trying to get his bearings after waking up from his cryogenic sleep at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, and there’s a funny moment where we see Steve’s list of pop culture criteria that occurred over the last 70 years he intends to read up on.

Soon after, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) shows up, makes a quick quip about needing to track down an old fossil, and whisks Steve away for a mission to rescue a hijacked vessel with S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Jasper Sitwell among the hostages. What follows is an impressive action sequence as the Cap and Black Widow lead their team on a mission to rescue the hostages aboard the ship. We’ll have to wait and see if their mission was successful or not, come April 4 when Captain America: The Winter Soldier hits theaters.

For now, you can pick up Thor: The Dark World, out on DVD/Blu-ray now, featuring the latest Marvel short, All Hail the King.