While the death of the Red Skull in the first Captain America movie wasn't believed by most fans, it seems like the directors of the most recent installment understand this as well and think the villain could be returning soon.

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Speaking with Yahoo! on Monday, Captain America 3 directors Anthony and Joe Russo talked about Hugo Weaving's Red Skull returning with the rise of Hydra after the last movie.

"I think we heard that prior to our involvement with the project," Anthony said. "I think we heard that they may have had that conversation at one point, but we weren't around for it, so it's hard for us to comment."

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They went on to say that while he didn't fit into the plot of the second movie, they know that he could be a character that could slide into the franchise again relatively soon.

"Specifically, the tone that we were chasing in that movie. I know we have a guy in a computer, but the tone we were chasing was sort of that conspiracy thriller. And we wanted to try and ground the movie as much as we could," Joe said.

"Red Skull, he's a fantastical character and didn't necessarily fit for 'Cap 2' and especially because it was about the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. Certainly Hydra exists and that's his legacy, but there's something interesting about the fact that his legacy outlived the skull. And they're still dealing with the demons of it, but not necessarily him."

The Russos added that nothing precludes his return as of right now. "That doesn't preclude him from returning, because he's certainly in the rogues gallery of Captain America characters," Joe said.

"He's the preeminent figure, so that doesn't preclude him from returning. It didn't necessarily make sense for 'Cap 2' though."

Captain America 3 is set to open in theaters on May 6, 2016.

Tags: Captain America Movies