Ever since Steve Rogers decided to hand his shield off to his buddy Sam Wilson (a.k.a. Falcon) at the end of Avengers: Endgame, fans have wondered what was next. We got a Disney+ series that showed Sam’s hesitance to pick up the mantle of Captain America and the history that comes with it. By the end of the series, he knew he was the only person who could take on the role of Captain America. Now, where do we go? It looks like the upcoming story of super heroes and alter egos, Captain America: Brave New World, will tell us when it reaches theatre screens on February 14, 2025.
Reactions and Review
Some of the early reactions to the film can be seen at THIS LINK. JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray gave it a 5/10 review that can be read HERE, saying, “Marvel movies shouldn’t feel this dull.”
The new Captain America
Captain America: Brave New World, is the first Marvel movie to feature Sam Wilson in his Captain America costume and new role. Director Julius Onah, whose previous credits include The Girl Is in Trouble, The Cloverfield Paradox, and Luce, told Empire that, while Sam did already suit up as Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, this movie is “really his coming-out show. It’s about putting him through the paces. Part of the challenge for Sam as Captain America, working within the government, is the way he’s going to make decisions. The point of view he’s going to have will at times put him at odds with the President.“
Sam also sports a new Captain America suit in the film, re-designed from the look we saw in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – and lacking the strange white half-helmet he wore on that show. “I told them that I was never wearing that s*** again, dude,” Mackie told IGN. “That was hard. With the heat, the sweat, the fogged-up glasses, it was impossible. It was called a cowl. It was my worst nightmare. You can’t do anything.“
The action sequences will also be putting Sam to the test, especially since he doesn’t have the benefit of Super Soldier Serum giving him any enhanced abilities. As Onah put it, “The action in this movie is incredibly exciting because this is a guy who can break, this is a guy who can bleed. We get to have a lot of fun pushing him to the limit.“
Teaser trailer and posters
Trailers
A full trailer for the film was unveiled at the first-ever edition of D23 in Brazil.
Then the final trailer came along in December:
Another promo dropped online to point out the connections the film has to both the MCU entry Eternals and the X-Men franchise. In this teaser, the connections are mentioned in dialogue spoken by President Thaddeus Ross: “When the Celestial Mass emerged, we squabbled over it. What was found inside that island is a discovery of the millennium. I present to you adamantium.“
A Brave New World Order
This Marvel Comics adaptation was initially revealed to be Captain America: New World Order. If you’re a wrestling fan like me, you had visions of Sam decked out in his new Captain America gear, fighting off Hulk Hogan clad in his old black and white wrestling gear from the days of his heel run as leader of the faction the nWo. While these are only fun ideas that nerds like to put together at the mention of the New World Order, others seemed very surprised by the use of the subtitle. Even before WCW thought up the name of the renegade group, it was used by conspiracy theorists to describe the powerful elite that want to form a single-world government and enslave everyone. There is a lot more to go into, but seriously, there is not enough time, and JoBlo doesn’t want to end up on a conspiracy hit list. Google it if you feel brave enough. Some believed it also has a tinge of antisemitism within these circles as well. As production began, the name was changed to Captain America: Brave New World. Some feel this sounds like a more positive-sounding title as it looks forward to a new world. Those who have read the Aldous Huxley book think that might be a little naive.
Who’s Coming Back
With this film being in the Phase 5 lineup of the MCU, you know there have to be some returning superheroes. Of course, Anthony Mackie will be back as Sam Wilson. He’ll don the red, white, and blue as the new Captain America as we saw him embrace the part at the end of Falcon And The Winter Soldier. How will the character handle carrying his own movie? That’s the big question. As a sidekick to Steve Rogers, Sam worked as the wise-cracking guy with wings. Even as one of the main characters of the Disney+ series, he could at least share some of the lead with Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier. Now, he will be front and center. We’ll see if the character has the legs . . . er wings to carry the story on his own.
One of the characters we met in the series was Isaiah Bradley, who was the first African American Captain America. While Steve Rogers was taking an ice nap, the government was still working to find a way to replicate the super soldier serum. Unfortunately for Isaiah, his chance at becoming a super soldier was not his choice. He was imprisoned and experimented on until he escaped. His love for state and country is not riding very high these days.
Another character crossing over from Disney+ is Joaquin Torres, who seems to be taking up the mantle of Falcon. We saw him in some episodes of the show and had worked with Sam Wilson before. Now, it looks like he will earn his wings and help the Captain. Onah has said that the brotherhood between the new Captain America and the new Falcon is an important element of the film. “There’s this incredible big brother/little brother dynamic between them (Sam Wilson’s Captain America and Joaquín Torres’ Falcon). It’s going to be one of the key emotional centers of the film. These guys are incredible fighters. And Sam has been there and back. He’s got some tricks up his sleeve, and over the course of the film there are things he comes to learn that become other tools in his arsenal, when he’s facing even the most impossible of threats.“
The two significant returns that surprised many people were two characters and actors from way back in The Incredible Hulk. Tim Blake Nelson has returned as scientist Samuel Sterns. He was contaminated by Hulk’s irradiated blood and seemed to be set up as a future Hulk villain, The Leader. His enhanced intelligence due to the irradiated blood makes him a formidable foe. The plot thread seemed to have been left dangling as no more solo Hulk films were made. Now he’s finally returning, and the director told Empire that, “Sam finds himself almost standing between Samuel Sterns and what he thinks the government owes him, and how he wants to go about getting that.“
Addressing the fact that his character was missing from the MCU for a long time, Nelson told Variety, “I deeply, deeply grieved over the prospect of not being able to come back into the MCU. All I wanted to do, as an actor, was to figure out what happens to this guy. 18 years later I got to do it and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a great challenge and I was guided beautifully by Julius Onah, who’s an indie director. These are real directors who want to work with real actors and give them opportunities to play outlandish characters. Marvel supports that.“ During an interview with Empire, Nelson revealed that he requested practical effects be used to create his character’s head, as we’ll be seeing the Leader’s colossal cranium in the authentically green, distended flesh. He said, “I requested that we do what we were going to do, practically. Which was a huge help, because I liked being able to feel the weight of the deformation on my head, rather than just wearing dots.“
The look of The Leader was revealed in some promo art:
Nelson told GamesRadar+, “In this version, which is not the version I expected to play, I got to get better as an actor. And thanks to Kevin [Feige] and Nate [Moore] and Julius [Onah] and the writers, they wrote a beautifully nuanced character that was a wonderful challenge to play and that I wouldn’t have been able to play 15 years ago, because I don’t think, hopefully anyway, I was the actor that I am now. What we want to do most as actors is continue to grow. And I feel like I needed this maturity to be able to play what they wrote. What drives Samuel Sterns as The Leader is a sense of justice through anarchy. There’s a lot of history behind it that is exposed really beautifully in the writing. And I’m incredibly grateful that they asked me back, and I had a great time with such a phenomenal cast. I’ve known a lot of them for many, many years, and I agree with Harrison, one of the features of the MCU is the way they curate the world. They put serious actors in their movies. They don’t mess around in terms of shallow choices in terms of casting, and that starts with Anthony, who has such depth and soul as an actor. But I would also say it applies to everyone on this screen right now. It’s great to be a part of that group.“
Liv Tyler is also returning as Betty Ross. She was the love interest of Bruce Banner and the daughter of Thunderbolt Ross. The entire film of The Incredible Hulk seemed to have been forgotten except for William Hurt’s appearance in a few movies and Tim Roth’s recent return on She-Hulk. Now it looks like they are finally pulling in some other characters to fill out the Hulk’s roster. Mark Ruffalo seemed to announce he’d be coming back for this film but Marvel has said that was untrue. Maybe a post-credits scene?
Sebastian Stan won’t be showing up as Bucky Barnes, but he is in the upcoming film Thunderbolts. Mackie has said that he was disappointed Marvel decided to move forward with a Captain America movie instead of a second season of Falcon and the Winter Soldier because he wanted to spend more time hanging out with his friends from that show, Stan and Daniel Brühl (who played Baron Zemo).
It’s not clear if Samuel L. Jackson will be around as Nick Fury. We know for sure that Iron Man won’t be showing up. Sadly, Steve Rogers was left a widower when Peggy Carter passed away, but it seems unlikely Chris Evans will be putting on old age makeup again to give us a glimpse into his current life.
New Additions
The most significant addition comes with Harrison Ford taking over the character of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. William Hurt, unfortunately, passed away in 2022. Before, when an actor passed away, Marvel shied away from recasting the character. This time, they decided to bring in a new actor. This seemed to raise some questions about why it was okay in this instance but not for Black Panther after Chadwick Boseman died before being able to film the sequel.
Getting Harrison Ford in the movie is definitely a plus, no matter his role. This time around, Ross will be the new President Of The United States. Now that the gruff military guy is in charge of the whole country, how will that play against the world of superheroes? Well, as unveiled by the teaser and Comic Con footage, Ross himself will have powers, with his role as Red Hulk confirmed. Heck, Ford himself even came out on the Comic Con stage a went into hulk mode!
While speaking with Variety, Ford was asked what it took for him to do the Red Hulk mo-cap performance. He replied, “What did it take? It took not caring. It took being an idiot for money, which I’ve done before. I don’t mean to disparage it. I’m just saying you have to do certain things that normally your mother would not want you to do — or your acting coach, if you had one. But it’s fun, and I enjoyed it. I had a great time, and I’m delighted at the response that we got with the trailer.“
During an interview with Fandango, director Julius Onah said that seeing Red Hulk for the first time was “surreal, it’s incredible, it’s exciting. I gotta tell you, when Red Hulk first became a possibility in this film, I just smiled. I was smiling like a kid, and that’s when I knew it was the right idea and right moment to put it out into the world. … The Hulk character is such an expression of pure id, but there’s something about a rage Hulk that’s so relatable and so exciting for an audience as well. But there’s also a real thematic core to the expression of that anger in this film and what it means about the conflict at the center of this film. It’s not just the inner kid in me who is excited about it, it’s also the director and the storyteller in me who is also excited about where this goes.“
It’s always exciting to see a hero take on a villain who’s more powerful than they are, but if you’ve been wondering how Sam Wilson could possibly fight the Red Hulk, Mackie has already spilled the beans. While speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore (via ComicBookMovie), he said it’s all thanks to his “high-tech suit. I went to Wakanda, met with everybody in Wakanda, we had dinner. It was a great time. They threw me a welcome party. It was dope. But when I was leaving, they gave me a suit, right? I put it on. I can kick harder, I can fly faster, and it gives me the ability to be more agile in my skills, so it’s taking all my skills to a completely different level.“
Harrison Ford was asked by Extra TV about the concept of a Black Captain America, to which Ford replied, “I don’t think there’s a Black Captain America, I just think there’s a Captain America…He could be red or green, but he’s not: he’s Anthony Mackie. And he fills the shoes, whatever they were. I was there when it happened and for me, he’s Captain America.”
The comic book character of Sabra will be making her MCU debut played by Shira Haas. Some were concerned that debuting an Arab character during the times of unrest that is currently happening in the world might have consequences. Marvel has assured fans that they have taken care to update the character for a modern audience as they have with other heroes that have been brought to the big screen. In the comics, Sabra is a mutant who can transfer her life essence into others and even give them superpowers.
Captain America: Brave New World went into production in March of 2023, with filming lasting through June. In December of ’23, another screenwriter was brought onto the project to write new material for reshoots, and those reshoots seemed to be quite substantial, lasting from May 2024 through November. It was said that the reshoots were primarily done to rework three major action sequences – and this included adding Giancarlo Esposito into the mix as Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpent Society, while also dropping a Serpent Society character that was played by wrestler Seth Rollins.
During an interview with ComicBook.com, Onah said that shake-up was part of the creative team figuring out how they should present the Serpent Society on screen. “When you’re taking characters like Serpent Society from publishing, who, as you know, are individuals dressed up as snakes and have snake-adjacent powers, you’re always iterating and trying to figure out the version that totally works best in a movie like this. I love Seth Rollins, Seth’s incredible. But as we were evolving and we knew we had an additional photography period, just one that we did early on in the process that’s planned, we were trying to figure out, ‘Hey, who’s somebody that can bring a very specific kind of gravitas that works with this tone?’ And when Giancarlo Esposito became available, it was such a no-brainer. I have a very particular history with him. He’s iconic for working with Spike Lee. I interned with Spike Lee when I was 19 years old. And of course, fans have been fan-casting him for a long time in the MCU. So it’s really about making sure that all the elements worked in the grounded tone and vision that I have for this film. And as we evolved and iterated, Giancarlo just made sense. And what a blessing to have in this film.“
Speaking to Deadline, Esposito promised, “When you see me in the MCU, you’re going to see a badass.”
Strikes
Filming began in March of 2023, and the looming writer and actor strikes had fans wondering if they would finish before the strikes started. Marvel indicated that it shouldn’t interrupt filming all that much as there were already planned breaks between the regular shoot and later reshoots. In theory, this film was already ahead of where Deadpool And Wolverine was at in production. They felt they should remain on course for their July 26th, 2024 release date. For whatever reason, it was decided to go full steam ahead on finishing Deadpool And Wolverine and release it on this date and push Brave New World to February 14, 2025.
In all honesty, it was probably their best decision. Deadpool And Wolverine seems guaranteed to be a billion-dollar movie. The hype is already at a fever pitch. This new version of Captain America still seems like it could end up being a gamble one way or the other. Fans can be fickle about their favorite character. Falcon And The Winter Soldier didn’t light up Disney+ but fared well enough. Gambling a summer release date on a character that is unsure if he can carry his own film might be something Marvel isn’t looking to do with some of their recent films falling below expectations lately.
Official Info
Here’s some official information, directly from Marvel:
Anthony Mackie returns as the high-flying hero, who’s officially taken up the mantle of Captain America. Harrison Ford makes his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as newly-elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, a role originated by the late William Hurt. Ross and Sam have a bit of a history: In his previous role as Secretary of State, Ross was responsible for arresting Sam and his fellow Avengers during the events of Captain America: Civil War. Now as president, Ross is eager to work with Sam, hoping to make Captain America an official military position. But that tentative alliance is jeopardized when Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident, with friend and retired super-soldier Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) as the prime suspect. Sam’s investigation send him on a dangerous chase, and (leading to) a deadly showdown and a tease of the menacing Red Hulk. Danny Ramirez returns as former Air Force lieutenant Joaquin Torres, who’s picked up Sam’s old wings and taken on the role of Falcon. Tim Blake Nelson is also back as Samuel Sterns, AKA The Leader, appearing in the MCU for the first time since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. New to the cast is Shira Haas, who joins as Ruth Bat-Seraph. A former Black Widow, Ruth is now a high-ranking U.S. government official who has the trust of President Ross. Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, and Xosha Roquemore also star. The film is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers.
Mackie has said that the new movie is in line with the tone and style of the previous Captain America movies. Speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Mackie said (with thanks to SuperHeroHype for the transcription), “If you look at these Marvel movies, they go with different genres. You have the fantasy world, you have the space world, you have the raccoon world. With the Captain America stories, it has always been the realistic, grounded world.“
In a featurette, Mackie described this one as an “old school Marvel” film.
Although it has been rumored that Captain America: Brave New World had an initial budget of $275 million with an addition 75 to 100 million going to reshoots, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that it actually cost around $180 million, less than many other Marvel movies.
Clips
Spoiled by McDonald’s
Before the release date bounced to July of 2024 and then February of 2025, Captain America: Brave New World was originally expected to reach theatres on May 3, 2024 – and when you make a tie-in deal with McDonald’s, they don’t care if your release date moves. They’re going to release their Happy Meal tie-in toys to coincide with the release date they were told when the deal was made. That’s why Captain America: Brave New World toys were dropped into the Happy Meals sold throughout the world in May of 2024, nine months before anyone will have a chance to see the movie. Sam Wilson Captain America, with and without wings; the Joaquin Torres version of Falcon; Shira Haas’ character Ruth; the character Diamondback, believed to be played by Rosa Salazar in the film; Cap’s shield, Redwing, and yes, even Red Hulk. Toys of these characters and items have already been added to collections long before we’ll see any of them in action.
As we start to wrap up Everything We Know About Captain America: Brave New World, here’s some more promo art:
The movie has a running time of 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes), so it comes in at 6 minutes shorter than Captain America: The First Avenger (124 minutes), 18 minutes shorter than Captain America: The Winter Soldier (136 minutes), and 30 minutes shorter than Captain America: Civil War (148 minutes). While it ranks on the lower end of Marvel Cinematic Universe running times, there are several MCU movies that are shorter than 118 minutes: The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and The Marvels (which is the shortest of all, at 105 minutes).
Here’s a couple of the popcorn buckets movie-goers will be able to munch on while they watch the movie:
