Captain America: New World Order is shaping up as one of 2024’s most exciting MCU projects. Harrison Ford has joined the cast, taking over the role of Thunderbolt Ross from the late William Hurt; more than 15 years after his debut, Tim Blake Nelson is returning to the MCU as Samuel Sterns; and Anthony Mackie will lead his first film after assuming the mantle of Captain America during the events of Marvel Studios’ Disney Plus streaming series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
While Mackie’s Sam Wilson shared a wonderful friendship with Steve Rogers, the road to becoming Cap was very different for Sam and that path will certainly shape his time with the shield. As Mackie explained in an interview with Kevin Polowy, his Captain America is much more grounded in his real-world experiences as a non-powered hero and counselor.
“I think with my Cap, he’s not a superhero; he doesn’t have a super serum,” explained Mackie. “So his superpower is his humanity,” he continued, “so I think with him, he has to come to the stage with a very different understanding of what it is to be a good guy or be a bad guy and what are the decisions that make you toe that line in the way that you did. I just see him as more of a humane Cap as opposed to a distinctive–a Cap of judgment–where this is right and this is wrong…your decisions that make you choose right or wrong.”
Mackie’s insight into the character is pretty telling considering some of the more well-founded rumors about the plot of the film which point to Wilson finding himself less than thrilled with the choices being made by the U.S. Government. What happens when Captain America disagrees with the choices being made by America?
Wilson’s time as Cap is just getting started and will be defined by the choices he makes as a hero but according to Mackie, one choice he believes to be an upgrade over Steve Rogers is the costume, which debuted in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. “And a flyer costume!” added Mackie, when describing why Sam’s Cap is different than Steve’s. “It’s leg day every day, baby. We going straight spandex. None of this cotton stuff. We doing straight spandex!” Mackie’s already taking on the mantle of Captain America and now it sounds like he’s issuing a challenge to Winston Duke over the mantle of the thick-thighed god of the MCU.
Captain America: New World Order heads into production in March ahead of its scheduled May 3rd 2024 release.
