Captain America: Brave New World ushers in a new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero franchise, with Anthony Mackie stepping into the title role previously held by Chris Evans.
It also sees Harrison Ford in his first superhero film as he plays the incandescently dangerous Red Hulk, who rivals Bruce Banner’s Hulk when it comes to anger management issues.
Evans relinquished the Captain America role in Avengers: Endgame (2019), which saw his character Steve Rogers – who took an experimental serum and became a super-powered soldier in World War II – go back in time to complete a mission and decide to stay there.
So, he passed the Captain America shield to his friend, Sam Wilson (Mackie), who was previously the Falcon, a superhero with mechanical wings.
But, unlike Steve, Sam has not taken the serum, and must instead rely on strategy, intelligence and wit rather than just brute strength.
In an interview with The Straits Times when he was in Singapore in November to promote the film at The Walt Disney Company’s 2024 Asia Pacific Content Showcase at Marina Bay Sands, Mackie, 46, says Steve and Sam have the same values, but diverge when it comes to their physicality.
“Because I don’t have the serum, I can’t rush head-on into a collision with another superhero or person. I have to be more intricate and specific with the way that I handle problems.
“So, it’s the idea of brute force as opposed to sheer will,” says the American actor, who played the Falcon in the movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), as well as the Disney+ series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (2021).
In a recent Zoom press conference from Las Vegas with the rest of Brave New World’s cast, Mackie adds that the new film – directed by Nigerian-American film-maker Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox, 2018) – will also establish his character as “his own being and his own incarnation of Captain America”.
“And the fact that he’s never taken the serum, I think that will pay off greatly in the future of the franchise.
“Because he can give the perspective of the regular guy as opposed to the super guy, and that’s something people can see themselves in.”
Opening in Singapore cinemas on Feb 13, Brave New World follows Sam and former air force lieutenant Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who is the new Falcon, as they discover a nefarious plot to brainwash soldiers and take over the world.