“It’s amazing,” Mackie said while on stage at Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim, California in September 2022. “I’ve always come out as a secondary character in a movie. It’s really humbling to come out as the lead character for the first time, in a movie, being in this universe for so long.
“Captain America: New World Order,” the fourth Cap film, will be directed by Julius Onah.
Here’s what fans need to know about the movie.
Mackie will be joined by familiar faces from the MCU and new additions
The official cast was announced during Marvel’s presentation at D23.
Carl Lumbly and Danny Ramirez, who joined the MCU in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” as Isaiah Bradley and Joaquin Torres, respectively, will return.
Tim Blake Nelson, who played Samuel Sterns in the 2008 film “The Incredible Hulk,” will return and Shira Haas will make her debut as the comic-book character Sabra.
Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), Mackie’s longtime MCU scene partner, won’t be part of “New World Order.” Instead, he’ll return in an upcoming movie called “Thunderbolts,” centered on a ragtag group that includes Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, and Wyatt Russell’s US Agent.
“I need some time from Anthony because I need to sort of find my way back to me,” Stan joked during an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “I know he has a lot of separation anxiety as we speak, but I try to reassure him that I’ll be OK.”
When asked if Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers will return, Mackie told Variety, “I hope so, man. Chris is my boy. We all love and enjoy Chris. I’m highly upset that they put Sebastian in a movie with Wyatt and left me out. If Sebastian gets Wyatt, I should get Chris.”
Nelson’s character, The Leader, will be the villain of the movie
In “The Incredible Hulk,” Stern was last seen mutating after Bruce Banner’s blood dripped and entered a cut on his forehead. The movie hinted at his change but didn’t show it. His transformation will likely be addressed when he returns as The Leader in “New World Order.”
“The Leader is a man who operates from intellect, and so it’s great to have an adversary who is working with this incredible intellect to really put Sam through the wringer in this story,” Onah said during an interview with “Phase Zero” host Brandon Davis for ComicBook.com at D23.
“And again, as a paranoid thriller, it’s this grounded adventure where I think that everything that happens in this film feels so real and intense, because of who this adversary is,” the directors said, adding that Sam will be challenged because he’ll be facing “an adversary who is so terrifyingly intelligent.”
Onah described the movie as a ‘paranoid thriller’
“It’s gonna be a really, really incredible ride,” Onah told Deadline. “It’s a paranoid thriller with Sam in the center of it and he is now in this position where he is a leader and he has to deal with that challenge of what it means to lead a group of people that he really cares about.”
“I love classic paranoid thrillers and that’s a big part of the inspiration of this film,” Onah echoed in another interview at D23 with ComicBook.com. “We want to find an action that is grounded and tactile and give [Sam] new things to do that we haven’t seen in those other films.”
‘Captain America: New World Order’ is set for release on May 3, 2024
The movie, which is part of phase five of the MCU, begins filming in spring 2023, Onah confirmed to ComicBook.com.