| Director: | Julius Onah |
| Cinematography: | Kramer Morgenthau |
| Editing: | Matthew Schmidt |
| Music: | Laura Karpman |
| Studio: | Marvel Studios |
| Distributor: | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Captain America: Brave New World is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Sam Wilson / Captain America, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the fourth installment in the Captain America film series, a continuation of the television miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), and the 35th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Julius Onah from a script written by the writing team of Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson, and Matthew Orton. It stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America alongside Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford. In the film, Wilson finds himself at the center of an international incident.
(2016) ended the Captain America trilogy starring Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. Mackie's Wilson became the new Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and a new Captain America film was being written by Spellman and Musson (both writers on the series) by April 2021. Mackie signed on that August, Onah joined in July 2022, and the title was revealed to be Captain America: New World Order later that month. Additional cast members joined later in 2022, with Tyler and Nelson returning from the early MCU film The Incredible Hulk (2008). Filming took place from March to June 2023 at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional filming in Washington, D.C. The subtitle was changed to Brave New World during filming. Orton joined in December 2023 to write material for reshoots, which began at the end of May 2024.
Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 14, 2025, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.
Sam Wilson finds himself at the center of an international incident and must work to stop the true brains behind it.
Additionally, Takehiro Hira appears as Prime Minister Ozaki, while Seth Rollins and Rosa Salazar have been cast in undisclosed roles.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in October 2015 that (2016) was the conclusion of the Captain America trilogy, after (2011) and (2014), which starred Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. Civil War was Evans's last contracted standalone Captain America film, but he was open to extending his contract beyond (2018) and (2019). In January 2021, Evans was reportedly close to signing a deal to reprise the role of Steve Rogers in at least one project. Evans's involvement was said to be similar to how fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) star Robert Downey Jr. had supporting roles as Tony Stark in other film franchises, including Civil War, following the Iron Man film series. Evans soon said the report was "news to [him]".
By October 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a limited series for Disney+ starring Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson / Falcon and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier from the MCU films. Malcolm Spellman was hired as head writer of the series, which was officially announced as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in April 2019. After Rogers bequeaths his shield and the mantle of Captain America to Wilson in Endgame, the series shows Wilson accepting the mantle and coming to terms with the implications of that as a Black man. Before the series premiered, Mackie said there had been no discussions regarding a second season, and he was not sure when he would next appear in an MCU film because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Series director Kari Skogland was also unsure whether there would be a second season, saying she had told the story she wanted to with the first season but there were more stories and characters to explore if a second was made. Series executive producer Nate Moore said it had "evergreen" topics that lent themselves to further exploration and set up ideas for a potential second season. Feige said there were ideas for what "another one" could be, but Marvel intended for the series to lead into MCU films first, as they did with fellow Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021).
After the finale episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was released in April 2021, Spellman and series writer Dalan Musson were revealed to be writing a fourth Captain America film that continues Wilson's story. Evans's reported return as Rogers was expected to come in a different project. Mackie said he was unaware of any plans for a film or second season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but was excited to see what would happen next, and said it would be monumental for him to headline an MCU film, particularly as a Black actor. Mackie negotiated a deal to star in the film over the next few months, and officially signed on in August. He later stated that he had been excited to make a second season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with Stan and their co-star Daniel Brühl, and was disappointed by the pivot to starring in his own film without them.
Mackie said the film would feature a new story and new characters rather than be a direct continuation of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Julius Onah was hired to direct in July 2022. The title was revealed to be Captain America: New World Order at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, and the film was given a release date of May 3, 2024, making it part of Phase Five of the MCU. The subtitle, which is also the name of the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, was noted for its use in politics, professional wrestling, and various conspiracy theories along with antisemitic rhetoric, and was considered a controversial choice.
At the D23 Expo in September 2022, Danny Ramirez and Carl Lumbly were announced to be reprising their respective roles of Joaquin Torres and Isaiah Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Tim Blake Nelson was set to return as Samuel Sterns / Leader from the MCU film The Incredible Hulk (2008), and Israeli actress Shira Haas was revealed to be cast as the comic book character Sabra. Onah described the film as a paranoid thriller, and said filming would begin in early 2023. The announcement that Sabra, an Israeli superheroine, would be adapted for the film led to criticisms from people who believed this would lead to negative stereotypical portrayals of Palestinians and Arabs; in the comics, she is a member of the Mossad and some of the Arab characters she interacts with were perceived to be misogynistic, antisemitic, and violent. The name "Sabra" also has different meanings to Israeli Jews and Palestinians. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel criticized the use of the character and called the comic book version's "valorization of Mossad" and perceived Palestinian racism "sickening". Yousef Munayyer, a Palestinian-American writer and analyst, felt from the comics version that the character could not have a positive role in the film and said turning Israeli spies into heroes was "insensitive and disgraceful". In response, Marvel Studios said the film was taking a new approach to the character just as other comics characters had been re-imagined for modern audiences when brought into the MCU. This led to some concerns that Marvel was "erasing" the character's Israeli background, which the American Jewish Committee (AJC) compared to "making Captain America Canadian". In the film, the character is a former Black Widow and high-ranking U.S. government official named Ruth Bat-Seraph. The name Sabra is not used, but the character is depicted as Israeli and has an Israeli accent. The character's inclusion prompted calls to boycott the film, in part due to the Israel–Hamas war; some supporters of Israel took issue with the character having allegiance to the U.S. government, while some who opposed Israel protested the film's use of the character due to her depiction in the comic books. With confirmation that the character would still be depicted as Israeli in the film, the AJC and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) both praised the decision.
Harrison Ford was cast as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in October 2022, replacing William Hurt who portrayed the character in the MCU until his death in 2022. Ford was set to appear as Ross in this film as well as the following MCU film, Thunderbolts* (2025). Moore was also revealed to be producing New World Order alongside Feige. Pre-production work at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, began on November 7 ahead of a planned filming start in March 2023. Gersha Phillips served as the costume designer, and Ramsey Avery was the production designer after previously working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and (2017). In January 2023, Xosha Roquemore was cast in an undisclosed role. Mackie expected to begin work on the film on March 1, 2023.
Principal photography began on March 21, 2023, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, under the working title Rochelle Rochelle. Kramer Morgenthau served as cinematographer. Onah wanted the film's action to be "grounded and tactile" and give Wilson things to do that were not seen in his previous appearances. Avery reiterated that their intent was for the film to be more grounded in reality than recent MCU films had been. Liv Tyler joined the cast by the end of March 2023, reprising her role of Betty Ross from The Incredible Hulk. At that time, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was expected to reprise her MCU role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the film. The start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in May 2023 was not expected to impact production of the film, with Marvel Studios reportedly planning to shoot what they could during principal photography and make any necessary writing adjustments during the film's already scheduled reshoots. Later in May, set photos revealed that Seth Rollins was part of the cast. In early June, Marvel Studios announced that the film had been retitled Captain America: Brave New World. Jeremy Mathai at /Film praised the subtitle change, saying it "strikes a far more optimistic perspective [than ''New World Order''], doubling as a commentary on the future of the famous superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a statement on some very overdue representation". The change was also deemed to be a wise decision by Collider Hilary Remley, who noted that the original title could have been interpreted as having antisemitic connotations. The film's release date was soon delayed to July 26, 2024. Filming moved to Washington, D.C., by the end of June, and wrapped on June 30.
By October 2023, Brave New World had the potential to return to its May 2024 release date, as it was further along in production than Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) which was not expected to complete filming in time for that release date due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. However, this change was considered unlikely. Following the strike's conclusion in November, Brave New World release date was delayed to February 14, 2025. Journalist Jeff Sneider reported that the film was not received well in an early test screening, that three major sequences were being cut, and that Marvel Studios was planning to undergo extensive reshoots from January 2024 until that May or June. In December, Matthew Orton was hired to write additional material for the reshoots, which were then scheduled to last from February to May 2024. Orton previously worked on the Marvel Studios miniseries Moon Knight (2022). Rosa Salazar was revealed to have been cast in the film. By the end of January 2024, the reshoots were set to occur from May to August 2024.
Mark Ruffalo stated in February 2024 that he was reprising his MCU role as Bruce Banner / Hulk in the film. Variety soon reported that Ruffalo had misspoken and was not appearing in the film. The report noted that there had been ongoing speculation about Ruffalo's potential role in the film due to the number of characters from The Incredible Hulk already appearing and the fact that Ford's Thaddeus Ross transforms into the Red Hulk in the film. In April, Feige and Mackie described the film as a "grounded action thriller" with no aliens, more similar in tone to The Winter Soldier than some recent MCU films. Mackie added that viewers did not need to have seen The Incredible Hulk to watch the film, saying Brave New World was a "reset" of the MCU that establishes new themes and antagonists for the universe moving forward. The next month, Giancarlo Esposito revealed that he had been cast in an MCU role and would be appearing "sooner rather than later", with his character being teased in a film before a bigger role in an MCU television series. He was confirmed to be appearing in Brave New World at the end of the month as part of the reshoots, which began at that time in Atlanta and were scheduled to last for 22 days. These were expected to be less extensive than the reshoots for Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and The Marvels (2023), focusing in part on new action sequences and the integration of Esposito. Brave New World was also expected to be much less expensive than The Marvels overall. Nelson returned to Atlanta for reshoots in early June.
In July 2024, the remains of Tiamut—the Celestial whose emergence on Earth was halted by the Eternals in the MCU film Eternals (2021)—were revealed to be a focus of the film's story, allowing the introduction of the fictional metal Adamantium to the MCU. Additionally, Esposito announced that he was portraying Seth Voelker / Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpent Society, in the film. The inclusion of the Serpent Society paid off a joke Marvel had made years earlier when announcing the third Captain America film as Captain America: Serpent Society, before revealing its true subtitle to be Civil War. Matthew Schmidt serves as the editor after previously working on The Winter Soldier and Civil War, while Alessandro Ongaro serves as the visual effects supervisor. Visual effects are provided by Wētā FX, Digital Domain, UPP, and OPSIS.
Laura Karpman was announced as the composer for the film in August 2024. Karpman previously composed the music for the MCU series What If...? (2021–present) and Ms. Marvel (2022), and the film The Marvels (2023).
Feige and Mackie revealed the first footage from the film at CinemaCon in April 2024. The following month, McDonald's began selling Happy Meals with toys based on characters from the film, including Red Hulk and Diamondback. Stephanie Kaloi at TheWrap noted that the appearance of these characters in the film had not been confirmed by Marvel at that time and the early reveal was likely due to the film's release being delayed but the marketing partnership with McDonald's not being pushed back to match. More footage was shown at CineEurope in June.
A teaser trailer was released in July which drew comparisons to The Winter Soldier tone, with Jennifer Ouellette at Ars Technica describing it as "half-superhero movie, half-political thriller". The appearance of Red Hulk was wildly discussed, particularly the uncertainty of who the character was; Adam Chitwood of TheWrap wondered if rumors of Thaddeus Ross becoming Red Hulk were a red herring. The Verge Charles Pulliam-Moore questioned if the film being a continuation of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would be difficult for general audiences to follow. Conversely, Sandy Schaefer and Chris Evangelista from /Film felt the film would not rely much on the series to have wider audience appeal. They called the trailer "pretty good" considering the film recently completed reshoots, noting that it largely contains action rather than plot details. Commentators also noted the reveal that the remains of Tiamut would be featured in the film, after the Emergence had largely been ignored within the MCU in the projects released since Eternals. Michael McWhertor at Polygon explained that the trailer shows the United States and other countries, such as Japan, meeting at a Global Unity Summit to discuss the Celestial's body. The summit uses a logo that is a stylized version of Tiamut's hand.
Feige and members of the cast promoted the film at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, where more footage from the film was shown, Esposito's role was announced, and Ford was confirmed to also be Red Hulk.
Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 14, 2025, in IMAX. It was previously scheduled for May 3, 2024, and July 26, 2024. It will be part of Phase Five of the MCU.