Marvel fans have waited a long time to see their all-new Captain America in full swing. This year marks half a decade since Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers bowed out of Avengers: Endgame by handing the shield over to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson – and since streaming series The Falcon And The Winter Soldier largely wrestled with Wilson’s decision to take on the Cap mantle, his debut proper as the Star-Spangled Man is coming next year in Captain America: Brave New World. Stepping up to headline status, it’ll be the biggest test of Sam Wilson’s life. “It’s really his coming-out show,” director Julius Onah tells Empire in the Deadpool & Wolverine issue. “It’s about putting him through the paces.”
This being a Captain America movie, expect explorations of where Sam’s Cap sits in relation to the American government, the American people, and the supervillainy that has become a regular occurrence in the Sacred Timeline. “Part of the challenge for Sam as Captain America, working within the government, is the way he’s going to make decisions,” teases Onah. “The point of view he’s going to have will at times put him at odds with the President.” It will also – more literally – put him at odds with Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader, introduced way back in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and about to take on a monstrous new form. “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,” Onah says.
The biggest difference, though? As explored in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, Sam doesn’t have the super-soldier serum that made Steve Rogers such a formidable fighting force. Even with his military training, Avenger credentials, vibranium shield and wing-pack, the odds are even more stacked against this Brave New Cap. “The action in this movie is incredibly exciting because this is a guy who can break, this is a guy who can bleed,” says Onah. “We get to have a lot of fun pushing him to the limit.” On your left, Sam!
Read Empire’s full Captain America: Brave New World story in the Deadpool & Wolverine issue – on sale Thursday 9 May. Pre-order a copy online here. Captain America: Brave New World comes to UK cinemas from 14 February.