The fourth Captain America movie is the first with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, previously the flying Avenger known as Falcon, taking up the shield after Steve Rogers retired in Avengers: Endgame, and after the epic fail of John Walker (yes, Kotaku’s freelance editor) to take up the mantle. But that’s not the only big detail in the first teaser, which just dropped today.
I’ve checked out so hard from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that I forget projects that have been in development for years are finally coming out soon. That’s what happened today when the first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World was released, and it’s a nice surprise when something I might actually watch is on the MCU horizon.
A great deal of the trailer is spent on Star Wars and Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the president of the United States, who seems to be in a much more coherent mental state than our current also-81-year-old president. Ross wants to try again to make Captain America an official military position, after the enormous failure depicted in Disney+’s mini-series, The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, though Sam seems rightfully skeptical that their visions will be aligned.
Breaking Bad and Far Cry actor Giancarlo Esposito also appears as antagonist G.W. Bridge, who doesn’t have any dialogue in the trailer, but is shown in brief shots blowing shit up. The trailer ends with an exchange between Sam and Ross in which the distressed president says, “You may be Captain America, but you’re not Steve Rogers.” Sam says he’s right, and we see him don not only the Captain America suit and shield, but also his own wings to fly through the air while fighting.
It’s a nice way to cap off [No -Ed] the trailer, solidifying “things are going to be different this time.” With the overarching story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a state of disarray after Marvel decided to abandon the Kang storyline, going back to a more grounded superhero story not weighed down by all the multiverse baggage sounds like the right call. The final shot of the trailer, however, is one of the more tantalizing teases, as it shows the Red Hulk throwing the Captain America shield into the ground. The shot is brief and doesn’t show the big guy’s face, but anyone who knows the Marvel comics will be excited to see how this red tank of a supervillain might show up in this movie’s setup. Check out the trailer below:
Captain America: Brave New World is coming to theaters February 14, 2025, but the MCU has a few projects in the works between now and then. Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26, and the Agatha All Along Disney+ series will premiere on September 18.