Brave New World

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, who co-wrote the script with the writing team of Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson, and Matthew Orton. It stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America alongside Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Shira Haas, Harrison Ford, and Liv Tyler.

Captain America: Brave New World
Official logo
Directed by	Julius Onah
Written by	Malcolm Spellman Dalan Musson Julius Onah Matthew Orton
Based on	Captain America by Joe Simon     Jack Kirby Sam Wilson by Stan Lee     Gene Colan
Produced by	Kevin Feige Nate Moore Malcolm Spellman
Starring	Anthony Mackie Danny Ramirez Carl Lumbly Tim Blake Nelson Shira Haas Harrison Ford Liv Tyler
Cinematography	Kramer Morgenthau
Production company	Marvel Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	February 14, 2025 (2025-02-14)
Country	United States
Language	English

Captain America: Civil War (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 some 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 were set to occur from May to August 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.

• Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America:
  An Avenger and former pararescueman who was trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially-designed wing pack. Producer Nate Moore said Wilson's Captain America was an underdog similar to Rocky Balboa from the Rocky film series, because he did not have the abilities or allies of the previous Captain America, Steve Rogers, and would have to earn the mantle after claiming it without support; director Julius Onah said the film would show Wilson "stepping up to be the leader as Captain America". Mackie said Wilson would not be a judgmental Captain America and had a different understanding of "what it is to be a good guy, or be a bad guy". He likened his portrayal in the film to the Tupac Shakur song "Hit 'Em Up" (1996).
• Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres / Falcon:
  A first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force who worked with Wilson in the past and takes on Wilson's former mantle of Falcon. Mackie said Wilson's relationship with Torres was an equal friendship, compared to Wilson's admiration of Rogers and dislike of Bucky Barnes in previous projects. Mackie aided Ramirez in how best to wear the Falcon costume.
• Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley: An African-American Korean War veteran and super soldier who was imprisoned and experimented on for 30 years. He becomes a controlled super soldier when triggered by certain music.
• Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns / Leader:
  A cellular biologist who was accidentally cross-contaminated with Bruce Banner's blood during the events of The Incredible Hulk (2008), granting him superhuman intelligence. Sterns's inclusion in the film was one of the reasons Onah was interested in the job, feeling that someone who operates from intellect would be a good adversary to Wilson. Nelson said that the Leader would have a more comic accurate look in the film.
• Shira Haas as Ruth / Sabra:
  A U.S. government employee. The announcement that the character, an Israeli superheroine in the comics, 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 portrayed as misogynistic, antisemitic, and violent. The name "Sabra" also has different meanings to Israeli Jews and Palestinians. 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.
• Harrison Ford as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross:
  The newly-elected president of the United States. He was previously a U.S. Army general and then the U.S. Secretary of State. Moore said there would be "natural sparks" between Wilson and Ross due to the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), but producer Kevin Feige said their dynamic is changed now that they are Captain America and president, respectively, and the film see Ross asking to work together with Wilson to rebuild the Avengers. Ford replaces original actor William Hurt who portrayed the character in the MCU until his death in 2022.
• Liv Tyler as Betty Ross: A cellular biologist and Thaddeus's daughter.

Additionally, Xosha Roquemore, Seth Rollins, and Rosa Salazar have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Development

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in October 2015 that Captain America: Civil War (2016) was the conclusion of the Captain America trilogy, after Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), that starred Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. Civil War was Evans' last contracted standalone Captain America film, but he was open to extending his contract beyond Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (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' 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. Executive producer Nate Moore said the series explores "evergreen" topics that lent themselves to further exploration and sets 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+ series 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' 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.

Pre-production

Mackie said the film would not be The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – Part 2, and would have a new story and new characters. Julius Onah was chosen to direct the film 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 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 next month, Jeff Sneider of Above the Line reported that Harrison Ford had been cast as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in this film as well as Thunderbolts* (2025). The character was portrayed in the MCU by William Hurt until his death in 2022. Ford's casting in both films was soon confirmed, while Moore and Spellman were revealed to be producing the film 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 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). In January 2023, Xosha Roquemore was cast in an undisclosed role. Mackie expected to begin work for the film on March 1, 2023.

Filming

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 and as a statement on some very overdue representation". The change was also deemed to be a wise decision by Collider's Hilary Remley, who noted that the original title could have been interpreted as having antisemitic connotations. At that time, Onah was revealed to have co-written the script with Spellman. In the middle of the month, Brave New World's release date was delayed to July 26, 2024. Filming moved to Washington, D.C., by the end of June, and filming wrapped on June 30.

Post-production

Brave New World had the potential by October 2023 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 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. However, this change was considered unlikely. Following the strike's conclusion in November, Brave New World's release date was delayed to February 14, 2025. 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 as a writer and consulting producer 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.

In February 2024, Mark Ruffalo said 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 confirmed to be appearing, as well as rumors that Ford's Thaddeus Ross would be transforming into the Red Hulk in the film. In April, Feige and Mackie decribed the film as a "grounded action thriller" with no aliens, more similar in tone to Captain America: 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.

Feige and Mackie revealed the first footage from the film at CinemaCon in April 2024.

Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 14, 2025. It was previously scheduled for May 3, 2024, and July 26, 2024. It will be part of Phase Five of the MCU.