After Sam Wilson assumed the role of Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the longtime MCU character played by Anthony Mackie will now lead his first solo film, Captain America: New World Order. While speaking to ET at the D23 Expo, director Julius Onah teased that this “incredibly intense but fun paranoid thriller” is going to push the newly elevated superhero to his limits.
“We’re really testing him,” Onah continued. “And now that he’s taken the mantle of Captain America, he’s really going to question what it means to lead. And all the action and all the emotionality of the story is really built around him answering that question.”
The filmmaker added that after Wilson was promoted from a supporting player on “this incredible team” to the “guy in charge of life and death situations,” there’s now a huge responsibility resting on his shoulders. “His values are going to determine so much of what’s going to happen moving forward,” he said. “We’re putting that to the test in this film.”
As a result, “I wanna see him come of age,” Mackie said of Wilson. After coming to terms with the idea of being worthy enough to be Captain America, “now we have to see him as a clear-cut decision maker.” Not only that but the actor wants to see the character make that new role “into himself” the same way Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) did before him.
In addition to Mackie reprising his role as Wilson, the new film will also see The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Danny Ramirez returning as Joaquin Torres and Carl Lumbly back as Isaiah Bradley. Additionally, they’ll be joined by Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader, a role he first originated onscreen in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, while Shira Haas makes her franchise debut as Sabra.
“I’m excited to work with Julius and see what his vision of the film is gonna be and how he’s gonna set us up for success,” Ramirez said, excited to be making his official return to the MCU, while Lumbly added, “Coming back for a second one, I don’t even feel like a sophomore. I feel like I’m being made to come back for summer school ‘cause it’s just too large to really put your mind around.”
That said, Lumbly added that he’s “happy to be here and excited to see what [comes next].”
Captain America: New World Order will debut in theaters on May 3, 2024.
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