Marvel Phase Five continues apace with Captain America: Brave New World. As the Aldous Huxley-aping title suggests, our new cappy, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), confronts dystopian extremes in his pursuit of truth and justice. Scroll down for the poster.
Captain America: Brave New World is due for release in 2025; we've now seen the first trailer. Here it is.
Fired up by that? Keep reading to discover the five most pressing questions from the trailer.
Is Thaddeus Ross on Sam Wilson's side?
Harrison Ford takes over from the late William Hurt as Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross. The character has dipped in and out of the MCU, variously acting as ally and antagonist to the Avengers initiative.
In Captain America: Civil War (2016), Ross approved of the Sokovia Accords that compelled the Avengers to take accountability for any collateral damage. This, famously, led to the break-up of the team, and their subsequent difficulties in reuniting to battle Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
That said, the William Hurt incarnation of Ross appeared at Tony Stark's funeral at the end of Endgame, so clearly there were no hard feelings. Now sans mustache (a perhaps clunky way to explain the shift in physical casting), Ross is secured as the American President, a role with which Ford is familiar (see 1997's Air Force One).
However, with executive power at his fingertips, can Ross be trusted? He wants Sam Wilson to reunite the Avengers, but what if Sam goes against a Presidential order? It would certainly make for one powerful villain, and an appreciably grounded, human one at that.
Is Carl Lumbly being brainwashed again?
The trailer for Captain America: Brave New World points to a sleeper agent conspiracy. An attempt on the President's life is instigated by Carl Lumbly's character Isaiah Bradley, familiar to fans from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
We're getting serious Captain America: The Winter Soldier vibes from this set-up as the archetypal Marvel set-pieces are couched within a relatively more plausible and topical context.
It also raises the question as to whether characters can be brainwashed, reset, and brainwashed again a la Helmut Zemo's (Daniel Bruhl) influence on Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier.
Who is Giancarlo Esposito's villain?
Reports state that Breaking Bad scene-stealer Giancarlo Esposito was only added to Brave New World following last-minute reshoots. He's certainly channeling that creepy Gus Fring energy as the film's currently nameless hitman. We await confirmation as to who he's playing and whether he's likely to appear in future MCU movies.
Is Joaquin Torres destined to become the new Falcon?
Danny Ramirez played Joaquin Torres in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and here makes his MCU feature film debut. One can assume that he'll take up the mantle of the Falcon that was vacated by Sam Wilson at the end of Avengers: Endgame (signified by Chris Evans' Steve Rogers handing over his vibranium shield).
Will Sam succeed in uniting a new generation of Avengers?
We can assume so. Captain America: Brave New World anticipates the release of Avengers 5, due out on May 1st, 2025, and Avengers: Secret Wars, which reaches us on May 7th, 2027.
Both of these films are key titles within Marvel Phase 6 and any breadcrumbs that Captain America can offer: Brave New World will be eagerly lapped up by the fans.
Of course, the exact makeup of the Avengers team remains to be seen. Will it be a mixture of the old guard (for instance, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange) and new blood (Simu Liu's Shang-Chi)? It remains to be seen.
Who is Red Hulk at the end of the trailer?
In the Marvel comics, Thaddeus, enraged by his hatred of Bruce Banner/Hulk (played in the movies by Mark Ruffalo) turns into a red version of Hulk.
Are we about to see an angry, red iteration of Harrison Ford on the big screen? Now that would be a sight.
Captain America: Brave New World is released on February 14th, 2025. If that seems too far away, click the link below to book your tickets for the new MCU movie Deadpool & Wolverine. It hits Cineworld on July 25th.
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