Anthony Mackie has outlined why Sam Wilson will be “brains over brawn” in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World and revealed where he was when he learned he’d won the role as the super soldier.
The Twisted Metal lead is starring in Captain America: Brave New World, the first Captain America Marvel film with him in the role. Speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore yesterday, he said he’d found out that his character, Wilson (previously The Falcon), would replace Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers to become the second Captain America while watching a football game at Evans’ house.
On that day, Evans passed him the last two pages of the Avengers: Endgame screenplay, which revealed the plan. “When I read it, we just hugged each other and jumped around in a circle,” said Mackie.
When asked about how Wilson would handle the mantle of Captain America in the new film, which releases on February 14, 2025, Mackie said: “Sam’s evolution is simple. He’s still a counsellor. He’s still serving soldiers, but at the same time, now he’s a leader of his community in the country.”
Mackie also pointed out that Wilson is a different kind of Captain America in the upcoming film, especially without Super Soldier Serum.
“It’s very different with the serum — you can fight anybody,” said Mackie. “When you don’t have the serum, you have to be smart and engineer different ways of defeating [enemies]. With Sam, him being a counselor, he uses more of his brains than brawn. He uses more of his wit than his fist. He’s more of a friend to everyone.”
Mackie said that he only started reading Marvel’s comic books after being cast as The Falcon. “A lot of people might not like this, but I’ve never read comics,” he added. “I’ve watched every cartoon, like everything from Tom and Jerry to Teen Titans — if you haven’t watched Teen Titans, that’s my favorite cartoon. Go online and search the ‘Booty Scooty’ [episode]. It’s amazing.
“Because I have kids, I watch all the cartoons. I’ve only just gotten into reading comic books. When I got cast as Falcon, I went and bought like 50 to 60 different comic books from the original Falcon all the way up to the new ones that have come out.”
Mackie also highlighted that one unique aspect of Captain America films is its “realistic” world compared to other Marvel movies.
“If you look at these Marvel movies, they go with different genres,” said Mackie. “You have the fantasy world, you have the space world, you have the raccoon world. With the Captain America stories, it has always been the realistic, grounding world. This movie stays in the line with the original Captain America, of that thrill, of that espionage, of that grounded nature with storytelling and really investing the actual audience into the story.”
Mackie commented on his new outfit for Captain America: Brave New World. “It’s a high-tech suit,” he added. “I went to Wakanda, met with everybody in Wakanda, we had dinner. It was a great time. They threw me a welcome party. It was dope. But when I was leaving, they gave me a suit, right? I put it on. I can kick harder, I can fly faster, and it gives me the ability to be more agile in my skills, so it’s taking all my skills to a completely different level.”
Hulk‘s A Smash
Mackie also revealed his favorite superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — but it’s not Falcon or Cap.
“My favorite character of all time is the Incredible Hulk,” said Mackie. “I’ve always been a Hulk fan. When I was a kid, I used to watch the TV shows. I just always loved the Hulk.”
However, he does have one question relating to when the green-skinned hero hulks up. “‘I always wondered, ‘How come everything came off except the pants?’ Everything — his shirt, his shoes — came off, but his pants stayed,” said Mackie. “I always thought that was weird.”
