Captain America: Brave New World's Anthony Mackie recently outlined a key difference between his character, Sam Wilson, and Chris Evans' Steve Rogers.
Mackie unpacked what sets the Marvel Cinematic Universe's past and present bearers of the Captain America mantle apart in an interview with Inverse. "It’s more so about [Sam's] ability to connect and counsel," he said. "He’s not as rash to bear arms as Steve Rogers was. Having a super serum makes you impossible to beat, so your answer to everything is to fight it out. Whereas Sam Wilson can actually die pretty easily." Wilson became the MCU's current Captain America in Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which aired in 2021.
Mackie's comments echo previous remarks he's made about how Sam Wilson's lack of superpowers distinguishes him from his predecessor. According to Mackie, the newly-minted Captain America's true strength lies in his humanity, which makes him less of a "Cap of judgment" than Rogers was. "I think with [Sam], he has to come to the stage with a very different understanding of what it is to be a good guy or be a bad guy and what are the decisions that make you toe that line in the way that you did," Mackie explained.
Captain America 4 Star On Replacing Steve Rogers
The MCU veteran remains coy on actual Captain America: Brave New World plot specifics, although he previously noted that the sequel will introduce Steve Rogers' replacement. Asked whether Sebastian Stan will return as Sam's crime-fighting partner Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in Brave New World, Mackie responded that a third superhero will enter the mix to fill the void left by Rogers. This is presumably a reference to Danny Ramirez's Joaquin Torres, who is now officially locked in as Wilson's successor to the Falcon mantle.
Mackie's willingness to consign Steve Rogers to the past doesn't extend to declaring the original Captain America dead, though. On the contrary, Mackie insisted that Rogers is still alive following the events of Avengers: Endgame in a recent interview. "I didn't see him die!" he said. "I don't know, I saw Chris [Evans] two weeks ago, and he looked pretty good." Mackie went on to declare that fans shouldn't automatically assume that Rogers' advanced age in Endgame means he will die soon, jokingly branding this line of logic "age discrimination."
Captain America: Brave New World arrives in cinemas on July 26, 2024.
Source: Inverse