Highlights
- Captain America: Brave New World faces production challenges like strike-related delays and disappointingly negative early reactions.
- The film’s success rests on improving action scenes and storytelling, drawing from Marvel’s best movies like The Winter Soldier and Civil War.
- Starring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, the movie aims to establish his role as a key MCU leader, critical for its potential success.
Marvel Studios has successfully created multiple superhero franchises within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there’s one franchise that has possibly been the most successful: Captain America. Despite not being a household name when Captain America: The First Avenger was released, the MCU helped to turn the character into one of the biggest superheros in the world following the success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Now, the studio is hoping to recreate that success with Captain America: Brave New World starring Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson in the titular role.
The new film follows the release of the Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which debuted to mixed reviews. The series was met with plenty of behind-the-scenes drama thanks to COVID, and now the forthcoming film looks likely to repeat most of the same mistakes as the series. If Marvel Studios hopes to find success with Captain America: Brave New World, the studio is going to need to pull from its most popular Captain America films.
Captain America 4’s Production Woes
Like with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America: Brave New World hasn’t been without its issues. The film, which entered production before the writers strike last year, had successfully finished production before the strikes caused Hollywood to shut down. However, it’s been rumored that Marvel Studios hasn’t been thrilled with the movie and that it needed to undergo massive reshoots – which are now officially underway. Even worse for the film is that, with its release date being pushed back, the original promotion schedule for the movie couldn’t be pushed. This led to McDonald’s inadvertently spoiling the movie by revealing Red Hulk and one of the film’s other villains as part of the toys for its Happy Meals last month. A hit the film didn’t need.
While the movie is undergoing reshoots, which should hopefully get the film back on track, early reactions to the film were said to be less than positive. With the writer of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Malcolm Spellman, on board as the head writer, fans and critics are already skeptical, as the show’s story was viewed as overstuffed and uneven. However, in December 2023, it was revealed that Marvel Studios had hired writer Michael Orton to work on the reshoots. Orton, of course, worked with Marvel Studios on the Disney+ series, Moon Knight, and has also penned the television series, Devil’s Peak. With Orton on board to help tweak the film’s reshoots, one can hope that the film will benefit from a new pair of eyes.
Captain America 4 Has the Potential to be Great
If Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World does anything, it needs to take inspiration from two of Marvel Studios’ strongest movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. The former of which is still hailed as one of the best comic book adaptations to date, both for its standout action scenes and strong plot. While the latter managed to handle a massive cast, while never forgetting it wasn’t an Avengers film despite the appearance of other heroes. Both films focused on the titular hero, delving deep into the character, while also focusing on crafting well-thought-out action scenes that help strengthen the story overall. As it stands, Captain America: Brave New World is set to introduce a slew of new characters, as well as bring back some old faces, which could lead to an overstuffed mess that forgets to focus on the hero at hand. Spellman had plenty of excellent ideas in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but they weren’t necessarily executed properly in the series.
With Mackie taking over the shield, it’s important to ensure the forthcoming film does an important job of establishing Sam’s future as one of the leaders of the MCU. His turn as Captain America is an important one, one that should be celebrated. Should the movie follow the likes of The Winter Soldier and Civil War, Brave New World could easily become one of Marvel Studios’ best films. If Marvel Studios could help to recognize the issues from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it’s more likely the film will be a success. But it ultimately comes down to the movie’s action scenes, which were often criticized in the Disney+ series, and the ability to ensure the story’s strong enough to stand on its own.
In the end, Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World has the potential to be a success. However, the film’s success hinges on its ability to right the wrongs of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. With the reshoots, Brave New World could easily draw inspiration from both The Winter Soldier and Civil War, assuming Orton and Marvel Studios realize what is necessary to help the film find its footing. Here’s to hoping the film manages to secure positive reactions once reshoots are completed. Until then, fans can rewatch the first three Captain America films on Disney+ now.
Captain America: Brave New World will hit theaters on Feb. 14, 2025.