Marvel Studios seems to be charting its course back to silver screen dominion, and one of the films that will inevitably be integral to this is Captain America: Brave New World. If there’s a baton to be passed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Anthony Mackie, the new Captain America, is gripping it firmly, shield in hand.
Yet, whispers and rumors suggest a notable absence. Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, one of the keystone characters in the MCU, will reportedly take a hiatus from this latest chapter. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s dynamic duo, a bromance that had fans clamoring for more, seems to be on pause, at least for the foreseeable future of the franchise.
During an interview on the One More Life podcast, Mackie reflected on the camaraderie and sheer joy of working alongside Stan and Daniel Brühl (the delightfully mischievous Helmut Zemo), while also hinting that the two actors would not be reprising their roles in Brave New World.
“The Falcon and [the] Winter Soldier, I really enjoyed doing that show. I was actually excited to do a second season, just so me and Sebastian [Stan] can get paid to hang out. Because it’s like me, him, and Daniel Brühl. It’s kind of like the perfect storm of happiness. When they decided to go back to the movies, it is what it is, but I don’t have my friends anymore, so it kind of dampens it a little bit. Anything I can do to hang out with Daniel, a dancing Daniel Brühl, makes me very happy.”
So, where does that leave Bucky and Zemo? Unfortunately, that’s anyone’s guess, but we do know that the former will return in the upcoming Thunderbolts film, in which he’s expected to play the lead role as the de facto leader of the Thunderbolts. As for Brühl, it seems like this is the end of the road for his character Zemo, or at least until Marvel can figure out how to bring him back.
In the meantime, Mackie’s Captain America will have to settle for Joaquin Torres, an Air Force lieutenant who takes on Wilson’s former mantle of Falcon. Given the onscreen chemistry Mackie and Chris Evans shared, and later Mackie and Stan in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Torres’ actor, Danny Ramirez, will have his work cut out for him.
Brave New World will also see the return of familiar faces such as Tim Blake Nelson as Dr. Samuel Sterns (hello, Leader?) and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, the daughter of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. The latter will also appear in the film, though Harrison Ford will replace the original actor, William Hurt, who passed away in 2022.
Captain America: Brave New World will storm into theaters on February 14, 2025.
