Captain America: Brave New World will mark a fresh chapter in the MCU, with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson taking over the titular mantle. It will also see actor Harrison Ford taking over the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. The film reportedly commenced a lengthy run of reshoots in May 2024, likely to alter some story aspects.
Marvel fans are now preparing to boycott the upcoming film unless the studio makes one very big change during the ongoing reshoots. Fans took to social media to express their displeasure with Marvel Studios introducing a very controversial character amidst real-world socio-political events.
Here is what fans had to say about the situation and why they want one character removed from Captain America: Brave New World.
Fans Aim to Boycott Captain America: Brave New World if One Character Isn’t Removed From the Film
Captain America: Brave New World starring Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford will see their characters Sam Wilson and Thunderbolt Ross coming into a conflict with each other. In early 2024, it was reported that the film would undergo extensive reshoots from May to August 2024.
Reshoots for the film recently commenced in Atlanta, Georgia, and the news caught the attention of fans on social media. MCU fans took the opportunity to demand Marvel make one important change to the film or risk the film tanking at the box office.
Here is the change fans demanded Marvel make to Captain America: Brave New World on X.
If she's in it, we ain't buying tickets.
— Del 🇵🇸 (@TheCartelDel) May 29, 2024
Hopefully they remove sabra.
— Leon King (@Leon_king70) May 28, 2024
Hopefully those include without sabra. If it does I’m pirating this movie
— Bitbat (@Bitbat1) May 29, 2024
REMOVE HER
— G (@StuckyStarbuck) May 29, 2024
I hope it’s to eliminate sabra from the movie
— JG (@JayGeeTripleX) May 29, 2024
Can they please now remove The zionist character
— JSGB Guardian🇧🇷#Free🇵🇸🇨🇩🇸🇩 (@JuanSidney2) May 28, 2024
As the tweets indicate, fans want the character of Sabra removed from the final film. In September 2022, it was announced that actress Shira Haas had been cast as Ruth Bat-Seraph / Sabra, originally depicted as an Israeli secret service agent in the pages of Marvel comics.
Given the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict fans believe adding an Israeli character to the story is displeasing. Therefore, fans did not want to see Sabra in the movie and demanded that the character be written out of it during the reshoots. As a result, keeping Sabra in the movie risks fans boycotting Captain America: Brave New World.
Marvel Studios Has Defended Introducing Sabra in Captain America: Brave New World
Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema, Ruth Bat-Seraph / Sabra was first introduced in the Incredible Hulk comics in the 1980s. The character is mainly depicted as a mutant with a wide array of superpowers who works for the Israeli secret service Mossad.
The real-world conflict between Israel and Palestine has also proved controversial during the character’s comic book appearances, with Sabra also receiving criticism for promoting offensive Arab stereotypes. However, Marvel Studios has defended the decision to introduce the character in the MCU.
While our characters and stories are inspired by the comics they are always freshly imagined for the screen and today’s audience, and the filmmakers are taking a new approach with the character Sabra.
Marvel Studios made the above statement in a press release (via Variety), explaining their intention to rework the character to appeal to a modern audience.
According to reports, Sabra is expected to be introduced as an agent of the US Government, presumably working for the CIA. However, given the increasing fan discontent around the character’s inclusion, it remains to be seen if Marvel Studios sticks by its decision or removes Sabra from the final cut.
Captain America: Brave New World will be released in theaters on February 14, 2025.
