Anthony Mackie was handed over the responsibilities and the mantle of Captain America by Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame. He proved his worth of taking over the mantle in 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In the final episode, he became Captain America and stopped the extremist group led by Karli Morgenthau.
The character of Sam Wilson is set to redefine what Captain American means and what his responsibilities are in the upcoming movie, Captain America: Brave New World.
The series dealt with a lot of heavy and dark themes including systemic racism, the experiences of the African-Americans, and what Captain America is supposed to be. But it seems the series initially featured a controversial storyline that felt too eerily familiar with what was going on around the world during the time of writing and was ultimately scrapped.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Initially Included a Pandemic-Related Plot
Recently, a book that chronicles the entire history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe titled MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios was released. The book narrated all the highs and lows of the MCU from the beginning to the current state of the franchise. When the book discussed the making of the Anthony Mackie-led series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, an interesting point was written about a potential plot of the show.
The writers of the book Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards wrote that the series initially had a plot that involved Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes trying to stop a fast-spreading disease. This felt too similar to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic at the time and thus that plot was ultimately scrapped. The passage read as follows, (via The Direct)
“‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ had already canceled location work in Puerto Rico after a devastating earthquake in January 2020. The pandemic not only forced the show to abort a shoot in Prague but made a planned plotline about the heroes rushing to stop a fast-spreading disease feel a bit too close to reality.
It would indeed have been a controversial plot to have included in the series. The removal of that was a better thing to do because including such a similar plot that is affecting people in the real world when they tune in to divert themselves from that would be a bad thing.
Anthony Mackie Says Captain America: Brave New World Was A Full Circle Experience
Anthony Mackie is set to return in his first MCU film as the leading man playing Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World. He talked about how the experience of shooting the film was a full circle moment for him as they shot in some places where he shot Captain America: The Winter Soldier which was his first MCU film. He also talked about working with Harrison Ford in the film. He told The Wrap,
“It kind of brought my Marvel experience full circle because we shot in D.C. at the same hotel that we shot ‘Winter Soldier’ at. One of my first Marvel scenes was me sitting at a table talking to the senator and me and Chris [Evans] and Scarlett [ Johansson] kidnapping him and we go back and we stay at the same hotel and we shot at that same area. So in that regard, it was really emotional to think how far my character has come and where he is now after the 10 years that I’ve been in the MCU.”
“Harrison was the f–ing man, dude. It’s funny, he shows up and everybody is kind of, you know, you don’t know what to do with Harrison Ford. Like, ‘Somebody get Harrison water,’ but he wasn’t that at all. I was surprised how light-hearted and easy he was, how excited he was to be a part of it. For him to be in this profession for so many years and to see him at 80 excited to be a part of this universe was really dope and it put things in perspective how lucky we are, how lucky I am to be a part of it and bring these characters to life. So we had a good time.”
The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on July 26, 2024. However, with Deadpool 3 now moving away from its May 3 release date, Mackie’s film could take its spot, since it already wrapped shooting at the end of June this year.
Also read: “I almost killed Anthony Mackie”: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Actress Nearly Decapitated MCU Star With an Axe
