‘CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD’ Heralds a Bold New Era of Superhero Sameness

Much has been written about the death and resurrection of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and the wider superhero subgenre writ large. Fatigue! Fanfare! Box office records! In both the red and the black. The story has been told from every angle, re-examined with fresh eyes upon every new theatrical release, trailer drop, or scrap of casting news. And so the discourse around the superhero film has become just as stale and beaten to death as the genre itself. To its credit, Captain America: Brave New World, directed by Julius Onah and co-written by Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, and Dalan Musson, at least postures at doing something differently. With a fresh(ish) face donning the iconic mantle, Marvel (kinda, maybe) actually passed the torch—only to mostly fumble the handoff, failing to make it mean much of anything.

Sam Wilson is the new Captain America, having been given the shield by Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame and later reckoning with what that truly means in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. But where that series explored the weight of the title through the lens of race—how a Black man taking up the shield carries historical and social significance—Brave New World largely sidesteps that in favor of a more generic struggle: Can Sam live up to Steve’s legacy without superpowers? The frustrating irony is that, even with this safe and largely apolitical approach, one can already hear the distant wailing of right-wing thinkpieces decrying Sam Wilson’s Captain America as a “woke DEI disaster.” The same bad-faith outrage that Falcon and the Winter Soldier faced—despite being one of the rare MCU projects to actually engage with America’s racial history—is bound to resurface, only now without even the substance to back it up.

Which makes my very lukewarm take on the latest MCU project all the more delicate. If Brave New World had the faint courage of its predecessor, maybe those bad takes would at least be arguing against something based in reality. This is, at best, a watered-down reiteration of themes Falcon and the Winter Soldier handled with greater depth. The result is a character still left spinning his wheels, stuck in thematic neutral, perhaps waiting for the inevitable moment when Steve Rogers is reintroduced to the MCU (as has already been announced), rendering Sam’s tenure as Captain America even more ephemeral.

To its credit, Brave New World does make some decent choices here and there. It’s very much indebted to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, one of the MCU’s better attempts at a “genre” film, which ostensibly played like a super-serum-infused political thriller. This movie follows in that vein—a largely standalone, grounded conspiracy thriller, not overly worried about tying into the future of the MCU, with some throwaway superheroic set pieces. Unfortunately, “mostly grounded” doesn’t mean “particularly compelling.”

Mackie operates in degrees of letdown. He delivers just-barely-minimum charisma, remains mostly humorless, and never quite escapes the wooden stiffness I’ve come to associate him with. The responsibility of carrying the Captain America mantle—particularly as it relates to a nation with a “complicated” track record with its Black citizens—gave him something to work with thematically in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Here, that complexity is smoothed over in favor of more generic “Can I be a good Captain America?” struggles. It doesn’t help that Mackie lacks the presence to truly impose himself on the role.

Marvel is infamous for keeping spoilers on RAFT-level lockdown. Just consult the many videos of castmates staring in shock as Tom Holland nearly spoils the most asinine plot details. So it should come as a mighty surprise that Marvel itself spoiled this film’s biggest moment. Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross’ transformation into the Red Hulk—the centerpiece of the movie’s marketing—doesn’t even happen until the final 15 minutes. Turns out, you don’t need an ironclad NDA when the House of Mouse is willing to ruin its own movie. Spoiler alert: the call is coming from inside the house!

Reviewing Brave New World through the lens of its marketing versus its final product would be a waste of time. But when a huge portion of the film hinges on the “mystery” of what’s happening with now-President Thaddeus Ross, while the audience has already been told he’s on his way to becoming the Red Hulk (and no, before you ask, it’s never explained why he’s red), it completely undercuts the film’s sense of tension. It’s the equivalent of telling the punchline first and then following up with the joke.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with structuring a story this way—plenty of filmmakers thrive on starting at the end and working backward—but let’s not pretend this was some grand subversion. Instead, Marvel just shoved all their chips in on the one element they knew would get butts in seats. And judging by the pre-sales, their gamble seemed to work. The real question is: will anyone come back for a second round? Captain America may “do this all day,” but how long will MCU piggies keep coming back when the slop keeps getting thinner?

Another gamble that mostly pays off: Harrison Ford. Cast to replace the late William Hurt—who portrayed Ross across five films before his passing in 2022—Ford’s take on the character is the closest thing Brave New World has to a fully-formed, compelling human presence. Also, Carl Lumbly, who is quite good as Isaiah Bradley (though you’ll need to have watched Falcon and the Winter Soldier to understand his backstory and impact). On one hand, Ross has historically been at odds with Sam Wilson and the Avengers, even playing a key role in fracturing the team after Age of Ultron. Yet now, he’s risen to the presidency on a platform of “Togetherness”: unity and diplomacy drive his policy, trying to atone for past sins while securing his legacy as a peacemaker. This tension forms the backbone of Brave New World’s international politicking: Ross’ need to preserve his own history and how that might shape the eventual rebirth of the Avengers.

The problem? It all amounts to nothing. Extensive reshoots plagued this production, and you can feel the cracks and creases throughout. The film never fully commits to a singular masterplan—despite the ever-growing roster of villains. Tim Blake Nelson’s radioactive Samuel Sterns and Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder (a name that promises menace but mostly delivers… thrown objects?) share the role of antagonist, yet neither seems to be truly steering the ship. Instead, they operate under the delusion that international politics are mere putty in their hands.

And that, in a way, feels symbolic of where the MCU stands right now—not just reusing old tricks, but retreating in desperation. After Endgame, Marvel thought it was as invincible as the Hulk, rolling out an endless parade of new characters, higher stakes, and ever-expanding multiverses—only to realize, too late, that audiences weren’t particularly following. The grand experiment collapsed under its own weight, and now, instead of pushing forward, they’re scrambling back to the only thing that ever really worked: the OG formula. Watching Brave New World isn’t just a case of weird, “seeing red” déjà vu—it’s an end-stage ouroboros, where the snake has already devoured itself, and now we’re just stuck watching it digest. This time in red.

CONCLUSION: The MCU remains stuck in neutral with this wheel-spinning fourth Captain America movie, which—much like Falcon and The Winter Soldier—asks what it means for Sam Wilson to take up the mantle without ever finding a compelling answer. The film itself is mid at best, and Mackie just isn’t up to the task of carrying it on his shield-clad back.