“Captain America: Courageous New World” arrives in theaters this week, and Anthony Mackie’s titular hero will sport a distinct look than the one he debuted in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Marvel has been making an attempt since 2024 to repair the MCU earlier than it is too late, and their newest effort tries to resolve the issue by asking the query: What if there was a Purple Hulk? That’s to say, it serves up Harrison Ford because the grotesque carmine creature in an try and lure followers to the multiplex. However it’s additionally about Captain America, besides it is a totally different Cap than the one we’re used to … I am beginning to suppose this may be the purpose of no return for the MCU. Anyway, I digress.
After starring within the Disney+ collection “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” Mackie’s Sam Wilson will now entrance “Courageous New World,” which, following because it does within the wake of the field workplace obliterator “Deadpool & Wolverine,” has quite a bit using on its shoulders. Look, there isn’t any approach Mackie’s Cap goes to beat Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine on the field workplace, however that is form of why “Courageous New World” is so intriguing. Is the MCU too far gone to launch a film like this in 2025? Or will Mackie’s massive display screen debut as Captain America show a shock hit for the struggling franchise?
All will likely be revealed when the film arrives, however within the meantime, maybe Marvel can entice you with a slight costume change? Followers of Mackie’s cowled look in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” will see a brand new, cowl-less Sam Wilson within the film — however why?
The brand new Captain America look was a necessity
In “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” Sam Wilson donned a blue and white Captain America swimsuit which featured a cowl that did not cowl his total head and was hooked up to the torso (seen within the picture above). In, “Courageous New World,” that look has been scrapped in favor of an easier design which can little doubt be put to good use within the struggle towards Harrison Ford’s Purple Hulk and Giancarlo Esposito’s Seth Voelker/Sidewinder. The brand new swimsuit, which is nearer to the outfit worn by Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, ditches the half-helmet cowl of the Disney+ collection in favor of extra streamlined crimson goggles (and a CGI helmet that assembles and retracts à la Iron Man).
However why the change when Sam solely simply obtained his upgraded swimsuit? Anthony Mackie was requested that precise query in an interview with IGN, the place he revealed that he was behind the costume change. “I instructed them I used to be by no means sporting that s*** once more, dude,” he mentioned. “That was laborious, with the warmth, the sweat, the fogged-up glasses. It was not possible. It was known as a cowl. It was my worst nightmare. You possibly can’t do something.”
There is a lengthy historical past of superhero film actors complaining about restrictive fits, starting with Michael Keaton’s notorious struggles to show his head because the Darkish Knight in 1989’s “Batman.” His successor, Val Kilmer, additionally described the Batsuit as making him really feel like he was an previous man as a result of its weight stopping him from transferring as swiftly as he wished to. In 2025, then, these restrictive costumes ought to actually be a factor of the previous, and I am unable to blame Mackie for complaining about such a factor. Whether or not a brand new swimsuit will likely be sufficient to make successful out of “Courageous New World,” which can apparently make Sam Wilson earn the title of Captain America, stays to be seen.
“Captain America: Courageous New World” debuts in theaters on February 14, 2025.
