No serum, no problem: The new Captain America takes a different flight path

SINGAPORE – American actor Anthony Mackie revealed a secret about information flows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Most of the things in the Marvel Universe come from leaks, from friends you work with,” Mackie, 46, told an audience in Singapore on Nov 20. This was the first day of The Walt Disney Company’s 2024 Asia Pacific Content Showcase at Marina Bay Sands.

Mackie found out that he would become the next Captain America informally while watching television at the home of Marvel colleague Chris Evans, who had played the superhero since Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). 

He got the news while they were both filming Captain America: Civil War (2016). 

“We were all sitting there watching football, and Chris asked me if I read the new script. I was like, of course not,” he says. 

“So he ran down to the basement – he has this really cool house with a really cool basement – and he gave me the last two pages, and when I read it, we just hugged each other and jumped around in a circle,” he recalls.  

Mackie had glimpsed a few pages of Avengers: Endgame (2019), the film that would see Evans’ Steve Rogers/Captain America offer his shield to Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Falcon, a gesture signifying that he was handing the title to Wilson.

At the Walt Disney Company event, the entertainment giant presented its theatrical and streaming slate for 2025 to 2026.  

The first day featured Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige speaking to the audience via video link and Captain America: Brave New World star Mackie in person. The event unveiled first-look previews of upcoming releases, including Mufasa: The Lion King, Moana 2, Tron: Ares, Toy Story 5 and The Mandalorian & Grogu.

The trailers for Captain America: Brave New World, to be released on Feb 14, 2025, imply that Mackie’s Wilson has fully accepted the Captain America mantle. In the Disney+ miniseries The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (2021), Wilson was conflicted about the role. 

At the conference, he explained the differences between his Captain America and that of his predecessor. 

Sam Wilson never took the super-soldier serum that gave Steve Rogers his powers, he says. Instead, he relies on his super suit and the skills he learnt in his former job as a counsellor to military veterans. In the Falcon miniseries, scientists in the African kingdom of Wakanda created a new suit for Wilson. 

“My high-tech suit lets me kick harder, fly faster and be more agile. It takes my skills to a completely new level. 

“With the serum, you can fight anybody, and you don’t have to worry about anything. When you don’t have the serum, you have to be smart and engineer different ways of defeating people. Sam, being a counsellor, uses more of his brains, not brawn, and more of his wits than his fists. He’s more a friend to everyone rather than a foe to anyone,” he says,

Major announcements at the Disney event included new instalments in established franchises: Zootopia 2, Incredibles 3 and Avatar: Fire And Ash. The company also previewed several Marvel projects, including The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Daredevil: Born Again.

The evening concluded with a fan event featuring Hollywood and Asian talent. South Korean drama stars from upcoming Disney+ series – including Hyper Knife, Knock-Off, Light Shop, Low Life, Nine Puzzles and Unmasked – appeared alongside Japanese actors from the drama series Gannibal.

The showcase continues into a second day on Nov 21, focusing on Disney General Entertainment and Apac Local Originals for Disney+.

Mackie went on to speak about his eagerness at showing the world Captain America: Brave New World. 

“I’m excited for all of you to see me kick a**. I kick a lot of a**. Every time I see an a**, I’m like, ‘pow, this is great’.”