After inheriting the Captain America shield in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and taking up the mantle by the end of 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson’s (Anthony Mackie) journey as Captain America will continue in Captain America: Brave New World.
The fourth Captain America installment hits theaters on February 14. Mackie will be joined in the film by returning MCU players Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and Tim Blake Nelson as Leader. The character of Thunderbolt Ross will be back, too, albeit differently; original actor William Hurt passed away in 2022, so Ross will be portrayed by Harrison Ford.
New faces in this movie include Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph and Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder, leader of the Serpent Society.
As is the case with most things in the MCU, you’re probably going to need to know a little bit of background before you check out the latest film. There’s a good amount of “homework” you’ll want to do to be fully caught up on Sam’s journey, which dates back to 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Solder.
The second film in the MCU has rarely factored into the universe as a whole, beyond William Hurt’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross making recurring appearances in later films. That changes with Captain America: Brave New World, which will see Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson reprise their roles as Betty Ross and Samuel Sterns/Leader, respectively.
Thunderbolt Ross will also return but following Hurt’s death in March 2022, Harrison Ford was recast in the role (and will be the first to debut Red Hulk).
While not strictly relevant to the events of Captain America: Brave New World, the first movie in Chris Evans’ Captain America trilogy may be good for understanding both the origin of the super soldier serum and what Captain America has always stood for.
Welcome to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sam Wilson!
Anthony Mackie makes his first MCU appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. We are initially introduced to the former pararescueman as Steve Rogers (a.k.a. Captain America) laps him continually on a morning jog, but as the film goes on, more and more about Sam is revealed as Steve needs someone he can trust — leading to the debut of his specialized winged jetpack.
Welcome to the Avengers, Sam Wilson!
Though he isn’t in much of the film, Avengers: Age of Ultron is when Sam is officially recruited into the Avengers.
Sam was an Avenger for, like, five minutes before they broke up the proverbial band.
Either way, he still has his wingsuit and, when Steve needs allies again, he rises to the occasion and opposes the accords that would give the government control over superheroes and super-powered people, even though it lands him in the Raft prison.
Civil War is also the beginning of a beautiful (at least, now it’s beautiful!) friendship between Sam and Steve’s other closest friend, Bucky Barnes.
By the time Infinity War rolls around, Sam’s been on the run as he is technically a fugitive. He’s instrumental in helping Captain America try to save the world from Thanos’ threat, but it’s too late. The snap heard ’round the world turns our guy Sam to dust.
This is the big one!
Sam, for obvious reasons, is absent for much of Endgame‘s 3-hour-and-1-minute runtime as it’s a direct sequel to Infinity War. But, he’s there when it counts, delivering one of the most memorable lines of the portals scene, and inheriting the Captain America mantle in the film’s final minutes.
Remember that beautiful friendship we talked about earlier? This is where it really comes alive. The second MCU miniseries on Disney+ was all about Sam and Bucky — the two guys Steve Rogers left behind. It opens with Sam making the shocking decision to hand the Captain America shield over to the government. Sam and Bucky then traverse the globe to neutralize a handful of threats.
It even has the now-classic final episode super suit reveal as Sam suits up in a brand new Captain America wingsuit built just for him by the Wakandans.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also introduces us to Danny Ramirez as the new Falcon Joaquin Torres and Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, a P.O.W. who received the super soldier serum and was experimented on. Both of those characters are set to return in Brave New World.
This may be even more optional than The First Avenger, but if you have time to refresh yourself on the Red Room program and the Black Widows before Brave New World, it may come in handy.
Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) will make her MCU debut in the new film, and the character’s backstory has been changed to make her a former Black Widow who now works for the United States government.
There is also an episode of Marvel Studios LEGENDS about Sam Wilson, recapping his MCU journey, but it was produced before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier aired and does not contain any plot points from that series. You can watch Season 1, Episode 3 of Marvel Studios LEGENDS on Disney+.
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Writer/Reporter for Decider. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, how to watch your favorite sports teams and movies on each streaming service and the very best in tech, like soundbars, to enhance your viewing experience. Not only does Angela test and compare the services, devices and merch she writes about, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech and pop culture. Prior to joining Decider and the New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
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