Summary
- "Captain America: Brave New World" will serve as a critical proving ground for legacy heroes in the MCU, testing superhero replacements and continuing legacies.
- The movie will test the audience's reception to legacy heroes, potentially influencing Marvel Studios' decisions on future superhero replacements.
- Sam Wilson's transition to Captain America in the film will set the tone for the MCU's future overall, determining if Marvel will continue legacies or introduce brand-new characters/hero mantles instead.
The MCU's Captain America: Brave New World movie will be Marvel Studios' first true test when it comes to legacy heroes. Starring Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson as the next Captain America, the former Falcon chose to accept and wield the iconic shield following the events of Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Now, the fourth Captain America film will serve as a critical proving ground when it comes to superhero replacements and continuing legacies in the MCU.
As seen in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson initially struggled to take on Steve Rogers' mantle despite being given the shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame. However, Wilson has since accepted the shield, becoming the next Captain America with the belief that America can be better than it currently is, wanting to protect that potential regardless of the past and any current controversies that may arise in his taking on the role. Now, Wilson is ready to star in his own Captain America movie with Brave New World, the first true test for the MCU when it comes to legacy heroes.
Captain America: Brave New World Is The First MCU Movie Featuring A Legacy Hero (Kind Of)
Technically, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the first MCU movie to have a legacy hero with Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) becoming the next Black Panther after the death of her brother T'Challa. However, this particular mantle change came from necessity rather than choice with the tragic ing of original Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman. As a result, the Black Panther sequel was able to uniquely position itself as audiences were uniquely aware of why the movie's narrative was what it was, allowing Marvel Studios to pay tribute to both the actor and character while looking toward the future, ensuring that his legacy would continue.
Conversely, Captain America 4 is different in that Sam Wilson becoming the next Captain America is simply a creative choice on Marvel Studios' part. As such, this makes Brave New World a crucial movie when it comes to legacy heroes in general. It stands to reason that Captain America 4's performance will inform quite a bit of Marvel Studios' decisions going forward with other superhero replacements they've been teasing in the MCU.
Captain America: Brave New World Will Test Audience's Reception To Legacy Heroes
Currently, the MCU has other legacy heroes who've been developed within several MCU projects. This includes Kate Bishop, Black Widow's sister Yelena Belova, Jennifer Walters' She-Hulk, and Riri Williams' Ironheart to name just a few. All of them have been introduced and set up to perhaps take on the mantles of classic Marvel heroes (Clint Barton's Hawkeye, Natasha Romanov's Black Widow, Hulk, and Iron Man) However, Captain America: Brave New World will likely play a key determining factor in how those futures actually play out.
If Captain America: Brave New World performs well and audiences offer a lot of positive reception toward Sam Wilson continuing Steve Rogers' legacy as the next Captain America, Marvel will likely be more inclined to adopt more legacy heroes in future MCU projects. If it goes poorly, Marvel Studios may be encouraged to replace more classic heroes outright. Rather than continuing legacies and giving past mantles to new heroes, Marvel could be motivated to introduce brand-new characters/hero mantles instead of having heroes step into pre-established roles.
Sam Wilson's Transition To Captain America Will Set The Tone For Future Hero Replacements
Following the release of Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson's debut as Captain America was received rather positively by audiences. While there were some criticisms regarding the execution of his official introduction in the show's introduction and his speech, the idea of Sam wielding the shield as the next Cap in the MCU has become very popular. Overall, this is a great sign for Captain America: Brave New World where audiences will receive a full taste of the MCU legacy hero in action leading his own feature-length movie.
The success (or lack thereof) for Sam Wilson in Captain America: Brave New World will very much set the tone for future hero replacements, those primed to continue the legacies of some of the MCU's most classic Avengers. As such, the next Captain America movie will be very crucial for Marvel Studios when it comes to how they handle legacy transitions going forward. Although Anthony Mackie has expressed his doubts about his version of Captain America being the official leader of the next Avengers, it's clear he'll be playing a key role in shaping the MCU's future overall.
