Captain America Star Anthony Mackie Breaks Down the Biggest Difference Between Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers

Anthony Mackie is excited for his first solo movie as Sam Wilson, Captain America: Brave New World to differentiate him from Steve Rogers. Wilson spoke to fans at a Disney event in Singapore on Wednesday, and he said that there’s more than Super Soldier Serum separating Sam from Steve. He said: “Sam’s evolution is simple. He’s still a counsellor. He’s still serving soldiers, but at the same time, now he’s a leader of his community in the country.”

Mackie spoke at Disney’s APAC Content Showcase this week – a two-day event where Marvel Studios shared a lot of news about upcoming productions with a global audience. He said that he sees Sam as someone who relies on strategy to make up for his lack of superpower, explaining: “It’s very different with the serum – you can fight anybody. When you don’t have the serum, you have to be smart and engineer different ways of defeating [enemies]. With Sam, him being a counselor, he suses more of his brains than his brawn. He uses more of his wit than his fist. He’s more of a friend to everyone.”

Of course, Sam also relies on some advanced gadgets for his crime-fighting, as he did when he was code-named Falcon. Mackie said: “It’s a high-tech suit. I went to Wakanda, met with everybody in Wakanda, we had dinner. It was a great time. They threw me a welcome party. It was dope. But when I was leaving, they gave me a suit, right? I put it on. I can kick harder, I can fly faster, and it gives me the ability to be more agile in my skills, so it’s taking all my skills to a completely different level.”

The Big Reveal

Still, Mackie’s connection to his predecessor is very strong. He shared a heartwarming story about the day he found out he would be be playing the Captain America for the next few phases of the MCU. He explained that he was actually at Chris Evans’ house watching a football game when Evans decided to show him the last two pages of the script for Avengers: Endgame. They revealed the plan for Cap going forward.

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“When I read it, we just hugged each other and jumped around in a circle,” Mackie said. It’s been quite a few years since then, but Mackie is finally getting a solo mission on the big screen. Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14, 2025.