Anthony Mackie Admits He Never Expected To Be Captain America (for a Good Reason)

Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson is the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America, but the actor didn’t believe he would be able to take up that mantle. In a video for Variety, Mackie reflected on some of the most iconic roles and projects of his career. One section is dedicated to Captain America: Brave New World, which marked Mackie’s first time playing the titular character on the big screen. Mackie admitted he didn’t expect to portray Captain America since Chris Evans had the role locked down and had already headlined a trilogy of Captain America movies. Mackie said for a while, Marvel seemed set on giving each hero three solo movies, but now they’ve expanded.

“I never thought I would be playing Captain America because we had a perfectly healthy Captain America,” Mackie said, referencing Evans. “You know, Marvel had this interesting thing where pretty much everybody was allowed to have three movies. Like, everybody have three movies and then they’re done … Thor being the only one with 17 movies … so, I never thought that there would be an opportunity. I was thinking that there would be a Falcon movie. But I never thought it would be Falcon/Captain America movie.”

Captain America: Brave New World opened in theaters earlier this year, earning a mixed reception. While the film has found success on streaming, it had an underwhelming box office run, grossing just $415.1 million worldwide. Despite the lukewarm response to Brave New World as a whole, Mackie’s performance as Captain America was praised, as the actor illustrated why Sam Wilson was deserving of the title. The character has a bright future ahead in the Multiverse Saga, as Mackie will reprise the role in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

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Mackie’s gone from thinking he wouldn’t play Captain America to envisioning a lengthy tenure as the character. Prior to the release of Brave New World, he said he hoped to portray Captain America for another 10 years, listing a fifth Captain America solo film, Avengers movies, and “random plug-and-plays” (meaning guest appearances in other characters’ movies) as projects he’d like to tackle. It’s unknown what Sam Wilson’s future holds after Avengers: Secret Wars.

It makes sense why Mackie had this mindset in the middle of the Infinity Saga. Chris Evans had proven to be the ideal Steve Rogers and would have been more than capable of leading additional films if that was the direction Marvel wanted to go. Of course, the decisions made for Avengers: Endgame created an opening for Mackie’s Sam Wilson. With Evans ready to move on from the MCU, Kevin Feige and Co. gave Steve Rogers a poignant ending, allowing him to become an old man with Peggy Carter. There’s no way Mackie could have known about that development prior to making Avengers: Endgame, so he thought he’d just be playing Falcon.

While Evans will forever be a fan favorite many hope to see return in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars, Mackie is the ideal choice to carry the torch forward. Throughout his appearances, Sam Wilson has grown considerably as a character, and now he’s ready to be a dedicated leader. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s New Avengers are active, but Sam is putting together his own team, and it’ll be exciting to see him in that role, helping protect Earth-616 (and maybe other dimensions) from the threat of Doctor Doom. Hopefully Mackie is able to play Captain America for the next decade, ideally in projects that earn a stronger reception. He deserves to headline his own acclaimed film a la Captain America: The Winter Soldier.