Sam Wilson has made it clear he’ll be a very different Captain America from Steve Rogers, and it turns out actor Anthony Mackie has some thoughts too. Mackie talked about his costume in a new interview with IGN, revealing that he did not care for the headpiece he wore in the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The cowl may have been comic book-accurate, but it was not comfortable. It looks like it’s gone in Captain America: Brave New World — at Mackie’s insistence. With a laugh, he said it was removed “Because I told them that I was never wearing that s— again, dude.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
“That was hard,” he went on. “With the heat, the sweat, the fogged-up glasses, it was impossible. It was called a cowl. It was my worst nightmare. You can’t do anything!”
As the Falcon, Sam Wilson has always worn a pair of tinted flight goggles when fighting crime, but he beefed up the headwear when he made a costume change at the end of his Disney+ series. As you may recall, it featured a partial mask connected to his goggles, clinging to his neck, cheeks and temples while leaving his ears and the top of his head exposed. According to Mackie, it was an overwhelming annoyance — even for the short time he wore it in the series.
[RELATED: Anthony Mackie Reveals How Brave New World Sets Up Avengers: Doomsday]
The cowl was accurate to the most iconic depictions of Sam Wilson as Cap in Marvel Comics, but this is definitely one of those times when the filmmakers were right to be flexible in their adaptation, rather than blindly faithful. The full coverage may look cool in the hands of talented comic book artists, but the impracticality really starts to show in a live-action medium. It’s hard to imagine why a hero known for flying would leave his ears exposed after taking such pains to cover other parts of his skin.
It’s smart for Mackie to make himself comfortable in the costume, as he has a long tenure in the MCU ahead of him. Brave New World is just a few days away now, and Sam Wilson is already confirmed to be appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars and Avengers: Doomsday as well. Between then and now, he could conceivably make surprise appearances in many other MCU titles, while after the Multiverse Saga is over, he may still have a part to play in the franchise. Mackie certainly seems to think he will — he told his interviewer that he hopes to continue playing Sam for another decade.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on Friday, February 14th. Previous MCU titles are streaming now on Disney+ — including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
