Captain America 4: Anthony Mackie Says MCU Sequel Brought "Marvel Experience Full Circle"

Although Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) has left the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Captain America franchise lives on thanks to Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson. Wilson now dons the mantle of Captain America and is rumored to be facing off against the legendary Cap villains in the Serpent Society when Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters next year. Even though the plot of the film is still being kept under lock and key, Mackie says his work on the film has brought his time in the MCU full circle.

"It kind of brought my Marvel experience full circle because we shot in D.C. at the same hotel that we shot 'Winter Soldier' at," Mackie told TheWrap in a pre-WGA strike interview. "One of my first Marvel scenes was me sitting at a table talking to the senator and me and Chris [Evans] and Scarlett [ Johansson] kidnapping him and we go back and we stay at the same hotel and we shot at that same area. So in that regard, it was really emotional to think how far my character has come and where he is now after the 10 years that I've been in the MCU."

Given Marvel Studios frequently uses the same cast and crew from one project to the next, Mackie added that working on Marvel projects is similar to going to summer camp and catching up with everyone.

"These Marvel movies have kind of turned into summer camp. You go to set and there's people that you've known for 10, 12 years now that you've worked with and got to know and people have kids and people get divorced and people buy homes," the actor added. "So it's like going back to see your old friends. So it was really easy. At no point in time did I feel like it was a different experience from any of the other Marvel movies I've done. It was just a great experience, you can only go down from here."

Who's all in Captain America 4?

In addition to Anthony Mackie returning as the eponymous Avenger in Captain America: Brave New World, other returning actors include Liv Tyler (Betty Ross), Tim Blake Nelson (The Leader), Carl Lumbly (Isaiah Bradley), and Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres). Shira Haas is making her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as the iconic Marvel comics character Sabra in the film while Harrison Ford is playing Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in the place of the late William Hurt. Captain America: Brave New World is being directed by Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox).

"The first day was so intimidating," Mackie recently revealed to Inverse about working with Ford. "I was so f*cking nervous I couldn't remember my lines. He's Harrison f*cking Ford. There is this aura about him. But he dispels that really quickly because he's such a cool guy. He's everything a movie star should be. He would say, 'Let's shoot this piece of sh*t.' And everybody was like, 'Yeah, let's shoot this sh*t.'" Mackie can't go into specifics about his scenes with Ford, but he notes that there are plenty of them. "We spent a good bit of time together. Ross and Cap have always had that relationship, where they were friends and they respected each other, but they always bumped heads. That's their relationship in the storyline."

Captain America: Brave New World is currently scheduled to hit theaters on August 26, 2024.