3 Ways Captain America: Brave New World Can Completely Change the MCU

Captain America: Brave New World will be a pivotal chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe saga, which will see Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Falcon try to fully take up the mantle of Captain America after his friend Steve Rogers. Sam quickly finds that there are schemers who don’t want him to be America’s symbol – or will shift American policy and agenda to new extremes that true heroes can’t abide. However, shifting winds on the geo-political stage are only one area of the MCU that Captain America: Brave New World will advance in a big way. Other key details of the film suggest that this fourth Captain America movie could be setting up some huge things for the future of the franchise.

Here Are 3 Ways Captain America: Brave New World can completely change the MCU.

The New Mythic Metal

Preview clips from Captain America: Brave New World that were shown at San Diego Comic-Con and other media conventions last year revealed that Adamantium will be making its MCU debut in the film. That mythic metal will seemingly be harvested from the corpse of Tiamut the Communicator, the Celestial that died mid-emergence during the climatic act of Eternals.

Once Adamantium makes its debut in the MCU, it will fundamentally realign the parameters of the global economy and arms race. Marvel fans know all too well the weaponry (living or mechanical) that can be developed from Adamantium – including a certain “Weapon X” who will be clawing his way into the franchise. However, beyond new standards in weaponry and armor, Adamantium’s discovery will totally up-end one pivotal corner of the MCU: Wakanda. With the outside world able to harness a metal that’s more powerful than Vibranium, Wakanda’s time as a global superpower nation will be over. Black Panther 3 could find the African Kingdom vulnerable like never before – and outmatched in technological might for the first time ever.

That’s Bad Government!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier made the game-changing twist reveal that America’s law enforcement agencies (like SHIELD) had been infiltrated and corrupted by HYDRA. Captain America: Brave New World seems to be teasing that the evil forces and/or secrets within the US government may not yet be fully revealed.

To be honest, the entire success or failure of Captain America: Brave New World may hinge on this single plot detail. We know the film is going to debut a new archvillain in Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), whose gamma-irradiated brain allows him unrivaled intellect as well as psychic abilities. As with any mastermind supervillain, there is a certain obligation and challenge to have an intricate chess game-style plot unfold, as the evil genius manipulates people and factors to achieve their goals. We know that The Leader will stoke geopolitical conflict between nations; sow doubt within the upper echelons of the US government, and possibly collapse the bond between the leaders of the free world and the heroes who fight for freedom (see below). If the screenwriters of Captain America: Brave New World do their job right, The Leader’s plot (which he’s arguably been thinking up and hatching since the events of The Incredible Hulk) will change the entire face of the MCU’s geopolitical landscape.

[RELATED: Captain America: Brave New World is Facing Big Box Office Challenges]

Avengers No More?

One big question fans have had about Captain America 4 is whether will it reveal the current status of the Avengers team. As crazy as it is to think about, the MCU is now six years running without any kind of real reference to or appearance from The Avengers (not since Endgame). Trailers for Brave New World have hinted that President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) wants Sam Wilson/Captain America to build him a new team of Avengers that’s government-sanctioned. We also know (based on the Captain America vs. Red Hulk battle) that the Avengers rebuild likely doesn’t go well.

Brave New World could end with Sam either officially standing for America as its symbol or having to go his own way as a hero. It’s hard to see an official new Avengers team taking shape if the latter scenario occurs. In fact, there are a lot of MCU fans who think that the next Marvel movie hitting theaters, Thunderbolts*, could be the story of how Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina “tests” a group of black ops and/or superpowered individuals as a “recruitment drive” to form her own team of Avengers. That doesn’t mean that heroes like Sam Wilson, Shang-Chi, or others will be done for good – they may just need to form a different kind of team – or perhaps a younger group of Avengers step up to fill the void.

Captain America: Brave New World has a release date of February 14th.