In a series of revealing interviews following the premiere of Captain America: Brave New World, director Julius Onah has pulled back the curtain on several intriguing plot elements that almost made their way into the final cut. The film, which interweaves geopolitical tensions with superhero action, originally considered a deeper exploration of the mysterious Celestial Island and the introduction of adamantium to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Speaking with Variety, Onah disclosed how these elements were carefully balanced to maintain the movie’s core focus on Sam Wilson’s investigation into a potential presidential assassination plot. According to Onah, the massive alien structure emerging from the Indian Ocean served as more than just a backdrop.
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“Celestial Island was always going to be a part of this story, because it was a fun way to explore the larger geopolitical ramifications of a gigantic space alien being emanating from the Indian Ocean,” Onah said. “The key was to not have it be something that drowns out or overwhelms the movie, but to arrive at it in a way that felt organic. So again, Sam’s investigation is what ultimately takes us there.”
The creative team ultimately decided against physically visiting the location, despite having developed several versions of such sequences but the introduction of adamantium, the virtually indestructible metal famously associated with Wolverine, presented another delicate balancing act. Onah revealed that the material’s debut in the MCU was approached from an unexpected angle. Rather than focusing on its traditional comic book applications, the film positions the material as a source of international tension.
“We were all discussing how fun and surprising would it be to use [adamantium] as a geopolitical football — not just make it, you know, the most obvious iteration that you might have seen with Wolverine,” Onah said.
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The decision to keep the story anchored in Washington D.C. instead of venturing to Celestial Island emerged from both practical and thematic considerations. Onah explained that it ended up feeling like the correct “emotional and thematic place.”
“We played with a few versions of that [Visiting the actual island], but you never want to overwhelm the movie with too many elements that aren’t necessarily moving forward the story in the way you want,” he said. “But the destination of the movie ultimately had to come full circle back to DC, where we first met Sam and the Winter Soldier, where obviously Ross is now president, where in proximity of DC, Baltimore, Isaiah’s story began. That really felt to me like the correct emotional and thematic place.”
These creative decisions aligned with the film’s broader approach to grounding fantastic elements in reality, as evidenced by the treatment of the Red Hulk character, who remains speechless throughout the film to emphasize the primal nature of Ross’s transformation.
The careful modulation of these elements reflects a broader strategy in the MCU’s evolution: balancing cosmic scope with intimate character drama. While Celestial Island represents the universe-expanding potential of the franchise, the decision to keep it as a peripheral element rather than a central location demonstrates a commitment to character-driven storytelling. This approach suggests that future MCU films might continue to acknowledge their cosmic elements while maintaining a focus on personal stakes and earthbound conflicts.
The film, which stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson alongside Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
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