Captain America 4: Tim Blake Nelson Teases Favorite Challenge

Captain America: Brave New World’s villain is already being teased by Tim Blake Nelson. Coming out of San Diego Comic-Con, The Official Marvel Podcast asked the actor about what was coming up for The Leader. Nelson quipped that he’s been on ice for about 16 years since The Incredible Hulk. Captain America: Brave New World is actually going to take us into that big green brain. Nelson began, “I always like the challenge of presenting a villain’s point of view. He’s been on ice, shall we say, for about 16 years. But, he comes back with a vengeance.” So, there have been some machinations behind the scenes while our favorite Avengers have been saving the world from a variety of threats.

A lot of Marvel fans are going to get stuck on that “been on ice” comment before anything else. The MCU itself has a bit of a preoccupation with some of the characters becoming stuck in cryogenic stasis. Notably Captain America, but also The Winter Soldier, and probably a couple more. Could that present the way that Marvel Studios will explain The Leader’s extended absence since The Incredible Hulk? Possibly! But, it is much more likely that Samuel Stearns has been lurking in the shadows this entire time. The villain has probably been waiting for the moment that the universe is the most vulnerable to enact some master plan that puts all of the heroes on notice. For now, we have to wait.

The Leader Has Been Busy

There are a ton of dramatic Marvel returns in Captain America: Brave New World. But, the biggest one, arguably, is The Leader. While Nelson was teasing the reason for his extended absence up above, the actor has also been open about wanting the MCU villain to be as practical as possible in the upcoming movie. Talking to ComicBook at San Diego Comic-Con, Nelson said that keeping things grounded was his biggest ask in order to return. After all, The Incredible Hulk only teased his final form and its a bit of an open slate. Early teases have been promising, but the star thinks comics fans will be happy with what Marvel came up with.

“When I was asked to come back and play this character, one of my stipulations was — although, I have to admit, if they’d said no, I still would have done it…but pretending I could have a stipulation was, I begged, could you guys please let me do this practically?” Nelson told ComicBook. “I don’t want to wear dots. I’d like to have the appliance. I wanted to feel the weight of it; I wanted to look in the mirror and see myself that way, and I wanted the actors on set with whom I was interacting to see me that way. It just deepens it.”

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