Captain America 4 Director Teases The Leader

Captain America 4 director Julius Onah teases Tim Blake Nelson's return as The Leader.

By Aaron Perine

Captain America: Brave New World director Julius Onah is teasing The Leader as a big ideological threat to Sam Wilson in the upcoming movie. Empire Magazine has a big spread dedicated to the MCU's 2025 blockbuster. While Anthony Mackie's Avenger has stepped into the boots of Captain America, he's got the United States government and Samuel Sterns (aka The Leader) as a hurdle on the path to the future. Onah says of the conflict, "Sam finds himself almost standing between Samuel Sterns and what he thinks the government owes him, and how he wants to go about getting that." 

There's a new sheriff in town for Captain America: Brave New World. Harrison Ford's Thunderbolt Ross is now the president. That's a lot of change for the MCU. In fact, Ross is going to butt heads with Sam Wilson as they confront whatever problems are on-deck for Phase 5 of the MCU and beyond. "Part of the challenge for Sam as Captain America, working within the government, is the way he's going to make decisions," Onah muses. "The point of view he's going to have will at times put him at odds with the President."

Tim Blake Nelson Returns As The Leader

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(Photo: Marvel Studios, Marvel Comics)

That's right Incredible Hulk fans, your time is here with this film. Captain America: Brave New World is bringing back Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns. In what feels like another lifetime, the Marvel movie teased his transformation into The Leader. Now, things are poised to come full circle with all the changes to the MCU landscape. ComicBookMovie.com spoke to Nelson about his big Marvel return. He told the outlet that his new version of The Leader is going to look a lot like his comic book counterpart. Fans are excited at the prospect as the MCU has done more and more leaning into the comics for costume choices in recent years. 

"Really excited. I had a great time filming it," Nelson began. "And [I] worked with the Marvel team and this wonderful makeup artist named David Atherton with whom I've collaborated on a dozen movies now."

"I think people are going to be pretty excited about what this guy looks like. And what he has to say and what he does," he continued. "All power to the amazing team over there at Marvel."

What Else Is Coming In Cap 4?

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While all of this stuff about The Leader is very fun, there's another antagonist that fans have been waiting to see. Yes, a lot of the promotional material for the movie has centered on Thunderbolt Ross. With that character's prominent placing in the movie, tons of fans are expecting a Red Hulk appearance. With all the changes going on with Marvel Studios, a big dust-up between Captain America and a memorable comics villain could be just what the doctor ordered. Anthony Mackie told Entertainment Weekly that it's a new era for the MCU and fans should buckle up.

"This movie is a clear reset. It really reestablishes the idea of what this universe is and what this universe is going to be," Mackie reflected. "I think with these movies, you're getting a clear, new branding of what Marvel is headed towards the same way they did with Captain America: The Winter Soldier."

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"The title implies that there's a new, bigger enemy now; there's a new frontier that we have to conquer," Mackie revealed. "From Captain America: The First Avenger to Endgame, the enemy was always good versus bad. Now that we've conquered that, where do we go from here? When the bad guys reappear, in what form are they reappearing? It is a new storyline with new characters, with new beliefs, and it creates a new idea of this new world that we're going into."

Are you looking forward to seeing The Leader battle Captain America? Catch all of our pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!

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