Warning: Spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World
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In Captain America: Brave New World, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross becomes President of the United States, raising questions about who his vice president is. Fans didn’t learn that bit of information in the movie, and now director Julius Onah has explained why. The filmmaker did a deep dive into Brave New World with Variety and touched on the MCU’s political landscape. Onah stated that while there were some discussions about revealing who Ross’ VP is, the creative team opted not to, as Brave New World was already juggling several characters and storylines. In an effort to keep things focused, Onah wanted to keep audiences’ attention on the Sam Wilson/President Ross dynamic.
“Those conversations happen from time to time. But when you’re telling a story like this, you don’t want to throw 900 characters at the audience,” Onah said. “This was simply a case of there were enough different balls up in the air that staying focused on that relationship between Sam as Captain America and Thaddeus Ross as our president felt essential. Ultimately, we decided, let’s not delve into that. It wasn’t too pertinent to how this story was being told from an emotional, thematic standpoint.”
When asked if he knows who Ross’ vice president is, Onah played coy. “Let’s see where that’s going to go as we as we advance in this crazy universe of the MCU,” he said.
[RELATED – Captain America: Brave New World Left Out A Key Character From A Future MCU Franchise]
The identity of the VP is a key detail considering Ross’ story arc in Brave New World. After his Red Hulk rampage at the White House and fight against Captain America, Ross resigns from office and is locked away in the Raft. This means Ross’ vice president has been sworn in as the new Commander in Chief, which could have major ramifications on the MCU moving forward. In Brave New World, Ross expresses a desire to relaunch the Avengers; it’s unknown where his running mate stands on that topic.
At the end of Brave New World, Sam Wilson makes clear his plan to assemble a new Avengers roster. Sam disagreed with Ross over how closely the team should work with the U.S. government, which could become an issue with whoever the MCU’s new president is. Anthony Mackie is set to reprise his Captain America in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Captain America: Brave New World earned mixed reviews, receiving criticism in part for what some felt was flat storytelling. As the film attempted to pick up threads from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Eternals, and The Incredible Hulk, it had a lot on its plate. Trying to integrate another character — one as significant as Ross’ VP — would have run the risk of stretching the narrative thinner, so it was arguably the smart choice to keep the vice president anonymous. The relationship between Sam and Ross is one of the better elements in Brave New World; it would have been tricky to pull that off if Sam had another political figure he was constantly interacting with. As interesting as it would have been to know who succeeds Ross, Marvel will reveal that when the time is right.
It’s possible fans will learn who the MCU’s new president is in the near future. This summer’s Thunderbolts* features Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the director of the CIA, in a key supporting role. She appears to be assembling the titular team of “heroes,” seemingly in an effort to honor Ross’ wishes to rebuild the Avengers. Given her position in the CIA, perhaps Valentina is working closely with the new President of the United States on this project.
