Captain America: Brave New World Star Teases The Leader's Return

Tim Blake Nelson previews his "interesting" MCU comeback.

By Jenna Anderson

Captain America: Brave New World is on the horizon, boasting a massive ensemble cast of Marvel Cinematic Universe newcomers and veterans. This includes Samuel Sterns / The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), who has not appeared onscreen since 2008's The Incredible Hulk, and it sounds like his MCU return will be well worth the wait. In a recent interview with ScreenRant, Nelson confirmed that he will soon be filming more scenes as The Leader for Brave New World, and teased the unexpected context in which his character is reintroduced.

"Very excited about it," Nelson revealed. "I'm headed to Atlanta tomorrow to continue working on that. It's been very exciting to bring back a character from 16 years ago and imagine how he has aged with me and how that has manifested. The Marvel team has come up with a really interesting explanation—revelation, I should say, as to what he's been up to for 16 years and why."

Why Didn't The Leader Appear in She-Hulk?

Prior to Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel fans had theorized that Nelson's version of The Leader would make an appearance in 2022's She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Disney+ series. Despite several Easter eggs seeming to tease his arrival, The Leader did not factor into the show in any way — although there were originally plans for it to happen.

"In my original pitch, I did have The Leader in there," She-Hulk: Attorney at Law showrunner Jessica Gao revealed in an exclusive interview with ComicBook. "Just as an option, as a suggestion, you know? But really, I can't remember why [it was scrapped]. I don't remember if it was organically taken out, because we just came up with other stuff, or if we were told no. I honestly don't remember. But there was thought about either bringing him back or doing some version of a new version of Leader, or some relation to him. But, I mean truly, this was three years ago, and the show has evolved so much that I don't remember what actually happened." 

What Is Captain America: Brave New World About?

Captain America: Brave New World will follow the new adventures of Sam Wilson / Captain America (Anthony Mackie) following the events of The Falcon and Winter Soldier. The film will also star Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres / Falcon, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and Shira Haas as Sabra. Xosha Roquemore, Seth Rollins, Rosa Salazar, and Giancarlo Esposito have been cast in currently-unknown roles.

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"It kind of brought my Marvel experience full circle because we shot in D.C. at the same hotel that we shot 'Winter Soldier' at," Mackie said of the film in a previous interview with The Wrap. "One of my first Marvel scenes was me sitting at a table talking to the senator and me and Chris [Evans] and Scarlett [ Johansson] kidnapping him and we go back and we stay at the same hotel and we shot at that same area. So in that regard, it was really emotional to think how far my character has come and where he is now after the 10 years that I've been in the MCU."

Captain America: Brave New World is currently scheduled to be released on February 14, 2025.

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