How Did Captain America: New World Order Become Brave New World?

After just a few weeks of release, Captain America: Brave New World, has topped the domestic box office for three weekends, but is already beginning to fade from people’s memories. The general reception to the title was extremely mixed, but not even in a way that inspires endless debate or discourse over its terribleness like the original Batman & Robin or Catwoman discourses. Brave New World was greeted with a shrug by audiences and has, appropriately enough, fallen off after failing to elicit any significant responses from moviegoers.

Still, the troubled production of Brave New World will go down in infamy since, even by the standards of post-2019 MCU movies, this feature had one of the most tormented creative processes in the history of Marvel Studios. Even the days of the original Iron Man being largely improvised while the fate of Marvel Studios hung in the balance look rosy compared to all the turmoil Brave New World went through. Nothing better encapsulates all that pain than the fact that the feature went through a drastic name change from Captain America: New World Order to Brave New World. How did that overhaul happen exactly?

Where Did the New World Order Name Come From?

Back in July 2022, at the usual Marvel Studios Hall H panel at the San Diego International Comic-Con, Marvel Studios finally announced a release date for a feature film follow-up to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Occupying the famous first weekend of May slot Marvel had cornered would be Captain America: New World Order. This feature carried a title that had already been deployed for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s debut episodes, a signifier of just how intertwined the MCU movies and TV shows were becoming.

Immediately, controversy erupted over the title given how the term “New World Order” had been a cornerstone of anti-semitic and racist conspiracy theory groups in the late 2010s and early 2020s. That’s not exactly the kind of image that Marvel wanted to conjure up when promoting a new Captain America movie that was meant to enthrall the masses and sell toys to kids. Still, given the precedent of New World Order being used as that Falcon and the Winter Soldier title, it seemed like Marvel wouldn’t budge on changing the fourth Captain America movie’s name.

[RELATED: Captain America: Brave New World’s President Ross Continues a Weird MCU Flaw]

After all, when Marvel Studios announces a motion picture’s title, it typically sticks to that name. In the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are no examples of announced MCU movies changing their titles during production save for Avengers: Infinity War Part I & II eventually becoming Infinity War and Endgame. Even when directors drop out of certain projects and creative visions for individual films drastically change, Thor: Ragnarok, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: The Dark World retained their names. There was no reason to expect New World Order to get jettisoned until it suddenly was dropped in June 2023 in favor of Brave New World.

Why the Brave New World Name Change?

Given that the term “Brave New World” only appears inside Captain America: Brave New World through voice-over narration on a news program in the film’s final scene, it’s doubtful changing this title specifically altered Brave New World. So what was behind this unprecedented move of changing an announced MCU movie’s name? Changing that Captain America name undoubtedly saved Marvel Studios and Disney from more controversy. However, given the endless controversy over Ruth Bat-Seraph in Brave New World and her presence in the final film, it’s clear Marvel Studios brass didn’t entirely listen to pre-release critiques over the feature.

Changing this title seems to have been partially done to instill a more immediately positive energy into Captain America: Brave New World since the original title had an ominous air to it. More pressingly, though, this title change epitomizes what a difficult production Brave New World allegedly was. No wonder Marvel Studios brass went back and forth on what this movie would even be called, given how this project was plagued by indecision. Brave New World went through extensive reshoots that allegedly tweaked everything from the fate of the Red Hulk to the presence of the Serpent Society to the appearance of Samuel Sterns/The Leader and so much more.

So extensive were those creative disputes that Brave New World was delayed nine months from its original May 2024 perch to a February 2025 launch. Everything about this final theatrical Disney movie that former Disney CEO Bob Chapek oversaw (he was in charge when Brave New World set its principal cast members and principal photography start date) was plagued by chaos. Why wouldn’t Captain America: Brave New World’s name also be plagued by problems? Going from New World Order to Brave New World was an early glimpse into just how tormented this Captain America title would be. No wonder the final product was something so lacking in personality that audiences have been largely indifferent to it.

Captain America: Brave New World is now playing in theaters.

What did you think of the movie? Let us know in the comments below!