Captain America: Brave New World – Every MCU Character Appearing in the Film

While 2008’s The Incredible Hulk wasn’t always intended to be a part of the MCU, the overarching universe has gone to certain lengths to incorporate it as time has gone on. First, there was a reference to Hulk’s Harlem fight with the Abomination in 2012’s The Avengers. Then, the late William Hurt reprised his role as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, followed by smaller appearances in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. Ross (now played by Harrison Ford) is all set for what is likely to be his most prominent role as the antagonist in Captain America: Brave New World, but who else is coming back? Spoiler alert, there are a few faces we haven’t seen since that aforementioned MCU Phase One movie with the big, green not-so-meanie.

Brave New World has a few new faces in the lineup who, should they survive this film, could very well appear in other MCU adventures down the line. These include Alita: Battle Angel‘s Rosa Salazar as Diamondback, Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder, Vikings: Valhalla‘s Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Copperhead, and Shōgun‘s Takehiro Hira as Prime Minister Ozaki.

Sam Wilson / Captain America (Anthony Mackie)

Naturally, Anthony Mackie is back as Sam Wilson. Not only is this the first time an MCU film is his ball game, but it’s also the first time he’ll be playing Captain America from first act to third, not Falcon. It’s hard to replace Chris Evans as Captain America in the audience’s eyes, but Mackie is a similarly likable and charismatic performer, so it will be interesting to see if audience turnout is similar to Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s, which seems to be the most direct comparison given The First Avenger came out during the MCU’s infancy and Civil War was essentially Avengers 2.5.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is not without its faults, but it’s an ambitious series that did a great job setting the stage for Brave New World. Bucky Barnes may be a bit busy standing side-by-side with the Thunderbolts*, but the aforementioned Disney+ series showed that Mackie’s Cap is more than capable of holding the spotlight, especially with that rousing speech during the final episode.

Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford)

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross is back but he looks a little different. For one, he’s now the President of the United States. Two, he’s being portrayed by a different Hollywood legend (which the first trailer made a subtle aside about). Three, he’s going to end up turning into the very thing he’s spent much of his career hating. In fact, a much worse version of the thing he’s always hated.

No matter how things pan out for Ross in Captain America: Brave New World, it’s a fitting character arc for Ross. Everything he imagined the Hulk to be (sometimes with a bit of justification), he’s now become. It’s a shame that William Hurt (rest in peace) wasn’t able to be with the MCU throughout the entirety of that arc, but Harrison Ford certainly makes for a noteworthy replacement.

Samuel Sterns / The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson)

While Thaddeus Ross has received some screentime since The Incredible Hulk, it’s other main characters (excluding the Hulk, of course) have not. For instance, Tim Blake Nelson’s Doctor Samuel Sterns, who was set up to be the villainous the Leader in a The Incredible Hulk sequel. That was apparently never going to pan out, until now.

If there’s any returning character that piques an air of mystery surrounding their role in Brave New World, it’s the Leader. Given how lovable a performer Tim Blake Nelson is, it’s somewhat surprising he was never given something to do in MCU projects between The Incredible Hulk and Brave New World. But like with Tim Roth in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, he’s an Incredible Hulk actor who’s back, and probably in a way audiences don’t expect.

[RELATED: Marvel Rivals Players Can Get Exclusive DLC by Watching Captain America: Brave New World]

Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly)

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier changed the MCU forever by shedding some light on the other subjects/victims of the Super Soldier Serum testing. Particularly, African American subjects who the government didn’t feel were quite as marketable as, say, a Steve Rogers.

What the government did feel was right for people like Isaiah Bradley was a railroading in the form of three decades in prison. All for actions he was forced to carry out via mind control following a procedure he didn’t even sign up for. Judging by the trailer for Brave New World, Bradley will once again be forced to do something horrible against his will, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Sam Wilson’s shoulders to prove his innocence.

Betty Ross (Liv Tyler)

If “Thunderbolt” Ross weren’t so quick to look at Bruce Banner as disposable, one could argue that he’s an MCU antagonist who is more right than wrong. This is especially true when he’s willing to put his clear fear-based hatred of the Hulk aside when his daughter, Betty, gets in the line of fire.

Speaking of Betty, she’ll be back in the MCU spotlight for the first time in 17 years, once again played by Liv Tyler. It always seemed odd that the younger Ross was pushed aside, seemingly never worthy of so much as a mention by Banner. Given how Banner’s budding relationship with Natasha Romanoff landed with a thud in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it’s not as if there’s never been an opportunity to re-incorporate Tyler’s character. Regardless, she’s back, and the question is once again whether she’ll be able to calm her father down. Because this time it seems that’s what he needs more than ever.

Joaquín Torres / The Falcon (Danny Ramirez)

Danny Ramirez’s Lieutenant Joaquín Torres make his debut in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, serving as an eager ally to Wilson and his ear to the ground. He’s also the one who lets Wilson know how things were during the Blip. He was a likable character and an integral part of Wilson being able to keep up with the Flag Smashers and, ultimately, stop them.

It was in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that audiences learned Torres would be picking up the Falcon mantle. It was a touching passing of the torch, not unlike when Steve Rogers passed the mantle of Captain America to Wilson. It stands to reason Torres will have as crucial a role to play in Brave New World as he did the Disney+ series that preceded it.

Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters February 14th.