Captain America: Brave New World

Plot

Five months after Thaddeus Ross is elected president of the United States, he sends Sam Wilson and Joaquin Torres—the new Captain America and Falcon, respectively—to Oaxaca, Mexico, to stop the illegal sale of classified items stolen by Sidewinder and his mercenary group Serpent. Wilson and Torres recover the items, but Sidewinder escapes. Torres is excited to be taking on Wilson's former mantle of Falcon, but Wilson is hesitant to involve Torres in dangerous missions due to the pair not having superpowers like former Captain America Steve Rogers. After the mission, Wilson and Torres train with Isaiah Bradley, a super soldier who was imprisoned and experimented on by the U.S. government.

Ross invites Wilson and Torres to a summit with world leaders at the White House, and Wilson accepts on the condition that Bradley is also invited. Ross asks Wilson to help him reform the Avengers. During the summit, Ross explains that a new metal, adamantium, has been discovered on "Celestial Island", which was formed when the Celestial Tiamut emerged in the Indian Ocean. The recovered items were the first refined samples of the metal and were stolen from a Japanese mining operation. To avoid an arms race, Ross proposes a treaty to govern adamantium's mining and distribution. As he is talking, the song "Mr. Blue" plays and causes several men, including Bradley, to begin shooting at Ross and other dignitaries. Apprehended by Ross's head of security, former Black Widow Ruth Bat-Seraph, the men regain their senses and deny any knowledge of the attack.

While investigating, Wilson is ambushed by Sidewinder and captures him. Torres tracks a call on Sidewinder's phone to a hidden black site in West Virginia called Camp Echo One. Ross tries to salvage the treaty, but the Japanese government blames him for the theft of their adamantium and the subsequent White House attack. Ross realizes that the mastermind behind these events is Dr. Samuel Sterns, who gained advanced intelligence after being exposed to the blood of Bruce Banner / Hulk during the Abomination's rampage through Harlem. Ross imprisoned Sterns at Camp Echo One, publicly blamed him for the Abomination's actions, and promised to release him if Sterns helped advance him to the presidency. Wilson and Torres find Sterns and learn how he uses technology and the song "Mr. Blue" to control minds. He escapes while they are fighting mind-controlled soldiers.

Ross sends Bat-Seraph to secure Camp Echo One, where she finds and helps Wilson and Torres. The trio meet with Wilson's military friend Dennis Dunphy, who has Sidewinder in custody. Wilson learns enough from Sidewinder to deduce Sterns's plan to destroy Ross's reputation. Wilson, Torres, and Bat-Seraph go to Celestial Island where Ross and Ozaki, the Prime Minister of Japan, are racing to claim ownership of adamantium. Ross tells Wilson that he is dying of heart failure and had Sterns develop pills that have prolonged his life; Ross refused to release Sterns for fear that he would no longer make the pills, leading to Sterns's anger and plans for revenge. Sterns takes control of the minds of two American pilots and makes them attack the Japanese fleet. Wilson and Torres intercept the planes and convince the Japanese to stand down, but Torres is injured in the fight.

Cast

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America:An Avenger and former pararescueman who was trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack. Producer Nate Moore said Wilson's Captain America is an underdog similar to Rocky Balboa from the Rocky film series, because he does not have the abilities or allies of the previous Captain America, Steve Rogers. Wilson has to earn the mantle after claiming it without support. Director Julius Onah said the film would show Wilson "stepping up to be the leader as Captain America". Mackie said Wilson would not be a judgmental Captain America and has a different understanding of good and evil, with a focus on listening, compassion, and counseling. He likened his performance to the Tupac Shakur song "Hit 'Em Up" (1996). Onah said empathy was Wilson's "superpower". He wanted to use the character's emotional intelligence to help resolve President Thaddeus Ross's story, for which Wilson has to "see past his own blind spots" regarding Ross. Since Wilson is not a super soldier like Rogers, he uses Captain America's shield and his wingsuit—both made from the fictional metal vibranium—to "level the playing field" in fights. To prepare for the film's action sequences, Mackie focused on yoga and Pilates routines to improve his flexibility and core strength.

Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres / Falcon:A first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force who takes on Wilson's former mantle of Falcon, using a similar wing pack. Mackie said Wilson and Torres have an equal friendship, in contrast with Wilson's admiration of Rogers and dislike of Bucky Barnes in previous MCU projects, though Torres looks up to Wilson as an inspiration. Mackie gave Ramirez advice on wearing the Falcon costume. Ramirez compared working in the MCU to his experience joining the Top Gun franchise in the film Top Gun: Maverick (2022). That film and its star Tom Cruise inspired Ramirez to ensure the film's flying scenes used the correct body positions and physics.

Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph:An Israeli former Black Widow who serves as President Ross's security advisor. Moore said the character's perspective on Ross puts her on a collision course with Wilson, and Onah described her as a "great part of the tapestry" of the film's paranoid thriller story. She is briefly seen wearing a suit that resembles the comic book character's white and blue costume, but it is partly concealed under a jacket.

Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley:An African-American Korean War veteran and super soldier who was imprisoned and experimented on by the U.S. government for 30 years. In the film, Samuel Sterns takes control of Bradley's mind and frames him for an assassination attempt on President Ross, leading to Bradley's arrest. This begins further exploration of the injustices that Bradley has faced in his life. He is released and exonerated at the end of the film thanks to Wilson's actions.

Production

Development

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in October 2015 that Captain America: Civil War (2016) was the conclusion of the Captain America trilogy starring Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, after Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). Civil War was Evans's last contracted standalone Captain America film, but he was open to extending his contract beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). In January 2021, Evans was reportedly close to signing a deal to return as Rogers in at least one project. Evans's involvement was said to be similar to how fellow MCU star Robert Downey Jr. had supporting roles as Tony Stark / Iron Man in other MCU films following the Iron Man trilogy. Evans said the report was "news to [him]".

By October 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a limited series for Disney+ starring Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson / Falcon and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier from the MCU films. Malcolm Spellman was hired as head writer of the series, which was officially announced as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in April 2019. After Rogers bequeaths his shield and the mantle of Captain America to Wilson in Endgame, the series shows Wilson accepting the mantle and coming to terms with the implications of that as a Black man. Before the series premiered, Mackie said there had been no discussions regarding a second season and he was not sure when he would next appear in an MCU film because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Series director Kari Skogland was also unsure whether there would be a second season, saying she told the story she wanted to with the first season but there were more stories and characters to explore if a second was made. Executive producer Nate Moore said the series had "evergreen" topics that lent themselves to further exploration and set up ideas for a potential second season. Feige said there were ideas for what "another one" could be, but Marvel intended for the series to lead into an MCU film first as they did with fellow Disney+ miniseries WandaVision (2021).

After the series finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, "One World, One People", was released in April 2021, Spellman and series writer Dalan Musson were revealed to be writing a fourth Captain America film that continues Wilson's story. Rob Edwards said he was the original writer for the film. Evans's reported return as Rogers was expected to come in a different project. Mackie said he was unaware of any plans for a film or second season, but was excited to see what happened next and said it would be monumental for him to headline an MCU film, particularly as a Black actor. Mackie negotiated a deal to star in the film over the next few months, and officially signed on in August. He later said he had been excited to make a second season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with Stan and their co-star Daniel Brühl—who portrays Helmut Zemo—and was disappointed by the pivot to starring in a film without them.

Pre-production

Julius Onah was hired to direct the film in July 2022, after several meetings with Moore and co-producer Kyana Davidson in which they discussed character, themes, and tone. Onah was championed to Feige and Mackie by actress Octavia Spencer who starred in his film Luce (2019); Spencer is included in the "special thanks" section of the film's credits. Key elements were set by the time Onah joined. He said it was always going to be "a Sam Wilson story", and Wilson would not be conflicted about being Captain America: "That question has been resolved. Sam is our Captain America now." The characters Samuel Sterns and Thaddeus Ross who were first introduced in the second MCU film, The Incredible Hulk (2008), were also set to appear. The inclusion of Sterns was one of the reasons Onah was interested in the film, feeling that someone who operates from intellect would be a good adversary for Wilson. Onah was drawn to the relationships between Wilson and Ross, and between Wilson and Joaquin Torres / Falcon who was introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. As Onah further developed the film with Spellman and Musson, they also leaned into Wilson's relationship with another The Falcon and the Winter Soldier character, Isaiah Bradley. Onah felt these three relationships were integral to Wilson's journey in the film, connecting to his past and future. Isaiah's grandson Eli was included in early versions of the script, but was removed due to the large number of characters in the film and the focus on other relationships. Onah said the combination of Wilson, Ross, and Sterns organically led to the film's thriller tone, with elements of paranoid thrillers, political thrillers, and action thrillers. It was described as more grounded than some recent MCU films, closer to the tone of The Winter Soldier.

The filmmakers always intended to bring back Stan for a scene with Barnes and Wilson together, but this was kept secret until the film's release. Onah said there was "no way we were gonna completely divorce these two characters from each other" after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Several different places in the film were considered before they settled on a moment where Barnes provides emotional support for Wilson later in the film. Another element planned before Onah joined was the Serpent Society, a group of snake-themed villains from the comics. This paid off a joke Marvel made years earlier when announcing the third Captain America film as Captain America: Serpent Society, before revealing its true subtitle to be Civil War. Moore acknowledged that the team can come across as "goofy", but he considered them to be part of Captain America's "all-time Hall of Fame villain groups" and wanted to treat them seriously. Onah said their challenge in developing the film was trying to fit the different elements into the intended thriller tone. He added that despite the connections to The Incredible Hulk and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, they wanted the film to work on its own. Mackie said viewers did not need to have seen The Incredible Hulk to watch the film, calling it a "reset" of the MCU that establishes new themes and antagonists for the universe moving forward. Onah said it was important to call back to The Incredible Hulk as part of Ross's story, but he wanted these elements to be revealed through Wilson's point of view.

Filming

Principal photography began on March 21, 2023, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with Kramer Morgenthau as cinematographer. The film was made under the working title Rochelle Rochelle, a reference to the television series Seinfeld (1989–1998) that was suggested by Davidson. Morgenthau, who worked on the MCU film Thor: The Dark World (2013), said they wanted to pay homage to the visuals of thriller films from the 1970s such as Klute (1971), The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Parallax View (1974), and All the President's Men (1976). Wanting a look as close to photographic film as could be achieved with digital cameras, they tested with vintage anamorphic lenses and made a set of rules for camera movement, color, composition, and texture. Early in filming, there was a week of character-focused scenes featuring Mackie, Ramirez, and Ford; Ramirez's first scene was the film's final moment between Wilson and Torres. At the end of March, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was reported to be reprising her MCU role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the film.

Onah wanted the action scenes to be "grounded and tactile", and give Wilson things to do that were not seen in his previous appearances. While Wilson is at "peak human performance" and aided by technology, Onah kept in mind that the character does not have superpowers. The start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in May was not expected to impact the film's production, with Marvel Studios reportedly planning to shoot what they could during principal photography and make any necessary writing adjustments during the film's already scheduled reshoots. Later in May, set photos revealed that Seth Rollins was part of the cast and led to speculation that he was portraying a member of the Serpent Society. In June, Marvel Studios announced the new title Captain America: Brave New World. Jeremy Mathai at /Film praised the change, saying it "strikes a far more optimistic perspective [than New World Order], doubling as a commentary on the future of the famous superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and as a statement on some very overdue representation". The change was also deemed wise by Collider's Hilary Remley, who noted that the original title could have been interpreted as having antisemitic connotations. Moore explained that Marvel Studios felt New World Order was "really interesting, and sort of moody and scary" for a subtitle and was not intended to represent real-world issues. The studio decided to change the title after receiving feedback about how the phrase "New World Order" had been "co-opted in the real world in a way that made people uncomfortable". At the time of the new subtitle's announcement, Onah was revealed to have co-written the script. The film's release date was soon delayed to July 26, 2024.

Post-production

By October 2023, there was potential for Brave New World to return to its May 2024 release date because it was further along in production than Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which had taken over that date. However, this was considered unlikely, and Brave New World's release was instead delayed to February 14, 2025, following the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike's conclusion in November 2023. Journalist Jeff Sneider reported that the film was not received well in an early test screening, that three major sequences were being cut, and that extensive reshoots were planned from January 2024 until that May or June. In December, Matthew Orton was hired to write additional material for the reshoots, which were then scheduled to last from early-to-mid-2024. Orton previously worked on the Marvel Studios miniseries Moon Knight (2022). The same day, Rosa Salazar was revealed to have been cast in the film, and was later reported to be portraying Diamondback, a member of the Serpent Society. This confirmed speculation that she was playing the character based on her appearance in set photos.

Mark Ruffalo stated in February 2024 that he was reprising his MCU role as Bruce Banner / Hulk in the film. Adam B. Vary of Variety soon reported that Ruffalo was not appearing in the film, explaining that the actor had misspoken when he was asked about the film and had just intended to express enthusiasm for its upcoming release. Vary noted that there had been ongoing speculation about Ruffalo potentially appearing in the film due to the number of characters from The Incredible Hulk already included and Ross's transformation into Red Hulk. Onah said they considered including Ruffalo, but felt this would take away from Wilson's story.

Giancarlo Esposito revealed in May 2024 that he had been cast in an MCU role and would be appearing "sooner rather than later", with his character being teased in a film before a bigger role in an MCU television series. He was confirmed to be appearing in Brave New World at the end of the month as part of the reshoots, which began at that time in Atlanta and were scheduled to last for 22 days. These were expected to be less extensive than the reshoots for the MCU films Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and The Marvels (2023), focusing on new action sequences and integrating Esposito. Brave New World was also expected to be much less expensive than The Marvels, which cost more than $300 million; the budget for Brave New World was reported to be $180 million. Nelson returned to Atlanta for reshoots in June, and said they redid much of his original work. Mackie characterized the reshoots as just adding a few additional scenes to enhance the film and said there was no "retooling or remaking". Moore said the reshoots were focused on creating the "perfect political thriller tone", and the casting of Esposito was part of this. He believed the actor made the film more grounded despite his "heightened" material, similar to his role in the television series The Mandalorian (2019–2023). Ford and Takehiro Hira also participated in the reshoots. The film's post-credits scene, in which Wilson is warned about coming threats from the multiverse, was filmed during reshoots. Onah explained that they waited until writing on upcoming MCU films had restarted following the writers' strike before they determined an appropriate tease for future projects.

Music

Laura Karpman was announced as the film's composer in August 2024. She previously composed the music for the MCU series What If...? (2021–2024) and Ms. Marvel (2022), and the film The Marvels. Karpman wrote a new heroic theme that represents Wilson, Torres, and Bradley, and an Aaron Copland-inspired piano theme for Ross. The latter evolves into a "Godzilla monster thing" when Ross transforms into Red Hulk. The film's thriller aspects are scored with "conspiracy music" that Karpman compared to the Mission: Impossible franchise. She also included a subtle reference to Alan Silvestri's "Captain America March" from the previous films. Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, who worked with Karpman on What If...?, provided additional music for the film. A soundtrack album featuring their music was released by Hollywood Records and Marvel Music on February 12, 2025. At that time, Mackie said the film's "title-song" had been provided by Kendrick Lamar, which was interpreted by some as Lamar having written a new song for the film. However, it is his 2014 song "I" that is played over the film's end credits. Additionally, the 1959 song "Mr. Blue" by the Fleetwoods is heard throughout the film as a trigger for characters being mind-controlled by Sterns; this is a reference to his "Mr. Blue" alias in The Incredible Hulk.

Marketing

Feige and Mackie revealed the first footage from the film, focusing on Wilson meeting with Thaddeus Ross, at CinemaCon in April 2024. The following month, McDonald's began selling Happy Meals with toys based on characters from the film, including Red Hulk and Diamondback. Stephanie Kaloi at TheWrap noted that these characters had not been confirmed for the film by Marvel at that time, and the early reveal was likely due to the film's release being delayed but the marketing partnership with McDonald's not being pushed back to match. More footage from the film was shown at a CineEurope panel in June teasing Disney's theatrical slate.

A teaser trailer was released in July which drew comparisons to The Winter Soldier's tone, with Jennifer Ouellette of Ars Technica describing it as "half-superhero movie, half-political thriller". The appearance of Red Hulk and the character's potential true identity were both widely discussed; Adam Chitwood at TheWrap wondered if rumors of Thaddeus Ross becoming Red Hulk were a red herring. The Verge's Charles Pulliam-Moore questioned if the film being a continuation of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier would be difficult for general audiences to follow. Conversely, Sandy Schaefer and Chris Evangelista from /Film felt the film would not rely much on the series to have wider audience appeal. They called the trailer "pretty good" considering the film's recently completed reshoots, noting that it largely contains action rather than plot details. Commentators also noted the reveal that the remains of Tiamut would be featured in the film, after the Emergence had largely been ignored in MCU projects since Eternals. Michael McWhertor at Polygon noted that the trailer shows the United States and other countries meeting at a Global Unity Summit to discuss the Celestial, with a stylized version of Tiamut's hand being used as a logo for the summit. Later in July, Marvel released an updated version of the teaser for distribution in theaters that removed Isaiah Bradley's assassination attempt on Thaddeus Ross. This came following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania that month.

Also in July 2024, Feige and members of the cast promoted the film at San Diego Comic-Con. More footage was shown, Esposito's role was announced, and Thaddeus Ross was confirmed to be the character who transforms into Red Hulk. Similar footage was also shown at the 2024 D23 Expo. Following online leaks of the San Diego Comic-Con and D23 footage, Marvel released an official look at Red Hulk within their video celebrating the company's 85th anniversary in August. A full trailer for the film debuted at D23 Brasil in November and was also released online. After the teases of Red Hulk in previously released footage, the trailer features Ross's transformation into Red Hulk and shots of the character fighting Wilson. Several commentators noted the trailer's unique style, featuring "creepy black lines", split-screen shots, and a flickering text effect. Comparisons were drawn to political thriller films such as The Day of the Jackal, The Parallax View, and All the President's Men, as well as The Candidate (1972), JFK (1991), and The Constant Gardener (2005). Jordan King at Empire questioned whether Brave New World would live up to these comparisons, but said it was a promising sign that the film was "looking to place itself in conversation" with those previous films.

Release

Theatrical

Captain America: Brave New World premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on February 11, 2025, and was released in the United States on February 14, in IMAX. The film was previously scheduled for May 3, 2024, and then July 26, 2024, before it was pushed to the February 2025 release date following the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. It is part of Phase Five of the MCU.

Home media

Captain America: Brave New World was released for digital download on April 15, 2025, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on May 13. The home media releases include deleted scenes, a gag reel, and featurettes. The film was released on Disney+ on May 28.

In the United Kingdom, Captain America: Brave New World debuted at No. 2 on the Official Film Chart for the week ending April 23, then moved to third place the following week. It later reached No. 1 for the week ending May 21, becoming the top-selling home entertainment release.

In the United States, following its PVOD release, Captain America: Brave New World topped the Fandango at Home digital chart for the week ending April 20, which ranks titles based on revenue from premium digital rentals and sales. It also secured the No. 2 position on Amazon Prime Video's digital charts on April 22. The film later ranked second on Fandango at Home's Top 10 titles for the week ending April 27, before moving to third place for the week ending May 4. On physical media, Captain America: Brave New World debuted at No. 1 on the Circana VideoScan combined DVD and Blu-ray sales chart, as well as on the dedicated Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD charts, for the week ended May 17. High-definition formats accounted for 71% of first-week sales, with 32% from regular Blu-ray and 39% from 4K Ultra HD editions. It moved to No. 2 on both the combined DVD and Blu-ray chart and the dedicated Blu-ray chart for the week ended May 31, after spending two weeks at No. 1, while remaining the top-selling title on the 4K Ultra HD chart. Through October 2025, Captain America: Brave New World ranked fifth in year-to-date disc sales on Circana's VideoScan chart. For the year, Captain America: Brave New World placed ninth on the Top Selling Titles on Disc (DVD and Blu-ray combined) of 2025, according to Circana VideoScan. It recorded a sales index of 37.24 relative to the year's top-selling title. Blu-ray formats accounted for 61% of total unit sales, including a 28% share from 4K Ultra HD. The film also ranked eighth on the Top Selling Blu-ray Discs of 2025 and twelfth on the Top Selling 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays of 2025.

Analytics company Samba TV, which gathers viewership data from certain smart TVs and content providers, announced that Captain America: Brave New World was the second most-streamed film and the eighth most-streamed title overall in the United States between May 26 to June 1. JustWatch, a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 45 million users around the world, reported that it was the fifth most-streamed film in the country during the same period. Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on certain U.S. television screens, announced that Captain America: Brave New World was streamed for 750 million minutes from May 26 to June 1. It was the most-streamed film in the country during that week. In the following week, from June 2–8, the film recorded 304 million minutes of watch time, making it the sixth most-streamed film for that period.

Reception

Box office

Captain America: Brave New World grossed $200.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $214.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $415.1 million. Deadline Hollywood reported that the film needed to earn $425 million worldwide to break even, taking into account the reported production budget of $180 million as well as marketing costs. Feige attributed the film's low box-office performance to the absence of Steve Rogers actor Chris Evans, who had headlined the three previous Captain America films.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Paddington in Peru and was projected to gross $80–94 million from 4,105 theaters in its four-day opening weekend. Tracking service Quorum reported early box office estimates for the film in mid-January 2025, projecting that it would earn $86–$95 million during its opening weekend and more than $100 million across the four-day weekend from Valentine's Day to Presidents' Day. This was similar to The Winter Soldier's $95 million opening weekend in 2014. Further tracking, reported later in January, similarly indicated an opening of at least $90 million. The film grossed $40 million on its opening day, including an estimated $12 million from Thursday previews. It debuted to $88.8 million, and a total of $100 million over the four-day frame, topping the box office. In its second weekend, it retained the top spot at the box office and grossed $28.2 million, a 68% drop that ranked as the third-worst for the MCU after The Marvels (−78%) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (−70%). The film made $14.9 million in its third weekend, remaining atop the box office, before being dethroned in its fourth by newcomer Mickey 17. Outside the United States and Canada, the film grossed $92.4 million from 52 overseas markets in its opening weekend. The top five international markets were China ($10.5 million), the UK ($8.5 million), Mexico ($6.6 million), Korea ($5.6 million), and France ($4.7 million).

Critical response

Captain America: Brave New World received mixed reviews from critics, who were divided on the film's story, connections to other MCU projects, and visual effects. The overall reception was also described as unfavorable, negative, and mixed-to-negative. The performances, particularly those of Mackie and Ford, received praise. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 46% of 367 critics gave Brave New World a positive review, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The critics consensus reads, "Anthony Mackie capably takes up Cap's mantle and shield, but Brave New World is too routine and overstuffed with uninteresting Easter eggs to feel like a worthy standalone adventure for this new Avengers leader." Metacritic summarized the critical response as "mixed or average", based on a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 from 56 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, the lowest grade for an MCU film to date, and PostTrak reported a "mixed bag" average rating of three stars out of five.

The political subject matter was a subject of critical commentary. Frank Scheck at The Hollywood Reporter remarked that the scene where Ross transformed into Red Hulk and caused havoc across Washington, D.C. seemed like a fantasy of real-world United States president Donald Trump; David Ehrlich of IndieWire agreed with parallels between Ross and Trump's "Make America Great Again" rhetoric, citing both being gruff old men elevated to office based on the promise of facilitating unity based on dealing with an "alien" threat. The Independent's Adam White said that while Ross / Red Hulk could be interpreted as a Trump pastiche, this was ultimately unlikely as the film refused to establish a political stance, with subplots regarding politics remaining underused. Rolling Stone's David Fear joked that Ross was "somehow still only the second-most destructive, rage-filled commander in chief to ever hold office", and Entertainment Weekly writer Maureen Lee Lenker joked that "the most unbelievable part is a U.S. president with empathy, a sense of responsibility for his actions, and a capacity for change". Brandon Yu of The New York Times wrote that "the only wisps of tangible political intrigue to be found" were either unintended, or from allusions to previous subject matter in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Other commentary concerned the controversial Bat-Seraph character, with PJ Grisar at The Forward writing that the controversy about the character relating to Israel and Gaza did not matter because the film overall was "honestly such a dog's breakfast" in terms of politics and presentation, while /Film's Devin Meenan opined that the character's debut could not have been timed more poorly because of the divisiveness of public opinion inherent in the ongoing conflict.

Accolades

Laura Karpman was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Original Score at the 98th Academy Awards.

Future

In January 2025, Mackie said he wanted to continue portraying Wilson for around 10 years. He was hopeful about making another Captain America film after his roles in the next two Avengers films, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).