Anthony Mackie
Image via Disney

Let’s have a closer look at that Captain America: Brave New World trailer

Diving into the details.

Marvel has finally released the teaser trailer for the first movie in the Captain America series to take place after the retirement of Steve Rogers, Captain America: Brave New World.

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It stars Anthony Mackie as the new Cap, alongside Harrison Ford and Giancarlo Esposito. The film is set to open on February 14, 2025. As for what’s happening in it? Well, let’s take a closer look at the trailer, with spoilers to follow.

Some of the new elements are very obvious. The first one is Anthony Mackie’s Sam “Falcon” Wilson taking over the mantle of Cap in Steve Rogers’ absence. The second is Thunderbolt Ross now being played by Harrison Ford. Yes, that joke about the missing mustache is likely in reference to the recasting of the character after the death of William Hurt, not actually about the mustache itself.

We also see that the Captain will no longer be teaming up with Bucky as he did in the The Falcon and The Winter Soldier TV series. The new Captain will seemingly now be joined by a new partner.

The whole thing is filled with tension from the start, which stems from the uneasy relationship between the newly appointed Captain America and the new President of the United States, General Ross. The whole thing reaches a boiling point when an attempt is made on President Ross’ life.

The film seems to revisit some beats from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, one of the best movies in the MCU, as the main characters deal with a looming threat that likely comes from within.

Giancarlo Esposito's mysterious new character in Captain America
Image via Disney

The trailer puts some emphasis in the character of Giancarlo Esposito. He looks very cool in a role that’s a welcome departure from the character of the soft-speaking, string-pulling bad guy that we’re used to see him playing — even if we still don’t know anything about the character.

Fans theorize that Esposito is playing G.W. Bridge, a badass government operative from the comics, but that’s all still in the realm of speculation. The only thing we know for sure about Esposito’s character is that he was added in reshoots, meaning that he might not play as much of a central role in the story as the trailer seems to indicate.

Mystery man in Captain America
Image via Disney

There’s also this lurking-in-the-shadows type of figure that the trailer leads us to believe might be the bad guy in charge. Is this the film’s main villain? Maybe, but I’m leaning towards him just being a red herring, considering what fans of the comics already know about the trailer’s last big reveal.

Red Hulk in Captain America
Image via Disney

That’s the Red Hulk, a character from the comics who’s pretty much like the regular Hulk, but even stronger. Big spoilers ahead: If the ripped suit pants and the grey hair aren’t enough of a dead giveaway, let me tell you that the Red Hulk in the comics is actually President Ross himself. Yes, the same man who spent his entire life trying to end the original Hulk. I don’t know if he’ll be the main antagonist of the film, but that seems to make sense — and will certainly make for a spectacular final showdown.


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Author
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Tiago Manuel
Tiago is a freelancer who used to write about video games, cults, and video game cults. He now writes for Destructoid in an attempt to find himself on the winning side when the robot uprising comes.