‘Captain America: Brave New World’ director Julius Onah is proud of his work on the superhero movie. The film represents the fourth installment in the Captain America franchise, which has grossed over $2.2 billion worldwide.
The upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster will be the cinematic introduction of Anthony Mackie’s Captain America – after Chris Evans departed as the star-spangled superhero in 2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’ – and the 41-year-old filmmaker has teased ‘Brave New World’ will stay faithful to the previous ‘Captain America’ trilogy’s “incredibly relatable” and “grounded” nature. Evans’ portrayal of Steve Rogers spanned eight years and seven films.
“What’s been so great about the Cap movies, in the corner that they have in the universe, is they’ve operated as these incredibly relatable, grounded thrillers, right?” Onah said speaking with Fandango. The Captain America franchise has consistently received critical acclaim, with the previous trilogy averaging 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘The Cloverfield Paradox’ director explained Mackie’s alter ego Sam Wilson is at the heart of the movie’s reliability and promises the character would be an “earthy, grounded Captain America”. Mackie has been part of the MCU since 2014’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’.
“I think it’s so important for a film like this when you have somebody like Sam Wilson at the center. This is a guy who is an earthy, grounded Captain America,” he said. The character’s journey from Falcon to Captain America has been a significant storyline in both films and Disney+ series.
Onah added Sam Wilson was “someone we can see ourselves in” and “relate to because the choice he made for how he wants to have his role work as Captain America”. The film’s budget is reported to be around $200 million, making it one of Marvel’s most expensive productions.
Reflecting on the movie, the ‘Luce’ filmmaker laid out what his initial goals for ‘Brave New World’s tone and story arc were. The film underwent extensive reshoots in early 2024, adding approximately $50 million to the production budget.
“[It was about] bringing that style, bringing that energy, [and] bringing that sense of danger and vulnerability,” he said. The film features over 1,500 visual effects shots, created by multiple VFX studios worldwide.
Onah turned his attention to ‘Brave New World’s stars Mackie and Danny Ramirez and praised the pair for their unwavering commitment to the blockbuster. The film’s principal photography lasted 120 days, shooting across multiple international locations.
“You know, I got to throw it right back to Anthony, I got to throw it right back to Danny. It is something really, really special that no matter what kind of genre of movie it is as a director, it’s a real treat to hop on set and know that these two guys are going to give it their all, and that’s what they did,” he gushed. Both actors underwent intensive physical training for six months before filming began.
‘Captain America: Brave New World‘ follows Sam Wilson (Mackie) as the new star-spangled man as he and his sidekick Falcon (Ramirez) try to foil a nefarious global plot, before President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) reveals himself as the dreaded Red Hulk. This marks Ford’s first appearance in a superhero film at age 81.
Recently, WWE superstar Seth Rollins revealed his role – which was rumored to be a member of Seth Voelker’s (Giancarlo Esposito) terrorist group Serpent Society – was cut from the movie. The film’s final cut runs approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes.
“[‘Brave New World’] releases in February. I wish it the best, but I am not a part of that film,” Rollins said speaking with interviewer Chris Van Vliet. “[What happened?] Well, does my NDA still apply if I’m not in the film anymore? Truth be told, any answer I gave would only be my opinion on it. The script went through a lot of rewrites and reshoots so what I was there to do, essentially my role got either repurposed or completely erased.” The film went through seven different script revisions during production.
