Julius Onah hopes ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ provides audiences with an “escape”.
The 42-year-old filmmaker has helmed the new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie that sees Anthony Mackie play the hero for the first time but has urged fans not to read too much into the story amid the current political and cultural divisions in the US. The film marks the fourth Captain America installment in the MCU franchise.
“Telling the story was about creating something that the audience can have a blast with across the world,” Julius told Deadline. “We’ve got a guy flying around with Vibranium wings against a guy who’s the Red Hulk. This is meant to be two hours where you get to escape from everything else. So, I really wanted to have fun telling this story. I really wanted this story to have heart, and that’s really what I leaned into with this cast and crew.” The film features groundbreaking special effects, with over 2,500 VFX shots.
Meanwhile, Anthony described his alter ego Sam Wilson’s rise to Captain America as the definition of the “American dream”. Mackie’s portrayal marks a historic moment as the first African American actor to take on the titular role in the franchise’s history.
“I think the great thing about this movie is, Marvel gave us the best script with the best cast, with the best team, to make the best movie we could. And I’m proud of it,” the ‘Twisted Metal’ actor said. “I’m proud of who Sam Wilson has become in this universe, and watching him grow from a guy who just went to take a jog to Captain America is honestly the American Dream.” The actor underwent six months of intensive training for the role.
‘Captain America: Brave New World‘ is Onah’s first experience directing a superhero blockbuster and he admits it was the realisation of a dream to be behind the camera on such a huge movie. The production involved over 1,000 crew members across multiple international locations.
“What’s so exciting about making a movie is that it’s about the life in front of the camera. When you have a cast as talented as Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford, you are working with some of the best performers on the planet,” he said. “There was never a moment making this movie when I was like, oh, wow I don’t feel ready to be here. It has been a lifetime of wanting to do something like this. From a storytelling, acting and performance standpoint, and from a technical standpoint, I felt really excited and prepared to tackle something like this. I’m eager to continue to find ways to combine performance and technology to tell stories.” The film features Harrison Ford in his MCU debut.
Julius was also grateful for the chance to work on the flick with Marvel stalwarts Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Both producers have been instrumental in shaping the MCU’s successful formula over the past decade.
“It was an incredible learning opportunity, a great chance to lean on these amazing people who welcomed my point of view in terms of how I wanted to tell the story both from a genre standpoint, how I wanted to use the camera very specifically, how I wanted things to work from a music and visual effects standpoint,” the ‘Luce’ director said. “I’m really grateful to all of them, especially to Nate Moore and Kevin Feige, they were such great partners on this.” The film’s score was composed by an award-winning team and recorded with a 100-piece orchestra.
The movie represents a significant milestone in both Marvel’s evolution and Onah’s career, bringing fresh perspectives to the beloved franchise while maintaining its core entertainment value. Early test screenings have reportedly generated positive buzz among audiences.
