Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World soars into theaters this weekend, and with it comes the next chapter in the adventure of the Star-Spangled Man.
The new film continues the story of Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie), as he battles enemies both home and abroad as the new high-flying Captain America. Wilson also has to deal with the newly-elected President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (played by Harrison Ford) and his bright red alter ego.
Nate Moore, producer of the film, is excited for audiences to see it, noting that one of the reasons to see Brave New World in theaters is because “as much as it is a grounded tale about Sam Wilson grappling with being Captain America, it also has some of our most stunning visual effects and action sequences to date.”
“I’m not sure there is anything like the shared experience of seeing a film with an audience, together, projected on a big screen,” he said. “As much as technology has brought a lot of these stories into our homes, or even into our hands with the phones that we look at constantly, to be able to put your phone down, sit with friends, and to see images projected larger than life in front of you really allows yourself to be immersed into the story.”
We spoke with Moore about the new film, the evolution of the Captain America franchise, and what it was like to have Disney Legend Harrison Ford join the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
There’s been multiple Captain America films. What makes this one different?
It’s the first time we’ve had a Captain America who is not a super-solider, which is what I think makes the character Sam Wilson so interesting. He can’t rely on his incredible strength or stamina like Steve Rogers could, he has to rely on his humanity and the way that he connects with people to solve the problems of this movie. I think in some ways that makes this film the most grounded Captain America film we’ve ever made — which is ironic to say considering there is a Red Hulk in the middle of it — but it really is about people, and how Sam can solve the problems that people have in this movie to diffuse a global situation.
The Falcon is a character you’ve followed for most of your time at Marvel. What makes the character special to you?
The new Falcon, much like Sam is taking a step up into the role of Captain America, Joaquin Torres — who we met briefly in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — gets to try out the moniker of the Falcon. What I think is cool about the Falcon is that even back in Winter Soldier he gets to be a true partner to Captain America, he gets to be a friend beyond a comrade, or a brothers-in-arms. I think the dynamic between Sam and Joaquin is like that, kind of for the first time of mentor-mentee, but also Joaquin gets to serve to some degree as Sam’s conscience in the movie. It’s really interesting because I think the Marvel heroes who resonate the most with audiences are the ones who are the most human and their relationship I feel like is incredibly grounded in a dynamic that most audiences can recognize.
Harrison Ford is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What does his inclusion mean for Marvel both in story and from an external perspective?
From a story perspective Harrison Ford joining the MCU as Thaddeus Ross allows us to complete the arc of a character that started back in The Incredible Hulk. Thaddeus Ross has always been sort of a hard case obsessed with Hulks, and over the course of his time in the MCU we’ve gotten to see different sides of him, whether that be the Secretary of State version in Civil War or the man who is chasing Natasha across the globe in Black Widow. But what’s interesting about Thaddeus Ross in this movie is he’s trying to come to grips with how the actions of his past have affected how he’s perceived in the present, including his relationship with his daughter Betty Ross. Getting to see this character kind of come full circle from that first film and to some degree — no spoiler here — become the thing that he hated the most in the beginning is really interesting and I think gave Harrison something really cool to play.
And look, as far as Harrison Ford the man, whenever you get to work with a Hollywood icon there is something special about that. And he is as advertised: he is charismatic, he is funny, he is an incredibly hard worker, and I think he brought new facets to the character that we didn’t even see on the page, so we couldn’t be more excited to have him join the MCU.
What do you hope audiences take away from the new film?
This movie thematically, to some degree, is about finding common ground with people who are different from you, or who have had different experiences that have led them on trajectories that are not healthy. What I think the movie wants to be about is finding the common ground with people you don’t agree with, and I think Sam Wilson, who started in the MCU as a counselor, is the right character to deliver that message, if there is such a thing. So I think if people take away that theme that we’re more the same than different, but also have a really good time watching action sequences that are unlike anything they’ve ever seen before, that would be the perfect sweet spot for this film.