PUBLISHED ONNovember 21, 2024 6:47 AMByYeo Shu HuiMarvel star Anthony Mackie knew about his fate as the next Captain America not because he was told by the production team, but through a "leak" from previous Captain America actor Chris Evans.
AsiaOne attended the Disney APAC Content Showcase held at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre yesterday (Nov 20), where the 46-year-old, who is set to appear as the titular superhero in next year's Captain America: Brave New World, revealed to Asian media: "Marvel didn't tell me. Most of the things in the Marvel Universe comes from leaks with friends you worked with."
He shared that he was at Chris' home watching football one day when they were filming Avengers: Civil War (2016), when the latter popped the question: "Have you read the new script?"
When Anthony responded that he hadn't, 43-year-old Chris "grabbed" him and they ran to his basement, where he was given the last two pages of the Avengers: Endgame (2019) script to read.
"When I read it, we just hugged each other and jumped around in circles, that's was how I learnt about it," Anthony told the media.
He also shared that it was "exciting" to be able to play such an iconic role.
Anthony plays Sam Wilson aka Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and also recently in the Disney+ miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021).
Chris plays Steve Rogers aka Captain America, and at the end of Avengers: Endgame, Steve returns the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to their proper timelines and remains in the past to live with his love Peggy Carter. In the present time, an elderly Steven passes his shield to Sam.
Anthony added: "I have been in the Universe for 10 years now and have been in over 10 of these movies, so to have Sam Wilson start off where he grew into Captain America is very unique, no other character in the cinematic universe has that experience. He has the ability to not only honour his country, but honour his friend Steve Rogers."
From the series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to the silver screen as Captain America, Anthony shared that he is "very happy to be back".
He said that filming a television series is very different from filming a movie, where the filming duration is longer — about six to seven months — and there's much more invested work. He is glad to return to filming a movie, where "life is easy and quiet".
On Sam, who is a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counsellor, becoming Captain America, Anthony shared that the former has come a long way and now has more responsibilities.
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"He is still a counsellor and a servicer to soldiers but at the same time now, he is a leader of his community and country, it's the same skill, just on a different level," he said.
Anthony was also asked how different his Captain America is compared to Steve's, and he replied simply: "Well, I don't have the serum."
"If you have the serum, you can fight anybody and you don't have to worry about anything. But if you don't have it, then you have to be smart and engineer different ways of defeating people."
"So with Sam, he uses more of his brains than his muscles. He uses more of his wits than his fist. He is more of a friend to everyone as opposed to a fiend to anyone."
In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Steve was injected with the Super Soldier Serum created by scientist Abraham Erskine to enhance the human body and mind.
When asked what he was most excited for fans to see about Captain America: Brave New World, Anthony said: "I am most excited for y'all to see me kicking a**. I kicked a lot of a**."
He also shared about his new suit, a gift from the country of Wakanda, which allows him to "kick harder, fly faster and gives the ability to be more agile in [his] skills, taking it to a completely different level".
Anthony also shared that if he can choose to play any character in the MCU, he would want to play the Hulk, because it is his favourite character.
"I have always been a Hulk fan. When I was a kid, I used to watch the TV shows, I just always loved the Hulk. I always wondered, 'How come everything came off except Hulk's pants? His shirt, his shoes, everything [came off] but his pants stayed on. I always thought that was weird," he laughed.
"If I could play anybody, I would want to be a really bada** Incredible Hulk."
Captain America: Brave New World centres around Sam who has officially taken up the mantle of the titular hero. After meeting with newly elected US President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
The movie also stars Liv Tyler, Shira Haas, Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson and Xosha Roquemore, and is slated to be released in theatres on Feb 14, 2025.
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