An anonymous source at Captain America: Brave New World's $180 million budget putting pressure on its box office projections, Marvel's fourth Captain America movie must fare well with audiences and critics in order to help the Marvel Cinematic Universe progress swiftly toward its projects.
As reported by Vulture, an anonymous member of the Captain America: Brave New World crew revealed it was clear that the movie was headed in a bad direction early on. According to the crew member, there were "a lot of frustrations on set," as action sequences didn't work out, entire scenes and characters were cut and added back in, and test screenings failed to capture audiences. Besides extensive reshoots, Marvel reportedly had to settle on a script that features awkward parallels to delicate real-world issues. This anonymous source also expresses disappointment in Harrison Ford's attitude on set, as the veteran actor allegedly created a "very awkward work environment" because he "seemed like he hated it and didn’t want to do it." Read the full report below:
"I worked on the reshoots. I think everyone on the crew knew this is probably not going to be a good film. Some of the action sequences were not believable. We had a lot of frustrations on set. After principal photography was finished, it was like, “Oh, we’re going to introduce the leader of the Serpent Society.” It was on, then it was off, then it was on again. That’s very expensive to do. My co-workers who spent more time on Brave New World than I did said, “Yeah, this has been a really rough production.”
When the studio had its test in front of an audience, it didn’t respond. Maybe they don’t want to see anything political in an election year? Maybe they were divided on who they were voting for? General Ross reads as an allusion to Trump. He’s this very powerful general who becomes kind of a fascist and turns into a raging Red Hulk. This is my opinion, but I think Disney was realizing, Hey, we’ve been bleeding for a while. Let’s try not to piss off our core base any more than we have been over the last couple of years. They know you’re going to lose a lot of your audience that way.
People are conspiracy theorists. Some people think the original title New World Order means “Jews run the world” — and now there’s a war going on. It’s like, all these things that were not predicted [when Cap 4 was given the production green-light] were coming to fruition: Trump, the war in Gaza, the tension in America right now.
Harrison Ford was one of the crankiest performers I ever dealt with. Which was sad. I’m a fan. But he was very much a diva. I don’t know if you , but he got in a plane crash. He couldn’t even raise his left arm above his chest. We have to suit up 80-something Harrison Ford in these motion-capture dots. To me, it seemed like he hated it and didn’t want to do it. And when Harrison was done, he was done. Everyone was trying to scramble to make him happy. That made for a very awkward work environment.
Reshoots are a part of making any movie like this with a big budget. But this isn’t Marvel’s first rodeo. Entire sequences we shot won’t make it into the film, and that’s very expensive. I’m not going to say the director was not equipped to handle that production. Basically, dealing with A-list egos was the issue. It was mainly just Harrison Ford. So that was a little disappointing. At the end of the day, it was the most tense Marvel shoot I’ve ever worked on. Everyone kind of felt their buttholes tightening a little bit. It’s like, Ugh.
What The Captain America: Brave New World Set Report Means
Captain America 4 Has Dealt With Too Many Variables
It's precisely Captain America: Brave New World's ambitious plot elements that seem to have presented numerous challenges. The MCU's fourth Captain America installment tackled a government conspiracy from the start, and the subtitle "New World Order" alluded to this theme. When negative reactions to Captain America: Brave New World's original subtitle pointed out its unintended connotations, Marvel had to find a less sensitive alternative. Ruth Bat-Seraph's introduction in Captain America: Brave New World was also a bold decision, as the character didn't seem like an essential addition to the film and instead stirred up controversy due to her comic book origins.
Where To Watch Captain America: Brave New World: Showtimes & Streaming Status
After several years of development and the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America: Brave New World is finally here.
Captain America: Brave New World's constant reshoots and script changes required characters to be dropped and restored, leading to Seth Rollins' abrupt exit and Giancarlo Esposito's last-minute casting as Seth Voelker a.k.a. Sidewinder. And while Harrison Ford's recasting as President Ross following William Hurt's ing was smooth, it sounds like Ford didn't gel well with the whole crew. Continuing an unfortunate MCU trend, Captain America: Brave New World's many behind-the-scenes changes seem to have kept the production from focusing on technical quality.
Our Take On The Captain America: Brave New World Set Report
Marvel May Need To Establish Firm Plans And Reliable Strategies To Avoid Chaotic Productions
Luck is always a key factor in a movie's success, and its role in previous projects' positive results is often overlooked. Nevertheless, Marvel movies are so big at this point that behind-the-scenes setbacks can quickly snowball into serious problems. Although script changes and reshoots are an expected part of a blockbuster's production, Marvel's high degree of narrative flexibility might be playing against the studio, as projects become disted and crews have little time to work on their scripts, action scenes, editing, visual effects, and other essential technical elements when plans change back and forth.
Why Sam Wilson Is Captain America Now In The MCU
While Steve Rogers is Marvel's original Captain America, Sam Wilson is the only character to hold the title officially in the MCU in the present day.
To avoid these difficulties, Marvel may need to design more focused productions from the development stage, as well as prepare back-up plans for every major part of the production that could go wrong. For instance, having a contingency plan in case the current saga's overarching villain falls through could help Marvel avoid another Kang the Conqueror situation after Phase 6, and ensuring each project works just as well with different sets of secondary characters might help future MCU movies avoid Captain America: Brave New World's Serpent Society reshoots. In a more cohesive production, directors, choreographers, editors, and VFX artists have more time to perfect their craft. Tension between cast and crew is a more complex matter, however, and strategies to prevent it may vary.
Source: Vulture
Captain America: Brave New World
- Release Date
- February 14, 2025
- Runtime
- 118 minutes
- Director
- Julius Onah
Cast
Sam Wilson / Captain America
Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross / Red Hulk
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Dalan Musson, Malcolm Spellman
- Prequel(s)
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Franchise(s)
- Captain America, Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Studio(s)
- Marvel Studios
- Distributor(s)
- Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
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