Captain America: Brave New World's Title Change And Reshoots Addressed By Marvel Executive And Anthony Mackie

By Nicolas Ayala

Published Dec 20, 2024

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Captain America star Anthony Mackie, Red Hulk actor Harrison Ford, and Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore explain the reason why the Captain America: Brave New World's villains had been revealed, but the sequel's first title already hinted at its political themes.

Speaking to Empire, Marvel Studios executive Nate Moore addresses Captain America: Brave New World's original subtitle. According to Moore, Marvel never intended to represent real-world issues. Instead, "New World Order" simply referred to the in-universe conflict Captain America finds himself in when Harrison Ford's US President Ross gets involved in a fictional conspiracy. Harrison Ford also weighs in, joking that no real-life President has turned into a Hulk yet. Read the Captain America: Brave New World team's comments below:

Nate Moore: "I think New World Order' was a title we thought was really interesting, and sort of moody and scary. And to be quite honest, some of the we got, internally and externally, was that that phrase has, unfortunately, been co-opted in the real world in a way that made people uncomfortable. We never try to tell stories that feel ripped from the headlines. The best we can do is try and anchor our stories in a world that feels real. And sometimes fiction and non-fiction line up in unexpected and unintended ways."

Harrison Ford: "Any resemblance to US Presidents living or dead is entirely coincidental, in other words. So far, we have not had a President who can transform into a Hulk. We have not faced these kinds of circumstances in our political life, although we've had enough of a glimpse of the range of political life to realize that we could really end up in a political Marvel movie. But that's not what this is about. This is about one man trying to deal with his own history, with his own temperament, with his own circumstances."

Captain America star Anthony Mackie also clarifies that Captain America: Brave New World's reshoots didn't modify the movie's plot in any major way. Mackie recalls attending similar reshoot processes for every previous MCU project he has participated in. Mackie states:

"It wasn't retooled at all. Every Marvel movie I've done has done reshoots, so it's not retooling or remaking. You basically get the movie and the story you want, you edit it together, then go back and shoot a few more scenes."

What Nate Moore's Captain America 4 Comments Mean

The MCU's Captain America 4 Never Intended To Address Specific Real-World Events

Due to unfortunate coincidences, a few characters and plotlines in the MCU's fourth Captain America installment accidentally resembled real-world events too closely, and the "New World Order" subtitle appeared to have additional connotations. While the film likely didn't make any major changes to its plot at any point during filming or post-production, its subtitle had to be changed in order to avoid further controversy. As Nate Moore and Harrison Ford explain, Captain America: Brave New World's events are purely fictional.

Our Take On Nate Moore's Captain America 4 Comments

Captain America 4's Political Themes Would Always Create Parallels With The Real World

It's no secret that many of the MCU's stories are based on real-life issues, to varying degrees. For instance, Iron Man updated Tony Stark's superhero origin with a modern take on the titular industrialist, contextualizing the near-death experience that created Iron Man in 2008 Afghanistan. Captain America: The Winter Soldier delved much deeper into real-world issues like government surveillance and preemptive terrorism intervention. "Captain America: New World Order" aimed to employ the general themes of political deception and interference, but it didn't aim to uncover a specific real-life conspiracy.

Split image of captain america looking calm and red hulk roaring in brave new world

I'm Even More Excited For Captain America Vs Red Hulk In Brave New World After Marvel Director's Recent Comments

Captain America: Brave New World director, Julius Onah, has recently commented on how Cap will fare against Red Hulk - and I'm now doubly excited.

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It may be impossible for Captain America stories to avoid political undertones due to the very nature of the mantle, both in Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, each story adds different amounts of sci-fi fanfare that makes its fictional nature clear to readers and viewers. From Red Skull to Red Hulk, Captain America's villains give Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson a clear superpowered enemy figure to defeat before the credits roll. This time around, Captain America: Brave New World's conspiracy centers around President Ross' transformation into Red Hulk, with a less physically powerful and more sinister supervillain pulling the strings from the shadows.

Source: Empire