The latest installment into Marvel Studios' star-spangled franchise,Captain America: Brave New World, continues a Marvel storytelling pattern that has been persistent for over a decade. Just asCaptain America: The Winter Soldiercontinued the stories of both Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff or howThor: Ragnarokdivided time between the god of thunder and Bruce Banner,Brave New Worldcontinues Sam Wilson’s leading man arcwhile also bow-tying 17-year-old stories fromThe Incredible Hulk.
The Incredible Hulkhas largely been treated as the ugly duckling of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Edward Norton-led origin story was ignored by the greater universe’s canonafter Norton left the roleand was replaced by Mark Ruffalo. That changed in 2016 when William Hurt reprised his role as Thaddeus Ross inCaptain America: Civil War, the first actor fromThe Incredible Hulkto return to the MCU.
Ross,now played by Harrison Ford, returns again forCaptain America: Brave New World, and he is joined by fellowThe Incredible Hulkalumni Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson).ScreenRantspoke with veteran Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore to discuss whyCaptain America: Brave New Worldwas the right film torevisitThe Incredible Hulk’s numerous scrapped storylines.
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Captain America: Brave New World’s reliance onThe Incredible Hulklore all boils down to Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.
“Honestly, the bulk of it was because we knew this film was going to have Thaddeus Rossbecome the new president,“Marvel producer Nate Moore explained.“We like the idea of Captain America being put on opposite sides of issues from the President of the United States, the leader of the country that he represents, and we like the idea of Thaddeus Ross sort of continuing the arc from Civil War where he was Secretary of State.”
Ross stands as one of Marvel’s most tenured characters. As Moore detailed, he began his journey in the year that the MCU was born and has worked his way up the political ladder to take on the most powerful non-superhero position in the world.
“You’re starting to explore Thaddeus Ross and maybe some of the things that he wishes he could take back, including thedestruction of his relationship with his daughter,“Moore continued, alluding to the rift between Thaddeus and Betty at the end ofThe Incredible Hulk. “Then we went, what else is back there? What else could we do? And I think that Sam Wilson sees President Ross in a certain light. I think Betty has a certain relationship with her father, andI think Samuel Sterns has an opinionabout Ross as well.”
“It was less about revisiting [The Incredible Hulk] specifically and more about building out the world of the new President Ross and exploring sort of where he was and where he is now.”
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Regardless of the various MCU films thatBrave New Worldattempts to address, it still remains a Captain America story at its core, this time with Sam Wilson embodying the star-spangled man.
“I will say part of why we feel so confident in Sam Wilson is that he has been with Steve for so long that he understands what taking the mantle means, right?“Moore explained.“If you think about it, he was with Steve in The Winter Soldier and Civil War. He was on the run with Steve. He was an Avenger with Steve.
To us, it feels like the natural progression for the character.
“He more than anyone understands what it takes to be Captain America and hey, the man himself, Steve Rogers, gave Sam the shield. So, to us, it feels like the natural progression for the character.”
And as for where that natural progression goes from here, Wilson’s next order of business will be linking back up withEarth’s Mightiest Heroes inAvengers: Doomsday. Outside of the team-ups, Moore admitted that Marvel’s ambition is to launch a newCaptain Americatrilogy with Anthony Mackie at the helm.
“Yeah, I think so. That’s the hope, right? We never want to count our chickens before they hatch,“Moore said.“I do think, again, if audiences feel like we’ve done our jobs, there’s opportunities for a ton more stories to tell with Sam Wilson as Captain America.”
Captain America: Brave New World
Cast
Captain America: Brave New World (formerly titledNew World Order)marks Sam Wilson’s first MCU big-screen appearance as Steve Rogers' successor after receiving the suit and shield in Phase 4’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Anthony Mackie returns as the titular Avenger alongside Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Carl Lumby as Isaiah Bradley, and Tim Blake Nelson as The Incredible Hulk’s former ally Samuel Sterns. Harrison Ford makes his MCU debut replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross.After meeting President Thaddeus Ross, Sam is caught in a global crisis. He must expose the mastermind behind a sinister plot before the world descends into turmoil. Captain America: Brave New World marks the big-screen debut of Sam Wilson as Captain America, and Harrison Ford makes his MCU debut, replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross.
