It’s here! The first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World has arrived! Coming to theaters on February 14, 2025, this will be Anthony Mackie’s big-screen debut as Captain America. He took on the mantle in the Disney+ series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and he’s on his own adventure in the new trailer, which is packed with both action and political intrigue on par with the series.
This is the fourth installment in the Captain America movie series, making it the first MCU solo franchise to make it to four movies–even if Civil War felt like an Avengers movie.
As mentioned, Mackie takes on the titular role, with Harrison Ford taking on the role of Thaddeus Ross (originally played by the late William Hurt), Giancarlo Esposito in a role that has yet to be revealed, Tim Blake Nelson returning as Samuel Sterns, Rosa Salazar as Diamondback, Shira Haas as Sabra (a mutant in the comic books), Danny Remariez as Joaquin Toress, and Colby Lopez (WWE’s Seth Rollins) as an unknown character at the time of this writing.
Brave New World is directed by Julius Onah (Luce) and is written by Dalan Musson (The Falcon and The Winter Solider), Matthew Orton (Moon Knight), and Malcolm Spellman (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier).
There is a lot going on in this trailer, as it’s the first one we’ve seen. So we’re breaking down every moment that gives us more insight into the film and digging in deep to some of the comic-book Easter eggs that we’ve spotted while watching the trailer over and over again. Let’s get started.
1. Into the White House
Within the stories of Captain America in the comic books, he’s worked alongside the American government, and sometimes, against the government. Captain America is a hero for the people, and sometimes, the American government doesn’t work for the people.
We have already seen Cap working alongside the government and against it. From the opening shot, it feels like we’re getting a Cap who is working with the government.
2. Thunderbolt for President
Harrison Ford takes on the role as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. The mustached William Hurt played that role as a General in The Incredible Hulk (2008), and as Secretary of State in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Black Widow (2021). Sadly, Hurt passed away in 2022.
Ford is playing the character Thaddeus Ross in the upcoming Captain America film, and while the famed mustache is gone he says, “Lose the mustache or lose the election.” When the film begins, Ross is the newly-elected President of the United States.
3. An offer from Ross
Steve Rogers as Captain America stood for the greater good of humanity, even if that meant standing up against world leaders. Sam Wilson has also been at odds with government officials, following Steve’s lead. Ross says, “You and I haven’t always agreed in the past. But I want to make another run at making Captain America an official military position.”
The last time we saw this happen was during the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where war veteran John Walker took over the Captain America mantle, working with the US government. Walker’s anger issues, PTSD, and arrogance didn’t make him the suitable candidate, and Wilson took over the role as Captain America. Of course, not before Walker beat someone to death with Captain America’s iconic shield in public.
4. What if we disagree?
During Ross’s proposal for Cap working with the government, Wilson asks, “And if we disagree with how to manage a situation, then what happens?” Eventually, Ross says, “Work with me, Sam”–but that happens in a later scene.
Wilson has every right to be skeptical because Ross hasn’t been the friendliest person to superheroes throughout his time in the MCU.
5. Who is Giancarlo Esposito playing?
During the conversation between Ross and Wilson, there’s the first glimpse at Esposito’s character. But who is this character? At the time of this writing, we still don’t know.
Who could he be playing, though? Because there have been characters already cast with deep connections to Serpent Society (A cheesy, snake-themed Marvel villain group), Esposito could be playing Sidewinder, the creator and leader of that group–considering how much screentime he gets in the trailer. The Captain America movies have done a great job at taking cheesy villains and making them into credible threats (See Batroc, Hydra, Arnim Zola). A reimagining of Sidewinder being the leader of a group attacking the US government as mercenaries isn’t out of the question.
There’s also rumors that Esposito is playing G.W. Bridge, who breaks out of the world of X-titled books, first appearing in X-Force #1. He’s a member of the mercenary group Six Pack, which actually includes former Serpent Society members. Other members of that group included Domino, Cable, and Deadpool–characters we’ve all seen in the Deadpool movies.
Could Marvel finally be bridging the gap in the MCU between the superheroes and mutants? Here’s to hoping so.
6. Wilson teams up
In a brief scene, we see Ross applauding with others and pointing toward Wilson, who sits and nods, with almost no emotion.
7. What’s up with this map?
While Ross seemingly introduces the world to Sam Wilson as Captain America. There’s a map with a bunch of places highlighted. We have no clue why it is highlighted, but we’ll take some guesses/
Let’s figure it all out:
Yellow highlighted areas, seem to be countries: United States and FranceWhite highlights (Estimated locations for cities): Reykjavik, Iceland; Funchal, Portugal; Coimbra, Portugal; Ben Garde, Tunisia; Liberic, Czechia; there’s only next to the right of the bald man that I can’t place; Mandalay, Myanmar (Really not sure about this one, but that’s the general area); and Davao, Philippines or Guam (Unsure about this due to the warping of the map).White highlights with arrows, which also seem to be cities: Malung, Sweden; Kyiv, Ukraine; Tirin Kut, Afghanistan (Kabal seems to far off when compared to the map); and the one in the upper-right-hand, and it’s the toughest to place. Maybe it’s Ilirney, Russia?
In case you’re wondering, The African country highlighted is Tunsi. It’s not Wakanda because that country borders Kenya and Ethiopia, not near where the pinpoint on the African country is highlighted.
As for Sokovia, that’s located by Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It doesn’t seem like that’s highlighted on the map because the eastern European country in question looks like Ukraine.
8. Isaiah Bradley is back
We were first introduced to Bradley in The Falcon in Winter Soldier. He was the first human to survive the Super Soldier experiment–before Captain America. It’s no secret that he’s not a fan of the American government, due to the experiments done to him, so wanting to shoot American or world leaders isn’t too far off. This is especially true when there’s a bunch of highlighted cities on a hologram map, which may be targets for attack. Although, this could also be mind control, since there’s a connection to that and the Super Soldier Program, as seen with the Winter Soldier.
9. Ross’s inner-circle
Wilson explains to Ross that his inner circle has been compromised, after we see some attacks on Ross. Prior to this is when we see Bradley shoot at what we’re led to believe is Ross. What if Bradley was shooting someone working to kill Ross?
What if members of Serpent Society or Six Pack (If you believe the latter is part of the movie) have infiltrated the government? It seems like they’re taking from the Hydra playbook? Could this be an off-shoot of Hydra? There’s a lot of questions here without any definitive answers.
10. Who is this guy?
We see Wilson with the Captain America shield walking slowly down a hallway, with someone else watching from the rear. Because of the lighting in the room, it’s hard to place who it is. It’s certainly not WWE’s Rollins. This could be actor Danny Ramirez, who plays Joaquin Torres/The Falcon in the upcoming movie. It’s revealed after this scene who it is, but we’re going moment-to-moment with this, so hold tight.
In the comics, after Wilson becomes Captain America, Sam discovers a mad scientist named Karl Malus–who works with a white supremacist group called Sons of the Serpent–is running experiments on Joaquin to use Redwing (an actual bird in the comics) to make Torres a human/bird hybrid creature. Torres eventually becomes The Falcon after he’s saved. And yes, The Serpent Society is also involved in all of this.
11. The mad scientist theory is holding up well
We get a quick shot of a laboratory, and there’s a chair with straps to keep the person put there contained, and the same goes for the table to the right of said seat. Lots of the tech in the room seems dated, so this room could have been around for a while.
12. It is Torres
After the mad scientist scene, we get a better shot of the person Wilson was walking with, and it’s Danny Ramirez. He asks, “What if it’s a trap?” We’re unsure of the context, but he could be referring to the laboratory they went to in the earlier scene or something else to come.
13. Superhero pose!
This is the first moment we get to see Wilson as Cap fighting some bad guys, and of course, he does the classic MCU superhero pose. It’s unknown who he’s fighting, but it’s safe to assume it’s the group we saw earlier, with Esposito leading them.
14. Cap and the government
Based on Sam’s outfit, this scene takes place earlier in the movie. It features Wilson, Ross, and an unknown character. Given that Ross is a newly elected president, there’s a good chance the man on the left is the Vice President.
15. A fight in the laboratory
After discovering the laboratory mentioned earlier, Wilson gets into a fight with two men carrying weapons, one of whom is wearing a patch of what seems like a backward American flag. Members of the American military wear the flag like this on their right shoulder. That does have a meaning. The stars on the flag must be to your right if you’re looking directly at it, with the stripes following it, as if the American flag was being carried into battle. It’s a sign of a military professional.
16. Esposito’s character blows things up
Here’s a better shot of Esposito’s character. It’s an indication that compared to other soldiers in this trailer, this person doesn’t seem to be affiliated with the US government. Also, he seems totally unphased that a car behind him is blowing up, which is the true sign of a villain.
17. White House down
Is it a big action movie without a monument being destroyed? The way the trailer is set up, the scene prior is Cap throwing his shield, then the White House is destroyed. The chances of that actually happening are nil. There’s a fiery explosion in the shot, so something else blew up the White House. Cap stands for freedom and the American way, and that usually doesn’t mean destroying one the most famous houses in the country… unless the house is haunted by the Red Skull or something… but he’s on Vormir.
18. This looks rad
Nothing really to take away from this. Redwing is still a part of Wilson’s arsenal. The suit, from behind, looks so cool.
19. A new Falcon?
In the comics, the previously mentioned Torres becomes the new Falcon. Very briefly, we see a shot of two flying individuals. That means there’s a new Falcon. Hopefully, this isn’t a Winter Soldier situation where Torres is brainwashed or the twist is Torres is behind it all and is the true villain of the movie. Many people would probably just want heroes, with Wilson training the next generation.
They’re flying together in the shot, so they’re probably working together.
20. Red Hulk is here!
No spoilers here. Also, for those familiar with the comics, don’t ruin the possibility of who the Red Hulk is, please? If you don’t know about Red Hulk and want to keep this a mystery, don’t even Google “Red Hulk,” as the mystery of who the character is in the comics is ruined right away.
In 2008, the Hulk comic had a new volume, and right off of the bat, we’re introduced to Red Hulk. Who the Red Hulk actually is was a huge mystery that was later revealed. There’s a chance Brave New World could follow the books.
We catch our first glimpse of the character right at the end of the trailer, and the big red monster is smashing Cap’s shield into the ground. It is unknown at this time as to the identity of who the Red Hulk is, but many comic fans know who it is–again, if this story follows the comics.
