By the time Captain America: Brave New World premieres in theaters, we will have a solid idea of whether the MCU is on track to rebuild its crumbling reputation (see: pretty much all of Phase Four and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) or if the ship has sunk too far for Anthony Mackie’s cinematic debut as the Sentinel of Liberty to patch things up.
Brave New World will mark the 34th MCU movie and the second half of Phase Five of the Multiverse Saga, sandwiched between The Marvels in November 2023 and Thunderbolts in July 2024. Like every MCU project, the finer details about the sequel to Chris Evans’ trilogy have been kept close to Marvel’s chest, but the addition of several new cast members gives us a better indication of where things are headed.
Harrison Ford will make his MCU debut as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (formerly played by William Hurt). Brave New World will serve as the launching pad into his new role as President of the United States, which ties into his formation of the group of anti-heroes in Thunderbolts. Liv Tyler will also reprise her role as Betty Ross, a character we haven’t seen since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Indeed, given the number of familiar Hulk faces, Captain America 4 might as well be The Incredible Hulk 2.
Brave New World received a shocking update on June 6 when Anthony Mackie revealed on his Instagram that the movie’s old title New World Order had been changed to Brave New World. The decision was likely a result of Marvel wishing to stave off potential backlash for the problematic origins of the term “New World Order.”
Brave New World will serve as a turning point for the MCU, for better or for worse, so it goes without saying that the excitement is high. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait much longer.
What is Captain America: Brave New World’s release date?
It was assumed that Brave New World’s title change would not come with alterations to its release date, but Marvel quickly proved us wrong after announcing a massive calendar shakeup at Disney that pushed Brave New World nearly three months out from its initial premiere, along with Deadpool, Blade, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, Fantastic Four, and more – pretty much the entire Multiverse Saga.
Captain America: Brave New World will now release in theaters on July 26, 2024, instead of May 3, making it the summer blockbuster we wanted all along.
You can expect a heavy dose of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the film, as she is now one of the most important characters in the MCU and likely the cause of several huge changes to come – such as the creation of The Sentry, Thunderbolts, and possibly even the X-Men. As director of the CIA, her influence is far-reaching. Think of her as the more ruthless version of Nick Fury.
Come Brave New World, Marvel will have to contend with several loose ends such as the head of Tiamut the Communicator from Eternals (which is rumored to contain adamantium), the U.S. government’s push to obtain vibranium, and, yes, even the Red Hulk. In fact, here are 8 things Marvel can do with the film to truly resuscitate the MCU.
There’s no doubt Brave New World will be a turning point for the MCU (we hope), and my only response to that is: it’s about dang time.