Anthony Mackie was clearly a popular choice to assume the mantle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America, with fans celebrating something as trivial as the one-month anniversary of Sam Wilson picking up the shield in the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The actor recently claimed that he’d love to remain as the franchise’s star-spangled superhero for the next two decades, but in a new interview, he’s tempered those expectations somewhat. By the time his first solo movie eventually arrives, which more than likely won’t be until late 2023 at the very earliest if not even 2024, Mackie will be in his mid-40s, which is hardly ancient by the standards of blockbuster cinema if we’re being honest. But despite having only just cemented himself as the MCU’s new Captain America, the man who can be found all over every major streaming service with an almost alarming regularity admitted that he doesn’t want to stick around for too long, revealing that even he isn’t keen on the idea of a middle-aged Cap.
“I definitely don’t want to be a 55-year-old Captain America, so I’ve got a solid six to eight years in me.”
Captain America 4 has only been in development for a couple of months, but we’ve already seen the rumor mill go into overdrive about potential plot directions, storylines, villains and much more. Now that Mackie has said he’s only got six to eight years left before he believes he’ll age out of the role, though, he might not even have the time to headline his own trilogy as so many of his contemporaries and predecessors have done in the past.
Then again, Marvel Studios have upwards of 20 projects in various stages of development and production, so there are plenty of opportunities to maximize the franchise’s new Captain America before Mackie thinks his time is up.