One way or another, Marvel’s Captain America movies often become platforms for other heroes. The Winter Soldier focused on Bucky Barnes and a conspiracy within S.H.I.E.L.D. Its follow-up, Civil War, was essentially Avengers 2.5. Both films managed to more or less keep their focus on Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), but with Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson taking the star-spangled mantle into his first solo adventure with Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel is doubling down on its most dubious tradition for the greater good of the franchise.
Brave New World is really a Hulk movie in all but name. The film’s main antagonist is Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford, taking over for the late William Hurt), one of Bruce Banner’s most formidable adversaries. The movie is also bringing more Hulk characters back into the fold: Liv Tyler will reprise her role as Betty Ross, and Tim Blake Nelson, who played friend-turned-villain Samuel Sterns in The Incredible Hulk, is back too. At this point, all that’s missing is the Hulk himself, and according to Mackie, Thaddeus Ross won’t be the only Hulk popping up in the film. Potential spoilers ahead.
The Brave New World cast appeared at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Mackie and Ford addressed the Hulk in the room: Bruce Banner. Though there are plenty of Hulk alums in the upcoming film, Mackie insisted “the events of Hulk and his film don’t pertain to this movie at all.”
That said, the actor also seemingly revealed that more than one Hulk would appear in Brave New World. “When he shows up... not Red Hulk, the other Hulk... when he shows up, his world, his universe, his story, is completely separate from the way we utilize him in our story.”
Mackie’s comments are a little confusing, but they do seem to confirm at least a cameo from Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Brave New World may serve as a soft reboot for the Hulk films: save for a meta joke at their expense, the MCU has never acknowledged those early projects outright, so this could be Marvel’s way of integrating Hulk’s storyline into the larger universe. Fans have been hoping for more Hulk for years — if not a standalone film, then at least a more substantial story — but this may be the closest we get.
Marvel doesn’t have the rights to produce a solo Hulk film, which has kept the character on the sidelines. Knowing a standalone movie was unlikely to ever happen, the studio has developed Bruce Banner with supporting roles. Mark Ruffalo’s potential appearance in Brave New World could be the next step in telling his story, so hopefully he’ll finally get to go toe-to-toe with his arch-nemesis.
The idea of Mackie’s Captain America being forced to share the spotlight is a little frustrating, but at least it would be in service to a neglected Marvel franchise. It’ll be interesting to see how these two worlds collide, and whether Wilson gets the space he needs to breathe.
