Anthony Mackie To Face An Iconic Marvel Villain In Captain America 4?
Anthony Mackie will face off against a familiar foe when Captain America 4 eventually hits screens. It's a blast from the franchise's past
This article is more than 2 years old
Anthony Mackie is set to take over as Captain America in what represents one of the biggest shifts the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had to date. In fact, it probably just is the biggest change but also points to the new world order when it comes to this massive franchise. Like the comic books on which they are based, there is always going to be turnover in the ranks. So we need to gear up for a new face of Cap. And we are starting to learn about what the future holds, including who Anthony Mackie’s Captain America will be pitted against. We Got This Covered has it that the next villain for this story will be an old face, as it were, with the fight against Red Skull set to resume.
This is all rumor at this point, but it looks like the Red Skull will still come at odds with Captain America in future stories. Considering this is one of the major villains in the Captain America timeline and story arc, it makes some sense to reboot some of the conflict there. That being said, it does feel a little odd to think about Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson taking on this foe considering Red Skull was the antagonist in Captain America: The First Avenger which had Chris Evans in the red, white, and blue.
How Anthony Mackie would get tangled back up with Red Skull remains to be seen. When we last saw the latter he was keeping watch over the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War and then Endgame seeing the demise of both Gamora and Natasha Romanoff as they lost their lives in an effort for others to get hold of the stone. How Red Skull would leave Vormir and reenter the world of the living, so to speak, would involve some hurdles to clear for sure. But seeing as how these are comic book movies we are talking about, nearly everything and anything is on the table.
If the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to begin leaning into new stories and characters then I’m not sure how much sense it makes to have Anthony Mackie fight villains from Steve Rodgers’ past. It would seem too easy to bring the Chris Evans version of Captain America back into the forefront with this scenario, making a harder break from the first version of the character. There risks confusion with just the name being passed from one person to another. Overlapping the stories as well could make things difficult. But maybe that’s part of the overall plan, to make sure the entire universe remains interconnected through thick and thin.
What we do know is that Anthony Mackie is now, definitively, Captain America. That much was established at the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when he finally took the shield, donned the suit, and left no doubt about the future for Sam Wilson. And the announcement of a Captain America 4 wasn’t far behind with Mackie taking over for Evans in the title role.
