At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers hands his iconic shield over to Sam Wilson, cementing Wilson as the new Captain America in the MCU. Fans were eager to see what would come from this development. It was unclear if Sam would get his own film but then he ended up as one of the leads in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which dealt with his struggle to accept his new role in America, as well as his relationship with Bucky Barnes.
Sam then got his own solo film, Captain America: Brave New World, though the fact that it was released in 2025 took away some of the hype. This was six years after he got the shield and four years after we had most recently seen the character. On top of that, the movie had a lot to live up to because the original Captain America films make up one of the best MCU trilogies. In the end, even the fans of Brave New World can admit that it wasn’t up to par with the previous installments.
Critical reception was way down and so was the box office, though that’s not unheard of for the MCU in the 2020s. Still, it certainly felt like a disappointment and there’s actually one core aspect that caused it to miss the mark the way it did.
Brave New World Being An Incredible Hulk Sequel Was A Mistake
Captain America: Brave New World actually works as a sequel to The Incredible Hulk, which was an odd decision. While it’s nice to see a connection to something from so long ago, especially for a film that has always seemed out of place within the franchise, this wasn’t a great selling point. The Incredible Hulk is a solid movie but so many aspects of it have been forgotten over time. Even the two main actors, Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, have only ever appeared in that movie and nowhere else within the MCU to this point.
Even the fans who love The Incredible Hulk weren’t exactly clamoring for a sequel. If there had to be one, it should’ve come much sooner than nearly two decades later and it should’ve been a movie starring Hulk. Turning the fourth Captain America standalone movie into a sequel to a 2008 film wasn’t something anyone wanted. That’s even more true when this Cap movie was the first to feature Sam Wilson in the lead role.
It was basically a case of the MCU setting up Sam Wilson for failure. They put a character who had big shoes to fill into a story that wasn’t all that interesting and that didn’t do justice to what Sam needed to separate himself as a great standalone Cap. Rather than tell an interesting tale that centered around Sam, we had to watch him deal with issues that didn’t seem all that important in 2008. That allowed plenty of people to simply skip this film.
The End Result Was The Worst Captain America Film
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier received solid reviews, though there was a feeling of disappointment with it. While Sam’s arc was well done, you could tell that rewrites harmed the story involving the villain and the John Walker plot got a sloppy ending. Since this was our first look at Sam as Captain America, his next outing needed to be great to truly get him going in the role. Unfortunately, Captain America: Brave New World didn’t deliver what was needed.
In fact, Captain America: Brave New World ranks as the worst Cap movie by a significant margin in almost every category. On Rotten Tomatoes, Captain America: Brave New World sits at a palty 46%. For comparison, The First Avenger is at 80%, while The Winter Soldier and Civil War both hold a 90% rating. No other MCU series has a drop as drastic as that. Even the Thor trilogy, which has an obvious best installment in Thor: Ragnarok, ranges from 64% to 93%.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was also a recent MCU flop that nearly matched this Cap drop, going from 87% at the trilogy’s highest point to 46% for its lowest. This Cap film also grossed the lowest amount since the 2011 iteration, before the MCU had established itself as a box office king. With a misfire on both a commercial and critical level, that puts Captain America: Brave New World as one of the low points for the MCU. In fact, its Rotten Tomatoes score is tied for the worst in the entire MCU.
Brave New World’s Failure Hurts Avengers: Doomsday
The poor response to Captain America: Brave New World wasn’t just a disappointment for Sam Wilson and the film itself, but it hurt the larger MCU as well. For example, the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday is certainly highly anticipated but that doesn’t feel like it has anything to do with Captain America. Previous Avengers films, especially Avengers: Endgame, had a lot riding on how much fans had invested in Steve Rogers.
The MCU did a great job of establishing who Steve was, making us love him, and ensuring that he felt like the leader of the team. That was a tall task, given the popularity of Iron Man and the strength of Hulk and Thor. Going into Avengers: Doomsday, Sam doesn’t feel like a character who is a leader. The comics version could but on the big screen, the MCU hasn’t developed Sam into the kind of leader the franchise needs.
It has been hinted at that Sam will have his own team in Avengers: Doomsday alongside the Avengers in the public eye (the former Thunderbolts), the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. His squad will likely include Thor, Black Panther, and Ant-Man, but after Captain America: Brave New World, it’s hard to believe that this Cap should be in charge over the likes of Thor, Hulk, and even Shuri. Had Captain America: Brave New World been great and given Sam something to establish himself as a true leader, his role in Avengers: Doomsday would be more exciting.
- Release Date
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February 14, 2025
- Runtime
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118 minutes
- Director
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Julius Onah
