There are many reasons to be excited for what Marvel has in store for us in 2025. Daredevil: Born Again is at long last hitting Disney Plus, the Fantastic Four are finally arriving in their very own summer blockbuster, Thunderbolts* offers the MCU’s own take on the Suicide Squad… And let’s not forget Captain America: Brave New World.
The Captain America trilogy is one of the most widely acclaimed and beloved subfranchises in Marvel history, and everyone was hyped beyond belief when Sam Wilson inherited Steve Rogers’ shield in Avengers: Endgame. Then The Falcon and the Winter Soldier came out and paved the way for Captain America 4, marking Anthony Mackie’s first time leading a Marvel movie solo.
Speaking of Solo, Harrison Ford is likewise making his MCU debut in the film as a recast Thaddeus Ross (now president) following the death of former Ross actor William Hurt. There are so many Hulk-adjacent characters also in the mix — like Tim Blake Nelson’s Leader — that the film might as well be The Incredible Hulk 2. Plus, whispers abound that it will introduce the much-anticipated New Avengers lineup. In other words, Cap 4 sounds a bit like every dream the fandom’s ever had put into a blender. So why are we hearing that it’s apparently so bad, Marvel is working furiously to fix it?
Captain America 4 is undergoing reshoots, reportedly for a very troubling reason
It’s official! Captain America 4, from director Julius Onah, is heading back before cameras as of the end of May. Unfortunately, rumors are swirling that Marvel has been forced to make some significant changes to the movie thanks to continuously poor test screenings. Back in November, we were told that early screenings had not gone well, and it seems that whatever changes the studio has made since then allegedly haven’t improved it any.
According to scooper MyTimeToShine, Brave New World “tested so poorly they’re doing second round of reshoots.” To be fair, though, a period of reshoots from May to August has been on the schedule all year, so it’s not as if Marvel is scrambling to save this one at the last minute. Likewise, if Cap 4 is having problems, perhaps we can cut it some slack, as it did have the misfortune of having its initial production period overlap with the 2023 writers’ strike.
Having said that, the film managed to complete shooting prior to the actors’ strike of last summer, so in theory it should be the one upcoming MCU project least affected by the strikes. This does suggest that some problems on a deeper storytelling level could be at fault here. Now it’s just a question of whether Marvel can fix these with whatever it’s got planned over the next two months.
Prior reports have indicated that three major set pieces have been excised from the movie, along with WWE star Seth Rollins’ entire role, so clearly some series restructuring is afoot. Brave New World has a big legacy to measure up to, with the prior three Cap films earning $2.2 billion altogether. Let’s hope fans will fall in love with it when it releases on Valentine’s Day in 2025.
