Marvel fans got a pleasant surprise last Friday when it was announced that Captain America 4 was in the works, after the conclusion of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that same day. Sure enough, the movie is set to star Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, following him taking on Steve Rogers’ former mantle in the hit Disney Plus TV series. We know that Falcon EP Malcolm Spellman will be co-writing the script with Dalan Musson but, beyond that, not much else has been revealed about the project.
A new report may give us something to go on, however, as it suggests that a key theme of Falcon will be carried over into the next Cap film. Giant Freakin Robot writes that their insider sources have informed them that the pic will explore racism in the United States and how Sam will “have to reckon with these issues.” The series already dug into the deeper ramifications of a black man becoming Captain America and those who opposed such a thing, so it makes sense that both Spellman and Mackie would be interested in furthering that next time.
What’s more, GFR claims that the Outside the Wire star is pushing for increased diversity in Captain America 4 and wants “more women and people of color” as major characters in the new film. The outlet raises the interesting question of whether this means that a lot of fresh players will be introduced into the franchise or if Mackie is hoping to bring much of the supporting cast of Falcon over to this project. The latter option would probably be the more organic way to go, though, as fans seem to want to see more of Danny Ramirez’s Torres and Sam’s sister Sarah (Adepero Oduye).
If Cap 4 dives into structural racism in America, that does heavily imply that Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) and his grandson Eli (Elijah Richardson) will return as well. Isaiah’s storyline – a brave super soldier who was locked in jail and wiped from history – was one of the most powerful elements of the show, after all, and Eli becomes Patriot in the comics, so he could have a bright future in the MCU. It remains to be seen if they’ll be involved, but we’ll bring you more on Captain America 4 as it comes in.
