Anthony Mackie Says He’s Moved That Kids Get To See A Black Captain America

With Steve Rogers ostensibly out of the picture, the shield (and mantle) of Captain America has been passed over to his dear friend, Sam Wilson – better known to you, I, and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Falcon.

And while he’ll still hold that title for the beginning of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie’s MCU favorite will soon become the next Captain America. It’s a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly, either, telling Stephen Colbert that playing Marvel’s Sentinel of Liberty as a black man is nothing short of “monumental.”

It’s monumental, man. I mean, with this movie, with The Banker and the history of this country with African Americans, for Marvel to select a young black man in America to represent the moniker of Captain America is unprecedented. There’s nothing that can compare to that.

In the wake of Avengers: Endgame, and Steve Rogers entering retirement, it is up to Anthony Mackie’s hero to pick up that famous shield as Marvel’s Captain America, though let’s just say that Sam Wilson’s inauguration doesn’t go exactly as planned. All of which will be explored in the forthcoming Falcon and the Winter Soldier series on Disney+, where Sam reluctantly teams up with Bucky Barnes for a globe-trotting adventure.

Overall, though, Mackie couldn’t contain his excitement at becoming the next Captain America, and told Colbert about what it means not just to his close family and friends, but the wider community.

“It moves me not only that my kids get to see a black man as Captain America, but all of their friends — white, black, Latino, and Asian — can see a black man as Captain America,” he said. And the shield, Mackie said, is “in good hands.”

Alas, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has become the latest big-name project to be affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, resulting in production grinding to a halt until further notice. Such a sudden break may well affect the show’s August release date, and we’ll keep you right up-to-date as this situation unfolds.