Spencer Hoffman is a writer for The Hollywood Insider and current film student. He is an avid consumer of cinema and television and enjoys sharing his insight on these topics within his features and reviews. He strongly believes in the power of the written word and the importance of truth in everything. Spencer aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s views of empowerment and raising all types of voices up. He hopes to entertain and incite meaningful conversation with his pieces.
Nov 27, 2022
Table of Contents
Photo: ‘Captain America 4’
At the very end of 2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’ we saw the departure of Steve Rogers from the MCU. Played by Chris Evans, he gave the Captain America mantle to Sam Wilson, his friend, partner, and the Falcon. Not only was this a touching moment between two characters that perfectly concluded Steve Rogers’ story, but established a question Marvel fans had been wondering for a long time: what will become of Captain America when Chris Evans leaves the MCU for good?
In 2021, we finally saw the new Captain America in action, but in a completely unexpected way. ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ saw the story of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes teaming up to take on the Flag Smashers, a terrorist group who get their hands on the super soldier serum while a new Captain America, John Walker, tries to keep the mantle. Now, Sam Wilson is rocking the super soldier serum and Captain America name. So, what will come from his first-ever solo film as Captain America and the fourth Captain America film?
The Captain America Trilogy
Each Captain America film is drastically different from the last, but each carries themes that circle around politics, government, and morality. 2011s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ starring Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Hugo Weaving, Samuel L. Jackson, Stanley Tucci, and Jenna Coleman, was the first Captain America film in the MCU and told the origins of Steve Rogers, the scrappy kid from Brooklyn with a heart.. The film tackled the themes of perseverance, bravery, morality, and wartime conflict while also providing commentary on America during the 1940s and how Captain America became a symbol. Steve Rogers was not fighting Nazis to just benefit his country, but to protect those in and outside of it.
The 2014 Captain America film, ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, arguably the strongest in the trilogy, stars Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Emily VanCamp. The story follows Steve Rogers after the battle of New York in ‘Avengers’ where Steve discovers not only that his best friend, Bucky Barnes, is still alive, but the U.S. government has been hiding a secret from the world. ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ explored themes of betrayal, secrecy, and the terrible things that come from war. What made the film such an impactful entry into the MCU was how it tackled real-world issues and implemented them into a thrilling two-hour-long ride. This film also introduced us to the Falcon (Anthony Mackie). Above all else, this film brilliantly sets up Steve Rogers’ distrust of the United States which will eventually become a major point of conflict in the next Captain America film.
The final entry in the trilogy is now remembered for being less of a Captain America film and more of an ensemble story (as many of the Avengers are featured in it). Despite this, ‘Captain America: Civil War’ expands Steve Rogers’ distrust of international politics as he forms a team to oppose the UN’s attempts to control the Avengers to prevent catastrophes in the future. The themes explored here are secrets, friendship, morality, guilt, and accountability.
The upcoming fourth installment in the Captain America series is ‘Captain America: New World Order’ starring Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Sebastian Stan, Tim Blake Nelson, Shira Haas, Danny Ramirez, and Carl Lumbly. From the title alone, it seems that the film will somehow tie into ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ series as the pilot episode of the show is titled ‘New World Order’. It would not be surprising to see a return of some of the villains seen in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ series while also exploring some new story concepts. The inclusion of Thunderbolt Ross, played by Harrison Ford, could mean that this film may set up the origins of the other upcoming Marvel project, ‘Thunderbolts’. While the plot is yet to be uncovered, it seems that ‘Captain America: New World Order’ will build upon the story presented in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, exploring themes of legacy, racism, redemption, nationalism, and government distrust.
The Film, Updates, and More
Set to release in 2024, filming for the upcoming Captain America film has already begun and it is likely we will not be seeing a trailer for the film until sometime next year. The film is a part of the MCUs phase five as announced by Kevin Feige at Comic-Con earlier this year.. It is currently unknown if ‘Captain America: New World Order’ will kickstart a new trilogy of Captain America films starring Anthony Mackie or act as more of a conclusion to his story from ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. Regardless, it will be enticing to see what ‘Captain America: New World Order’ does not only with the presence of major MCU characters like Thunderbolt Ross but further exploring the relationship between Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson while diving into Sam Wilson’s Captain America and what him taking up the mantle means for the rest of the MCU.
By Spencer Hoffman
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Spencer Hoffman is a writer for The Hollywood Insider and current film student. He is an avid consumer of cinema and television and enjoys sharing his insight on these topics within his features and reviews. He strongly believes in the power of the written word and the importance of truth in everything. Spencer aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s views of empowerment and raising all types of voices up. He hopes to entertain and incite meaningful conversation with his pieces.
Spencer Hoffman is a writer for The Hollywood Insider and current film student. He is an avid consumer of cinema and television and enjoys sharing his insight on these topics within his features and reviews. He strongly believes in the power of the written word and the importance of truth in everything. Spencer aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s views of empowerment and raising all types of voices up. He hopes to entertain and incite meaningful conversation with his pieces.
Spencer Hoffman is a writer for The Hollywood Insider and current film student. He is an avid consumer of cinema and television and enjoys sharing his insight on these topics within his features and reviews. He strongly believes in the power of the written word and the importance of truth in everything. Spencer aligns with The Hollywood Insider’s views of empowerment and raising all types of voices up. He hopes to entertain and incite meaningful conversation with his pieces.
