Feb 24 2025 29 mins 9
The Marvel Cinematic Universe gets a fresh jolt of paranoia and political intrigue with "Captain America: Brave New World," a thriller that sees Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) trying to define his place as the new Cap while dealing with international chaos, rogue superhumans, and some very questionable allies. Directed by Julius Onah, the film doesn’t just bring back some familiar faces—it makes them part of a tangled political mess of past sins and present-day power plays. Tim Blake Nelson’s Leader resurfaces with a grudge, Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley adds emotional weight, and oh yeah, Harrison Ford steps into the formidable shoes of Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, who may or may not be hiding a very big, very angry, very red secret.
Director Julius Onah joins The Discourse to talk about all of the spoilery details on Marvel's latest, including what he thinks won him the role of director. In his pitch, Onah sought to explore a more grounded and cerebral take on what it means to be Cap in a world that isn’t sure it needs one. "It was about a point of view more so than anything," Onah explained about pitching the film to Marvel.
"They were familiar with my last film, a small indie film called 'Luce,' and I first had just a general conversation with Nate Moore and Kiana Davidson at Marvel. We talked again, more generally, about theme tone and character. And, for me, it was sort of a gut check moment of like, you're going to go down the road with people. Are these people that you would even just love to have a conversation with about movies?"
