No one was more surprised than Anthony Mackie that he was the new Captain America – mainly because he thought his character Sam Wilson was going to die in Avengers: Endgame.
In an interview with Fandango, the man behind the new star-spangled hero in Captain America: Brave New World recalled when his co-star and former Captain, Chris Evans, broke the news that he was getting promoted in the comic book universe. "He goes, 'Have you read the new script?' I said 'no' ... he said, 'you don't know?'" Mackie was unaware Wilson had already slung the shield in the comics in 2014 and expected the worst for his character.
"I'm like 'damn,' and you know, being Black, I'm like, 'I'm gonna die, damn. Like, 'They're getting rid of me, man!'" Admittedly, while Mackie has been killed a few times on screen throughout his career, this was one occasion that he was sticking around, thanks to that universe-saving snap by Tony Stark. Even so, it was up to Evans to break down for his wingman just what was in store for him.
"He gets the new script, he goes to like the last 10 pages, and he goes, 'read it.'" From there, Mackie skimmed over the moment that Steve hands Sam the shield, passing on the mantle from one Cap to another. "I'm like, 'So why'd you give me the shield? He goes 'because you're fucking Captain America!" The rest, as they say, is MCU history.
You'll be able to see how Mackie handles the shield in his first feature-length outing when Captain America: Brave New World soars into theaters on February 14. Also, be sure to check out our guide to every other upcoming Marvel movie and TV show the MCU has on the way in the world-building pipeline.
