‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Trailer: ‘You’re Not Steve Rogers’
The first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World has just dropped, giving us our first view of the film, and our first glimpse of Harrison Ford as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who is now the President of the United States of America. Ross had previously been played by William Hurt, who died at age 71 in 2022.
If you haven’t kept up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, here’s where we’re at. At the end of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) went on a time-traveling adventure and is now an elderly man. He handed off Captain America’s shield to Sam Wilson, the Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie). (Chris Evans has indicated that he has no plans to return to the MCU).
We next saw Sam in the 2021 Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Solider, along with Cap’s other partner, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Wilson gives up the shield, feeling that he wasn’t the right guy for it. He immediately regrets the decision. By the end of the series, not only has he reclaimed it, but he has his own Captain America uniform, complete with Falcon-like wings (hey, he didn’t want to give being able to fly!).
The trailer starts with Wilson and Ross meeting in the Oval Office. In a nod to the fact that there’s a new actor playing Ross, Wilson says, “I have to admit, I’m still getting used to the new look.”
Ross responds, “They said, ‘Lose the mustache or lose the election.'” Getting a bit more serious, Ross says, “You and I haven’t always agreed in the past.” That’s a bit of an understatement. In 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, Ross (then played by William Hurt) was the U.S. Secretary of State and worked to pass the Sokovia Accords, which would allow a United Nations panel to oversee and control the Avengers. Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and a few other Avengers disagreed with that stance, leading to the civil war between Rogers’ team of Avengers and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)’s team.
“I want to make another run at making Captain America an official military position,” Ross says. “And if we disagree on how to manage the situation, what happens?” Wilson asks.
“Work with me, Sam,” Ross responds. “We’ll show the world a better way forward.”
We then see Isaiah Bradley (played by Carl Lumby), who we learned in Falcon and the Winter Soldier was the original Captain America, trying to kill the president. Sam and Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) — the new Falcon, who we also first met in Falcon and the Winter Soldier — then try to track down the villains. Things get tense: Ross says to Wilson: “You may be Captain America, but you’re not Steve Rogers.”
We also get our first glimpse of Giancarlo Esposito’s character Bridge, who was a mercenary who () later becomes a SHIELD officer. And we see the Red Hulk. In the comic books, Ross becomes the Red Hulk, essentially just like the Hulk but with red skin.
Watch the trailer below. Captain America: Brave New World is due in theaters on February 14, 2025.
