Captain America 4, officially titled Captain America: Brave New World, is finally here. The movie follows on from the box-office success of Deadpool and Wolverine, and it kick-starts a jam-packed year of Marvel movies, which includes Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts*.
Captain America 4 sees Sam Wilson finally wielding the shield as the new Cap, investigating the masterminds behind a disastrous international incident in the wake of Thaddeus Ross' election as president of the United States.
Captain America: Brave New World release date
Captain America: Brave New World arrived on February 14, 2025. That's four years after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when we last saw Sam Wilson.
Captain America: Brave New World trailer
The movie is in theaters now, but of course there were plenty of trailers in the run-up to release. One Captain America: Brave New World trailer was released on November 9, 2024, during Disney's D23 Brazil event. The teaser (which you can watch for yourself above) is over two minutes long and gives a very good look at the movie's story. The world is on the brink of war, and in the clip, we also get to see the president transform into the Red Hulk.
Captain America: Brave New World cast
The Captain America: Brave New World cast is a mix of familiar and new faces. Of course, Anthony Mackie is back to suit up as Captain America, alongside Danny Ramirez's Joaquín Torres. There are some new faces, though, from Giancarlo Esposito to Harrison Ford, who plays The Red Hulk.
At SDCC24, it was confirmed that Esposito's villain, the role he had been teasing for months, is, in fact, Seth Voelker, AKA Sidewinder. In an interview with GamesRadar+, Esposito revealed he did some in-depth comic book studying to prepare for the role.
"Well, you know, in the research I've done when I knew that I was going to be playing the head of the Serpent Society, someone who formed it and runs it, I wanted to know more," he said. "I wanted to go back [and] figure out what are his colors, what do they look like, what do they do, what are his superpowers?"
WWE star Seth Rollins recently confirmed, however, that he no longer has a role in the movie: "The script went through a lot of rewrites and reshoots, and so what I was there to do, essentially my role got either repurposed or completely erased."
For the rest of the cast, here are the main players:
- Anthony Mackie – Sam Wilson/Captain America
- Harrison Ford – President Ross/Red Hulk
- Danny Ramirez – Joaquin Torres/Falcon
- Carl Lumbly – Isaiah Bradley
- Giancarlo Esposito – Sidewinder
- Shira Haas – Ruth Bat-Seraph/Sabra
- Liv Tyler – Betty Ross
- Tim Blake Nelson – Samuel Sterns/The Leader
Captain America: Brave New World plot *spoilers*
Captain America: Brave New World picks up after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which ended with Sam Wilson finally accepting the mantle of Captain America – setting us up for Captain America 4. His friendship with Joaquín Torres, the future Falcon, was also established in the Disney Plus show.
The movie revolves around adamantium found on Celestial Island, AKA the Celestial poking out of the ocean after the events of Eternals. The Serpent Society had some of the precious material to sell, but Cap and Falcon intervened and rescued the sample, helping to keep a treaty between the US and Japan on course. But, it's all feeding into The Leader's master plan.
It turns out that he's trying to manipulate President Ross as revenge for being held captive in Camp Echo-1. Ross's heart was also failing and he sought The Leader's help, and The Leader gave him tablets laced with gamma radiation. At critical moments in the film, The Leader tries to manipulate Ross into turning into the Red Hulk and exposing his true nature.
Meanwhile, Cap and Falcon manage to avert an all-out war between the US and Japan, and rescue the treaty in the process. Falcon is injured, though, which leads to Sam having a crisis of faith. His old pal Bucky Barnes shows up to boost his confidence.
The Leader then turns himself in, which prompts Ross to panic at what he might reveal. Ross's heightened emotions result in him transforming into Red Hulk at last, though Cap is able to subdue him after a brief fight with thoughts of his daughter.
In the end, Ross and The Leader are both imprisoned in the Raft. Sam and Joaquín, meanwhile, have plans to restart the Avengers – just in time for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Captain America: Brave New World reviews
The Captain America 4 reviews are pretty mixed, with the movie currently standing at 53% on Rotten Tomatoes (though its audience score is much higher).
Our own Captain America: Brave New World review awards the movie three stars, with our verdict reading: "Anthony Mackie's Captain America earns his Stars and Stripes in this uneven, un-MCU thriller. Sam Wilson and an always-excellent Harrison Ford drag Brave New World into unfamiliar narrative territory before it eventually succumbs to familiar Marvel failings."
Captain America: Brave New World exclusive insight
You can read about our interview with Anthony Mackie and Danny Ramirez below:
- Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie teases he's most excited for "the two worlds coming together and creating a super MCU" in the new Avengers movies
- Anthony Mackie and Danny Ramirez talk the bond between Captain America and Falcon in Brave New World – and how it mirrors real life
- Five years after taking the shield, Anthony Mackie says he's "excited as hell" to finally be starring in a Captain America movie: "I've been biding my time waiting for this moment"
- Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie says the portals scene in Avengers: Endgame is one of the best moments in Marvel cinematic history
For more, check out our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order and the Marvel timeline.
