Captain America: Brave New World isn't necessarily an unmitigated MCU disaster, but it didn't exactly soar with critics or fans. Many of those MCU devotees are now discussing their hopes for a potential Captain America 5, and some items on the wishlist are absolutely blunt and kinda brutal - but not totally uncalled for.
The Reddit thread that started the discussion asks, "If Sam Wilson gets another film, what would you like to see in it in terms of plot and character, post the 'reset' when the 3 main universes merge together? I would quite like to see him take a role in trying to control and face the new Mutant population and the X-Men along with the Avengers."
That "reset" mentioned is the highly anticipated (but in no way confirmed) possibility that the main MCU, the Fox X-Men timeline, and the Fantastic Four timeline will be merged following Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which are confirmed to involve Sam as Captain America.
As for what fans want the most, the highest upvoted answer puts it as plain as day: "Competent writing and dialogue."
Other fans elaborate on that sentiment, hoping for a film that is more about telling an original story for Sam Wilson instead of rehashing dropped plotlines from other films, like the inclusion of Red Hulk and Leader, traditionally Hulk enemies, and the involvement of the frozen shell of Tiamat from Eternals.
One fan sums it up, saying "An actual Sam Wilson movie instead of a Hulk sequel."
Others are open to Sam picking up dropped plotlines, but they'd like to see him embroiled in stories that specifically pertain to Captain America, such as the dormant Power Broker plotline from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
"I kind of like the idea of having Sam pick up all the dropped plotlines from earlier movies, but not if it's just making his movies a direct sequel to just one movie. Like, if this movie was more focused on 'The leftover stuff from Eternals and the leftovers stuff from Incredible Hulk have come together to make something worse and only Captain America can handle it,' that'd be fine. But this was more like... 'We're making a Hulk sequel and not involving Hulk at all... don't worry, he's in Spider-Man, though!'"
Still others want to see a totally new direction for Sam, with one even suggesting an elaborate jump forward in time to Marvel's 2099 future setting, or even the year 3000, home era of the original Guardians of the Galaxy in comics.
"Do something wild with it. Captain America 3000. Have Sam make a crazy sacrifice in Doomsday, after giving the shield to Steve (so that’s the shield old man Steve gives back to young Sam). Have the post credits scene include Sam waking up like Steve did in 2011, but it’s the far future, the year 3000," the fan explains. "Sam teams up with the Guardians of Galaxy of the future, as a throwback to the original comic book team, where they had their own future Captain America. This would make Sam truly a man out of time."
"I think Mackie could work well in that environment and it would give Marvel Studios a new era of Marvel lore to explore," the fan continues. "Old Man Logan, Hawkeye, 2099 characters, etc. this could set up that era to be used in future mutant storylines too, like with Apocalypse. Maybe a crossover with Spider-Man 2099 too if the Sony relationship doesn’t sour."
Whatever comes next for Sam Wilson after Doomsday and Secret Wars, I'm also hoping for a more coherent plot that puts Sam and his own story front-and-center. Brave New World had a ton of potential, but seemingly endless rewrites and reshoots apparently trying to thread the needle on its political themes hampered its action and its message.
We'll see what happens when Sam Wilson returns as Captain America in December's Avengers: Doomsday. For more, stay up to date with all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows that are in the works, along with our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
