The Leader was the big villain of Captain America: Brave New World, with actor Tim Blake Nelson undergoing a practical make up transformation to embody the grotesquely mutated character. But the Leader almost looked totally different, with an original make up scheme that more closely resembled his original comic book appearance.
Originally developed by Atlanta based special effects house Blue Whale Studios, the first take on the make up for Sam Sterns/the Leader was a bit more straightforward, with an enlarged cranium and sickly green skin, but none of the exposed, wrinkly brains or more mutated features of the film's final design.
The original design was revealed by Blue Whale on Instagram, as you can see below. Be sure to click through for a video of the prosthetics being applied to actor Tim Blake Nelson.
Interestingly enough, the original make up scheme actually resembles the Leader's classic comic book look quite closely, echoing his first appearance in 1964's Tales to Astonish #62. That said, the final version also resembles comics, but it takes its queues from the Leader's more recent appearances in the modern hit comic Immortal Hulk.
The Leader was one of the MCU's most long-awaited villains, having been seeded all the way back in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, in which Sam Sterns, then a normal human, is exposed to Bruce Banner's Gamma-irradiated blood. Captain America: Brave New World establishes that Sterns was locked in a secret prison by General Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross to develop a cure for a fatal heart condition while also developing special tech.
The next Marvel movie is Thunderbolts* which hits the big screen on May 1 in the UK and May 2 in the US as the final movie in Marvel Phase 5. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other upcoming Marvel movies on the way in 2025 and beyond, or get up to speed on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
