The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star Anthony Mackie reveals he may not be the next Captain America

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"At no point in time, did I agree to or say that I would be Captain America"

Anthony Mackie as the Falcon
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel Studios)

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star Anthony Mackie has revealed that he might not become Captain America in the series after all. In Avengers: Endgame, a much older Steve Rogers handed his shield to Sam Wilson, alias the Falcon, so Mackie’s character taking on the mantle seemed a sure thing.

Speaking on The Jess Cagle Show, and reported by Comic Book, Mackie commented: “We don't know that yet. The show, the idea of the show is basically, you know, and at the end of Endgame, Cap decided he was going into retirement and he asked me if I would take up the shield, but at no point in time did I agree to or say that I would be Captain America.”

He added: “So the show walks the line of who is going to take up the shield and who's going to be Captain America if Steve isn't coming back.”

Considering Steve now looks to be very, very old, it’s unlikely he’ll be taking up the shield again – which means the responsibility will surely fall to Sam, or if he refuses, potentially the Winter Soldier (AKA Bucky Barnes). There’s also the chance that US Agent could hold the shield – or maybe Sharon Carter, apparently now a wanted criminal, could take up the superhero life instead?

Whatever happens, we’re sure the MCU won’t be without a Captain America of some kind for long. With the trailer showing Sam considering the legacy of the shield, and the Super Bowl TV spot giving us a glimpse of him practising with it, we’re fairly confident the responsibility – if not exactly the name – will rest with Falcon by the end of the series.

We’ll have to wait till March to find out for sure, though, and in the meantime, you can check out everything we know so far about Marvel Phase 4.

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.