Marvel Studios is once again facing boycott action over one of its upcoming movies. With conflicting reports circulating, Captain America: Brave New World (2025) looks set to be one of Disney’s most polarizing and risky projects.
Captain America: Brave New World will be released in February 2025, four years after Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) officially accepted his new role as Captain America in Malcolm Spellman’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The Disney+ show reunited Mackie’s Sam Wilson, AKA Falcon, with Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, played by Sebastian Stan. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier took place after the climactic events of Avengers: Endgame (2019), where Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers handed over his shield and his mantle to Sam.
Spellman’s show, directed by Kari Skogland, was the second in Marvel’s portfolio to hit The Walt Disney Company’s streaming service. But, ever since its finale, things have been relatively quiet on the Captain America franchise front–aside from casting information and a significant name change.
That is until the first footage dropped at CinemaCon 2024, igniting hopes that this new Marvel movie, helmed by Julius Onah, will return the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its more grounded and real-world roots. Similar teaser footage was released earlier this month in the form of the movie’s first official trailer, and the response was even more divided than expected.
In late 2022, Israeli actress Shira Haas was cast as the comic book character Sabra in Captain America: Brave New World. The inclusion of Sabra drew immediate criticism, considering the character’s controversial history in the pages of Marvel Comics.
When the first trailer dropped, Haas was featured rather prominently, igniting discourse on social media, calling for boycott action against Brave New World. However, at this time, Marvel Studios confirmed that Haas would not be portraying Sabra after all but a reimagined version of the character going by Sabra’s real name, Ruth Bat-Seraph.
Instead of following the Sabra story, Haas’ Ruth Bat-Seraph will be a former Israeli Black Widow turned United States government official and close confidante of President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, played by Harrison Ford, the Star Wars and Indiana Jones icon.
Even with the reimagining of the character, some Marvel fans are still calling for a major boycott of the upcoming Phase Five movie, considering the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
However, the controversy gained new steam earlier this week as multiple outlets, including The Jerusalem Post, claimed that Marvel would be eradicating Ruth Bat-Seraph’s Jewish identity altogether and make her a former Russian spy. Anti-Semitic accusations were hurled at Disney and Marvel after the posts circulated on social media, with additional boycott action called by Israeli fans.
But, the report was seemingly untrue.
As The Wrap confirmed, Ruth Bat-Seraph will be an Israeli former Black Widow in Captain America: Brave New World and Shira Haas will play the part with an Israeli accent.
Upon The Wrap’s exclusive report regarding the potential erasure of Bat-Seraph’s Jewish identity, multiple administrations weighed in.
“If true, we are glad that Marvel recognized how essential Sabra’s Israeli identity is to her character,” The American Jewish Committee stated. “Superheroes have enough things to worry about. Identity politics shouldn’t be one of them.”
Echoing the support from The American Jewish Committee, Director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Media & Entertainment Institute, Deborah Camiel
“We’re pleased to learn that Sabra will be retaining her Israeli identity in ‘Captain America, Brave New World,’ and is still being portrayed by the wonderful Israeli actress Shira Haas. Marvel Studios should be commended for not capitulating to the anti-Israel forces who wanted this character’s identity quashed, along with her backstory. We welcome the portrayal of a strong Jewish and Israeli woman on screen, and look forward to seeing how this character is developed in the film.”
The Captain America: Brave New World trailer also saw the official first live-action look at Red Hulk–a role Harrison Ford is highly expected to play as the alter ego of President Thunderbolt Ross. Joaquin Torres, played by Danny Ramirez, will also return. Ramirez will take up the new Falcon role after Sam steps into becoming Captain America.
Liv Tyler and Tim Blake Nelson also appear, reprising their roles as Betty Ross and Samuel Sterns, AKA the Leader, from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Rumors are still circulating regarding the potential appearance of Mark Ruffalo’s Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk.
Xosha Roquemore, who plays a Secret Service agent, and Carl Lumbly, who returns as Isaiah Bradley, will round out the cast. Seth Rollins, Rosa Salazar, and Phuong Kubacki are cast in undisclosed roles, with Takehiro Hira appearing as Prime Minister Ozaki. Giancarlo Esposito was also added during reshoots. His role is still unknown.
Unfortunately for Bucky Barnes fans, Sebastian Stan will not be appearing in Captain America: Brave New World.
Captain America: Brave New World will arrive in theaters on February 14, 2025. It will be the penultimate movie in Phase Five, followed by Thunderbolts* (2025) in May.
Related: First Look at MCU’s New Bucky Following Disappointing Sebastian Stan Removal
This is not the first time vocal boycott action has occurred regarding a Marvel movie. Back in 2022, months of discourse circulated around the recasting of T’Challa/Black Panther in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige decided not to recast the late Chadwick Boseman’s role after the actor’s death, leaving T’Challa officially cut from the MCU.
Many fans took issue with this, considering how eternal T’Challa is in the mythos of the Marvel Universe. One viral social media post called the killing of T’Challa in the fictional universe “the biggest attack in MCU history,” with another commenting how showcasing the death and funeral of the character was “Black trauma.”
Marvel executive Nate Moore said that Black Panther was a mantle, and yes, there have been many people who have become Black Panther in Marvel history, but the issue some audiences had was that T’Challa was the most famous and beloved. His removal from the fictional MCU rid millions of their chance to continue seeing a popular Black hero on the big screen.
Related: Marvel Is Being Forced to Scrap Troubled MCU Movie as New Information Comes To Light
There will always be divided opinions regarding franchises as big as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (look at Star Wars, for example), so it will be interesting to see how Captain America: Brave New World‘s turnout is. Will it be a successful and lucrative follow-up to the record-breaking Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)?
Do you think Marvel should have removed Shira Haas’ character from Captain America 4? Let us know in the comments down below!
Really how many people are boycotting? Or are you making this up?
So the Hamas terrorists supporters threatened to boycott and Marvel and Disney have, characteristically folded.