‘Captain America’ Sequel Anything but Brave New Era for Aging Marvel IP

Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off its 2025 offerings over the long weekend with “Captain America: Brave New World,” which net an $88 million 3-day opening and $100 million over the extended weekend, domestically.

Anthony Mackie’s first turn as the titular star certainly isn’t the lowest MCU showing. Still, it’s emblematic of the franchise’s growing pains and evidence last summer’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” was more of an isolated spectacle than a dawn clearing.

While the opening of “Brave New World” cleared the first Chris Evans film’s low bar, back when the first batch of MCU films was under Paramount, it fell short of the latter two Evans films that saw such Marvel IP come to dominate the box office after 2012’s “The Avengers.”

However, it’s not the first time Disney has blocked out a long February weekend. “Black Panther” in 2018 made a sensation of the Presidents Day box office, opening to just over $200 million that preceded the film’s $1.3 billion global haul. The next MCU film with a long February weekend was 2023’s third “Ant-Man” outing, which underperformed but still nabbed a bigger opening than “Brave New World.”

As much as some would like to think “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which did as well as “Black Panther,” was a return to form, “Brave New World” is far more representative of where the MCU stands currently.

The core cast of four “Avengers” films has largely moved on, for one. While Robert Downey Jr. is set to star in 2026’s “Avengers: Doomsday,” helmed again by franchise-favorite directors Anthony and Joe Russo, he won’t play his flagship Iron Man character. Evans also denied a January report he would return alongside Mackie as Captain America.

Making matters worse, “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman died in 2020, stripping future “Avengers” mashups of the MCU’s biggest new hero. Adding to Disney’s troubles, up-and-comer Jonathan Majors was dropped from all MCU projects in 2023 after debuting in “Ant-Man 3” as Kang, who was going to be the main villain of the next “Avengers” films, due to domestic assault allegations and a subsequent conviction.

To Mackie’s credit, he’s been a mainstay of the MCU films for years and led one of the franchise’s first Disney+ series, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” alongside titular co-star Sebastian Stan, who is up for best actor at the Oscars next month.

But Stan isn’t supporting Mackie in “Brave New World.” Instead, he’s part of the cast for May’s “Thunderbolts*,” a new entry in the MCU led by a hodgepodge ensemble of existing characters from past films and shows, with a few new faces.

This ensemble approach is tricky, as 2021’s “Eternals,” which introduced 10 heroes to the MCU, didn’t resonate with fans. Similar to that film’s Oscar-winning director, Chloé Zhao, “Brave New World” was directed by Julius Onah, who was mainly known for Neon’s acclaimed 2019 film “Luce” before he joined the MCU rank and file.

But “Thunderbolts*” doesn’t even have a director with films on his résumé, as Eric Schrier worked in TV until his MCU sign-on, helming episodes of Netflix’s acclaimed “Beef” and one episode of Disney+ “Star Wars” series “Skeleton Crew.”

The same is true of longtime TV director Matt Shakman, who is helming July’s “Fantastic Four” reboot, the second such attempt to rejuvenate another Marvel ensemble after the 2015 reboot’s failure. “The Last of Us” and “Mandalorian” star Pedro Pascal is leading the new effort, giving it some hype long after the days when Evans led two “Fantastic Four” films before the MCU started, but it’s yet another gamble before the franchise returns to safer ground with as many heroes as it can muster for “Avengers: Doomsday” next year.

The MCU may never have gotten as dire as Warner Bros.’ retired DC Extended Universe, but James Gunn’s attempt with a more simplified DC Universe kicks off in July with “Superman.” If 2025’s Marvel offerings don’t make a mark, Disney may finally see itself upstaged by its biggest superhero rival.