Anthony Mackie Makes a Cheeky Case for More Captain America Solo Movies
Few Marvel Studios heroes have had a stranger road to the spotlight than Sam Wilson. Mackie spent years as the Falcon, a loyal sidekick whose biggest moment came when Steve Rogers handed him the shield in 2019. Mackie has said he was told he’d be Captain America five years before his solo movie arrived, which gives some sense of how long the wait felt.
Then came another gap. Four full years passed before Mackie’s Cap returned to screens in ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ which drew mixed reviews, with one outlet awarding it 3 stars. That is a bumpy launch for a character meant to anchor the next era of the MCU.
Now Mackie is making a very public pitch for what comes next. Marvel Updates shared a clip on X in which the actor says Captain America deserves more solo outings, with a playful jab at one of his fellow Avengers. “I think every character deserves a second film… I mean, if you’re Thor, you get four apparently.”
The line is funny, but it also lands on a real point of contention among fans. Thor is the only MCU character who has received four solo films, and the fourth Thor movie was a surprise announcement back in 2019. Meanwhile, Mackie’s Sam Wilson has had just 1 movie to himself so far.
The comments appear to come from Mackie’s appearance on a live episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he was asked about his MCU future and his hopes for it. According to ComicBook.com, he went even further and argued that every character deserves 3 movies, pointing to the long run of Spider-Man films as proof. He said he would happily sign on for 2 more films so he could see Sam complete his arc.
That ask is not new for him. Earlier this year, Mackie told Esquire he expects to return for the next 2 Avengers movies and wants to make a ‘Captain America 5’. In other words, he has been consistent that this story is not finished.
The timing matters, too. Mackie’s Sam Wilson is Captain America when ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ arrives, but ComicBook.com raises the open question of whether he will still hold the shield after the universe resets. It is a fair concern for a franchise that has reshuffled its plans more than once.
There is also the matter of precedent. The old Captain America trilogy wrapped up inside the Infinity Saga, and the fourth Captain America film was confirmed in April 2021 and officially announced in July 2022, with Mackie taking over the mantle. For a character who spent years waiting on that promotion, asking for a proper follow-up does not sound unreasonable.
Marvel has hinted that Thor’s 4-film record may not stand forever. One report noted that a producer suggested Thor is the only 4-movie hero ‘so far’, which leaves the door open for others. Whether Cap gets that treatment is another matter.
For now, Mackie’s comments read as equal parts joke and campaign pitch. Fans have already started weighing in, and the debate over which MCU heroes have earned more screen time is not going away. With ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ on the horizon, Marvel has a chance to show whether Sam Wilson’s long road is finally leading somewhere.
