Avengers: Doomsday star Anthony Mackie left fans puzzled about the MCU timeline. 7 years after Chris Evans' Steve Rogers handed him the shield in Avengers: Endgame, Mackie's Sam Wilson will finally get his chance to star as Captain America in a major MCU event with December 18's Doomsday. There has been some controversy surrounding Marvel Studios' direction with Captain America in Avengers 5, as Steve Rogers is also returning, albeit minus the stars and stripes, which many argue will only distract from his replacement's spotlight.
Anthony Mackie recently sat down with Syfy, and the chat turned to his looming return as Captain America in Avengers: Doomsday. The MCU veteran sparked confusion regarding the movie's place in the franchise timeline by saying that it takes place "literally months" after Captain America: Brave New World, in which Sam Wilson began "getting the Avengers back together:"
"You find Cap coming off the heels of 'Captain America: Brave New World' and being invested in the idea of getting the Avengers together to fight this mortal doom. You find him literally months after 'Brave New World' coming into this new expedition and getting the Avengers back together, getting the crew back together."
The problem comes with the fact that Brave New World is one of the few MCU projects with an officially defined place in the timeline. Thanks to the White House invitation President Ross sent to Sam Wilson, audiences know for certain that Captain America 4 begins around April 16, 2027.
Thanks to Avengers: Endgame Encore and the date shown on Bruce Banner's computer, it is now clear that Doomsday begins around January 12, 2029. That is a far cry from Mackie's claim that Avengers 5 is set "literally months" after Brave New World, as it is actually around 21 months (1 year, 9 months) later.
There is always a chance that Mackie is right and Doomsday opens with earlier scenes showing Cap recruiting his Avengers team, including his first meeting with Simu Liu's Shang-Chi and reunion with Paul Rudd's Ant-Man. However, hopping around the timeline right as Doomsday begins could get confusing for audiences, so it's more likely that the MCU alum was simply mistaken or out of the loop.
Is Avengers: Doomsday Doing Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson Dirty?
Outside the introduction of adamantium and the United States president turning into a raging Red Hulk, the tease that Sam Wilson would form a new Avengers team was undeniably the biggest turning point of Brave New World. Despite rumors of an all-new Avengers roster featuring the likes of Sam Wilson, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Wong, Shang-Chi, Falcon, and She-Hulk, the line-up featured in Doomsday's marketing is undeniably lacking, to say the least.
Instead, all that Sam Wilson seems to have produced in the almost 2 years since Brave New World is his recent wingman (Falcon), one existing Avenger (Thor), an old friend (Ant-Man), and only one new recruit (Shang-Chi). For a movie called AVENGERS: Doomsday, one has to question why the actual line-up for Earth's Mightiest Heroes is so lacking, with sturdier hero line-ups seen across the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and even the New Avengers (formerly Thunderbolts).
Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu already implied that Doomsday won't confirm what his martial arts hero has been doing the last 5 years, and the same ought to be true across the board, including for the MCU's new Captain America. After all, with incursions tearing the Multiverse apart and Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom executing his own master plan, it's tough to imagine there being much time for catching up, and Doomsday will likely jump straight into the mayhem.
Fans can only hope that Steve Rogers' return doesn't result in Sam Wilson being sidelined too much, although that may be wishful thinking given the retired Captain America's key connection to Doctor Doom's villainy. The unfortunate box office flop of Brave New World rendered it doubtful that Marvel Studios will greenlight Captain America 5 anytime soon, so the next two Avengers movies may be the last time Wilson is seen for a while, especially if the Multiverse Saga is anything to go off.
