According to Anthony Mackie, the MCU's next Captain America movie features a familiar connection to Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Following his transition from Falcon to Cap in 2021's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson's Anthony Mackie is set to lead his own star-spangled film in 2024, Captain America: Brave New World.
While this Phase 5 film represents Sam Wilson's next chapter and his MCU future, for the actor, Captain America 4 reminded him of where both his and Sam's story first began.
Captain America 4's Revisits Captain America: The Winter Soldier
In an interview with Anthony Mackie, which was conducted prior to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, the actor told The Wrap that Captain America 4 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier share a filming location, saying, "It kind of brought my Marvel experience full circle:"
"It kind of brought my Marvel experience full circle because we shot in D.C. at the same hotel that we shot ‘Winter Soldier’ at."
The Washington, D.C. hotel the Cap star referenced is where Sam threatened and later kidnapped HYDRA agent Jasper Sitwell in the 2014 film.
Mackie reflected further on this location from The Winter Soldier shoot, explaining that it was "one of my first Marvel scenes" and returning to it proved "really emotional:"
“One of my first Marvel scenes was me sitting at a table talking to the senator and me and Chris [Evans] and Scarlett [ Johansson] kidnapping him and we go back and we stay at the same hotel and we shot at that same area. So in that regard, it was really emotional to think how far my character has come and where he is now after the 10 years that I’ve been in the MCU.”
This hotel is far from the only D.C. locale featured in the upcoming film.
On-set videos have shown the Marvel production shooting throughout the Washington capital, while other set photos revealed Mackie's Sam Wilson at a cemetery, attending a military funeral.
In regards to filming Captain America 4, Mackie called it a "great experience," admitting how it was "kind of dope to sit outside the White House:"
"...kind of dope to sit outside the White House and smoke a cigar and have whiskey with my crew and watch the sunrise.”
Captain America 4's Other Marvel Movie Connections
Captain America 4's Washington, D.C. setting isn't the only parallel between the upcoming film and The Winter Soldier.
Much like the 2014 film, Brave New World has also been described as a "paranoid thriller" and is expected to involve General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, the MCU's new President played by Harrison Ford.
It's also worth noting that the D.C. hotel Mackie referenced may not be the only location from The Winter Soldier that Captain America 4 revisits.
Perhaps Marvel audiences will see Sam Wilson return to his old jogging route where Steve Rogers first said, "On your left."
Lastly, The Winter Soldier isn't the only previous Marvel film with connections to Captain America 4.
In fact, the fourth Cap film intends to circle back on 2008's The Incredible Hulk thanks to the presence of Tim Blake Nelson's The Leader and Liv Tyler's Betty Ross.
Captain America: Brave New World is slated to release on July 26, 2024.
