The Marvel Cinematic Universe has built up a long trend of keeping its starring actors around for extended periods of time thanks to multiple franchises with no foreseeable ending. Having already come out with three full solo trilogies in the Infinity Saga, and more that will become trilogies in Phase 4, MCU stars have more than enough opportunities to rack up the appearance count.
As was proven by the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, this is going to be the case in both the theatrical realm and the Disney+ streaming world.
The day that series dropped its season finale on Disney+, news broke that head writer Malcolm Spellman was set to write a fourth Captain America movie starring Anthony Mackie. Considering he's set for at least this movie with numerous other options on the way, Mackie jokingly admitted that he'd sign a two-decade-long MCU contract to play Sam Wilson well into his sixties.
Coming back to the real world with this statement, Mackie recently gave a more realistic idea of how long he will don the wings and shield.
ANTHONY MACKIE SETS A SOFT MCU TIMEFRAME
MCU star Anthony Mackie spoke with Variety about how long he hopes to keep playing Captain America within the MCU.
Even while laughing in his response, Mackie, who is currently 42 years old, admitted that he doesn't "want to be a 55-year-old Captain America."
Looking to the future, he admitted he has "a solid six to eight [years]" before he thinks his time in MCU will come to an end:
"I definitely don’t want to be a 55-year-old Captain America, so I’ve got a solid six to eight [years] in me."
A GREAT MARVEL RUN FOR ANTHONY MACKIE
Anthony Mackie first arrived on the MCU scene as Sam Wilson in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, making appearances in six MCU movies before taking the starring role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. After seeing his character evolve from the Falcon into Captain America through the show's six episodes, the stage is set for him to play an even bigger role going forward.
Another six-to-eight-year run for Mackie would have him remaining with Marvel Studios until almost 2030, giving him the opportunity to play this character for a solid fifteen years. While it's unclear what other long-standing actors' plans are at the moment, this would possibly give him one of the longest MCU careers to date with numerous other projects ahead of him.
Mackie has never been one to shy away from expressing his enthusiasm to be in the MCU, and it's that passion that's helped keep him going strong as Sam Wilson for seven years and counting. Even with the actor setting a timeframe on his tenure with Marvel Studios, fans will still be in for a few more years of incredible action and story for the airborne star.
Anthony Mackie's next appearance will likely come in Captain America 4, which is in the early stages of development.
