A new photo revealed four cut villains as they would have appeared in Captain America: Brave New World. The latest Cap film, this time with Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson in the lead role, says the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan take on some formidable foes, including Harrison Ford's terrifying Red Hulk as well as the return of Tim Blake Nelson's The Leader (as previously teased at the end of The Incredible Hulk).
However, since Brave New World's release, there has been almost as much focus on who Mackie's hero didn't get to fight as who he actually did. Heading into the film, there was speculation about Cap trading blows with the dangerous Serpent Society, a crew of supervillain adversaries each sporting their own cybernetic enhancements. A version of the team did eventually make it into the movie with Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder, but their inclusion looked significantly different than what fans thought they were going to get.
A recently revealed piece of Captain America: Brave New World concept art seemingly included several cut villains from a past version of the 2025 MCU blockbuster.
The image, posted online by concept artist Michael Blackbear Uwandi, sees Mackie's Captain America squaring off against four characters closely resembling the Serpent Society, as fans had expected them to appear in the film.
The Serpent Society villains in the new concept art are:
- Diamondback
- Asp
- Cobra
- Constrictor
- Rattler
Each of these enemies seems to be sporting their own super-powered upgrades, like the Serpent Society seen in Marvel Comics. This includes a sonic blast emanating from one of their arms, sharp blade hands, and what seems to be beefed-up super-strength.
Captain America: Brave New World is now streaming on Disney+ around the globe. Starring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America, the latest in the MCU's long-running Cap franchise follows the titular hero as he contends with a global conflict over the discovery of a new element, Adamantium.
Will The Serpent Society Ever Get Its Moment in the MCU Sun?
It has been years, and Marvel Comics' Serpent Society still hasn't had the chance to shine on screen.
Sure, Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder was an allusion to the supervillain squad in Captain America: Brave New World, but this was after fans were initially promised the entire team would appear in the new movie.
In fact, Serpent Society has now been teased for two separate films before getting the rug pulled out from under them.
At one point, Captain America: Civil War was going to be a Serpent Society movie (even titled Captain America: Serpent Society), but that plan was eventually abandoned, and now, it happened again with Brave New World.
The thing that makes Captain America 4 different, though, is that it looks like Serpent Society was in footage shot for the movie. WWE Superstar Seth Rollins was even cast in the film as an unknown villain (assumed to be a Serpent Society member) before ultimately being cut, which he was not too happy about.
However, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. With Esposito's Brave New World villain still out there by the end of the film, there is the chance he could come back for a proper Serpent Society story at some point in the future.
