Captain America 4's leading actor revealed the intense security measures he has to adhere to for his next MCU movie.
When a new MCU project is released, many will go to great lengths regarding spoilers. Either, fans will seek out every piece of information, from development to premiere, or fans will take every precaution to avoid information, some going so far as not watching trailers to avoid spoilers.
Due to people in that first category often revealing major plot twists or story beats well in advance of a project's release, Marvel Studios has enacted certain precautionary measures against internal leaks.
Some such measures include not telling screening audiences what movies they will be seeing, and keeping the screenings incredibly small. However, Marvel is not perfect, and leaks do happen — in fact, COVID-19 has seemingly impacted the frequency of those leaks in recent years.
How Does Marvel Prevent Leaks?
In an interview with Kelly Clarkson on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson) revealed what measures Marvel takes to prevent script internal script leaks for its projects, specifically Captain America 4.
Mackie began by saying that he just received the script for his upcoming Captain America: New World Order, but that he hasn't "read it ... opened it ... [or] gotten [his] passcode to the website that lets you get to the website:"
Clarkson: "So I can’t let you be here without asking you like one question, okay? So can you tell us anything about the new Captain America?"
Mackie: "Ironically enough, I got my script today."
Clarkson: "This is a sign."
Mackie: "Like, today. I literally, I’ll show you the email. I got my script today. Haven’t read it. Haven’t opened it. I haven’t got my passcode to the website that let’s you get to the website."
Mackie then expanded on that last point, explaining the full, multi-step process he would have to go through to access the script, including how he will "literally get a passcode to a website that gives us a location to meet the person to sign, to sit with a computer, and read our script:"
Mackie: "We literally get a passcode to a website that gives us a location to meet the person to sign, to sit with a computer, and read our script."
Clarkson: "Wow. They don’t trust y’all."
Mackie: "They don’t trust nobody. And it’s always like some 21-year-old intern and he just hates you. You know, he’s sitting there eating Cheetos and he’s like, 'Read faster,' you know? And I’m like, 'I'm dyslexic.' And he’s like, 'I don’t care.' Like it’s, oh, it’s a whole thing."
Captain America 4's Multi-Step Script Access Process
What Mackie described in this interview are merely the precautions taken for accessing MCU scripts for the first time — so, one can imagine how much work goes into keeping other aspects of production secret.
For instance, how do actors memorize the lines in the script? If they are only able to read it for the first time in a secret location on a separate computer, how are they able to memorize what they need to say?
Fans know from Avengers: Infinity War press that certain actors like Tom Holland were given fake scripts, and that Tony Stark's funeral in Avengers: Endgame was believed to be a wedding by much of the cast. This implies that there is also a physical script handed out separately, but when does that happen?
Either way, fans will not get to experience what Mackie will evidently be reading soon until Captain America: New World Order hits theaters on May 3, 2024.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
