Anthony Mackie's Captain America Role In Avengers: Doomsday Is Worrying

I'm Worried About Sam Wilson's Captain America In Avengers: Doomsday Published Aug 22, 2026, 12:55 PM EDT Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release. He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Sam Wilson's Captain America is returning in Avengers: Doomsday, but the way Anthony Mackie's hero is being used is worrying so far. After joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Falcon in 2014, Sam has become an increasingly important figure. He became an official Avenger in Avengers: Age of Ultron and ultimately was chosen by Steve Rogers to carry on the Captain America mantle in Avengers: Endgame's ending. That led him to headline the MCU's second Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and then star in his first solo movie, Captain America: Brave New World. The larger focus he's received in the Multiverse Saga put Sam in a position to be one of the most pivotal characters in Avengers: Doomsday. After all, the new Captain America was last seen starting the process of building a new Avengers team. Doomsday marks the first time Earth's Mightiest Heroes assemble since Endgame, so it was only rational to believe that Captain America would be central to the upcoming plot. From “I Am Iron Man” to “I Am Inevitable” · Eight Questions How Well Do You Know the MCU? “Whatever it takes.” 🤖Phase OneRDJ & the founders, 2008 🛡The AvengersWhedon’s team, 2012 💎Infinity SagaThanos & the stones ⚡EndgameWhatever it takes, 2019 🌏MultiversePhase 4–6, 2021– ASSEMBLE → 01 Iron Man (2008) is, in retrospect, the most consequential casting decision in modern blockbuster history — but at the time Marvel Studios and parent company Paramount were openly hostile to director Jon Favreau’s push for the lead actor he eventually got. Favreau later said he had to fight “tooth and nail” and the actor had to do a paid screen test, a screen-test deal almost unheard of for an A-lister. What was the executive objection to him? AHe was considered too old for a 15-year contract BHis history of drug arrests made him uninsurable CHe was already under contract to DC/Warner Bros. DHe’d publicly refused to do any superhero work ✓ Correct! Robert Downey Jr. had been arrested multiple times between 1996 and 2001 on drug and weapons charges, served roughly a year in California state prison (1999–2000), and was fired from Ally McBeal in 2001 after relapsing. By 2007 he’d been clean for several years, but Marvel/Paramount considered him essentially uninsurable for a $140 million tent-pole. Favreau pushed for him over studio favourites Tom Cruise (who’d had Iron Man development at Fox years earlier) and Sam Rockwell (who’d later play Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2 as a consolation). RDJ took a reported $500,000 base salary — less than Terrence Howard, whose role he then permanently overshadowed. ✗ Wrong. The answer is his arrest history. RDJ had drug-related arrests from 1996–2001, served prison time in 1999–2000, and was fired from Ally McBeal in 2001 — which made him uninsurable in studio terms even though he’d been sober for several years by 2007. Favreau fought for him over Tom Cruise and Sam Rockwell, and RDJ took a reported $500,000 base salary — less than co-star Terrence Howard. NEXT → 02 The Avengers (2012) — the film that proved the shared-universe model could work, grossed $1.52 billion, and ended Phase One with Loki, Thanos’s mid-credits reveal, and the “swarm shot” of the team rotating in Manhattan — was written and directed by a TV showrunner best known at the time for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. Name him. AJon Favreau BKenneth Branagh CJoss Whedon DJoe Johnston ✓ Correct! Joss Whedon. Marvel hired him in mid-2010 partly on the basis of his uncredited script rewrites and his comfort writing ensemble team dynamics from Buffy/Angel/Firefly. He directed The Avengers (2012) and the follow-up Age of Ultron (2015), then exited the MCU and Marvel handed the next two Avengers films to the Russo brothers. The three other directors named all really did make Phase One films: Favreau directed Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010), Branagh directed Thor (2011), and Joe Johnston directed Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — which is why this question separates Phase One trivia from Avengers-specific trivia. ✗ Wrong. The answer is Joss Whedon — hired largely on the strength of Buffy, Firefly, and uncredited Hollywood script work. The three wrong options are deliberately all real Phase One MCU directors: Favreau did Iron Man 1 & 2, Branagh did Thor (2011), and Joe Johnston did The First Avenger (2011). Whedon directed Avengers (2012) and Age of Ultron (2015) before exiting the MCU. NEXT → 03 Marvel co-architect Stan Lee (1922–2018) appeared in every theatrical MCU film from Iron Man (2008) onward, even shooting cameos in advance to outlast him. He died on November 12, 2018. In which film does his final filmed MCU cameo appear — as the long-haired young driver of a 1970 car bearing the bumper sticker “NUFF SAID”? AAvengers: Endgame (2019) BAvengers: Infinity War (2018) CCaptain Marvel (2019) DSpider-Man: Far From Home (2019) ✓ Correct! Avengers: Endgame (April 2019). Lee appears digitally de-aged behind the wheel of a 1970 Chevy at the New Jersey army base where Tony Stark and Steve Rogers travel back to retrieve the Tesseract; he shouts “hey man, make love, not war!” The cameo was filmed before Lee’s death and confirmed by the Russos as his final filmed MCU appearance, although the next-released film, Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 2019), became the first MCU film with no Stan Lee cameo at all. Captain Marvel (March 2019) has him reading the script for Mallrats on the L.A. train and was the first posthumously-released cameo, but Endgame was the last one he actually shot. ✗ Wrong. The answer is Avengers: Endgame — the de-aged hippie-era driver in the 1970 New Jersey time-heist scene. Captain Marvel (March 2019) was the first cameo to release posthumously, but Endgame (April 2019) was the last one Lee actually filmed. Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 2019) became the first MCU film with no Stan Lee cameo at all. NEXT → 04 Across Phase One through Three, each Infinity Stone is hidden inside a distinctive container before being claimed for Thanos’s Gauntlet. The blue Space Stone is housed inside a glowing cube that originates with the Asgardians, is recovered by Howard Stark from the wreckage of the Red Skull’s plane, is taken to Asgard by Loki in 2012, and is finally retrieved by Hulk on Sakaar before falling to Thanos. What is that container called? AThe Tesseract BThe Aether CThe Orb DThe Eye of Agamotto ✓ Correct! The Tesseract — the blue cube that houses the Space Stone — first appears in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), powers the portal Loki opens over Manhattan in The Avengers (2012), and is destroyed by Thanos in Infinity War (2018) when he crushes it to claim the stone inside. The wrong options are all real Infinity Stone containers from the MCU: the Aether (red liquid form) houses the Reality Stone in Thor: The Dark World, the Orb houses the Power Stone in Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Eye of Agamotto houses the Time Stone in Doctor Strange. So all four answers refer to genuine stone containers — only the Tesseract holds Space. ✗ Wrong. The answer is the Tesseract. The trap is that all four options are real Infinity Stone containers: the Aether holds Reality (Thor: The Dark World), the Orb holds Power (Guardians of the Galaxy), and the Eye of Agamotto holds Time (Doctor Strange). Space — the blue stone shown in Cap’s 1942 plane wreckage and Loki’s 2012 invasion — is the Tesseract. NEXT → 05 In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the Soul Stone is hidden on Vormir and guarded by a Stonekeeper — revealed to be a cursed Red Skull. To claim it, the seeker must sacrifice the person they love most by throwing them from a cliff. Thanos arrives on Vormir with one adopted daughter, weeps, and pushes her over the edge. Which character does Thanos sacrifice to obtain the Soul Stone? ANebula BGamora CMantis DProxima Midnight ✓ Correct! Gamora (Zoe Saldaña). Thanos forces her to lead him to Vormir because Nebula has earlier revealed under torture that Gamora knew the Soul Stone’s location all along. The scene is the emotional pivot of Infinity War: it confirms that Thanos really does love Gamora, which means the sacrifice qualifies. In Endgame (2019), a 2014 version of Gamora returns through time travel with her father — meaning Gamora-of-Infinity-War remains dead at the end of the saga, while a different Gamora wanders the cosmos in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Nebula is alive throughout Infinity War; Mantis survives Vormir entirely; Proxima Midnight is one of Thanos’s Black Order children, killed in the Battle of Wakanda. ✗ Wrong. The answer is Gamora. Nebula is alive throughout Infinity War (she’s the one whose torture reveals Gamora knew where the stone was hidden). Mantis isn’t on Vormir. Proxima Midnight is Thanos’s adopted daughter via the Black Order, not via Zen-Whoberi, and is killed during the Battle of Wakanda by Scarlet Witch. Thanos sacrifices Gamora — the only adopted daughter he genuinely loves. NEXT → 06 In Avengers: Endgame (2019), Steve Rogers travels back in time to return the Infinity Stones, then chooses to remain in the past and live out a life with Peggy Carter. He returns to the present as an old man, sits on a bench by the lake at the Avengers compound, and hands his vibranium shield to a younger Avenger as the symbolic transfer of the Captain America identity. To whom does Steve give the shield? ABucky Barnes BSam Wilson CT’Challa DPeter Parker ✓ Correct! Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) — the Falcon. The choice deliberately bypasses Bucky, the original comics successor, because the Russos and screenwriters Markus & McFeely wanted the moment to read as a deliberate, racially-charged passing of an American icon rather than the obvious comics-canon handoff. The thread is then picked up directly in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+, 2021), in which Sam initially gives the shield to the Smithsonian, sees the government install John Walker as a replacement Cap, and ultimately takes the mantle himself — setting up Captain America: Brave New World (2025) with Mackie as the franchise’s new lead. ✗ Wrong. The answer is Sam Wilson, the Falcon. In the comics Bucky is the classic Cap successor, but the Russos and screenwriters Markus and McFeely deliberately picked Sam instead — a choice the entire Falcon and the Winter Soldier series (Disney+, 2021) then unpacks before Mackie carries it into Captain America: Brave New World (2025). NEXT → 07 After Endgame, Marvel Studios’ Phase Four launched the MCU on Disney+ with a sitcom-pastiche limited series in which Wanda Maximoff and a resurrected Vision live inside a reality-warping suburban hex. Each episode parodied a different era of US TV sitcom — The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, Family Ties, Modern Family. The show premiered January 15, 2021 and ran nine episodes. Which series was it — the first MCU project on Disney+? AWandaVision BLoki CThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier DHawkeye ✓ Correct! WandaVision (January 15 – March 5, 2021), created by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman. It launched Phase Four, earned 23 Emmy nominations, and effectively rebooted Wanda Maximoff as the Scarlet Witch ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). The Falcon and the Winter Soldier followed it in March 2021 — not first — and Loki landed in June 2021. Hawkeye is the 2021 Christmas series with Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld. The original launch order was WandaVision → FATWS → Loki → What If...? → Hawkeye, and WandaVision’s sitcom format remains the boldest swing of the Disney+ era. ✗ Wrong. The answer is WandaVision (January 15, 2021), the first MCU show on Disney+ and the launchpad for Phase Four. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier came in March 2021, Loki in June 2021, and Hawkeye in late 2021. The sitcom-pastiche structure — Dick Van Dyke through Modern Family — is unique to WandaVision. NEXT → 08 At the closing panel of San Diego Comic-Con on July 27, 2024, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige brought the Russo brothers back on stage to announce a new title for the next Avengers film — previously labelled “The Kang Dynasty” before Jonathan Majors’s December 2023 conviction forced a pivot — and then unmasked a cast of actors wearing green hoods. The final hood came off Robert Downey Jr. RDJ is returning to the MCU, but not as Tony Stark. As whom? AMister Sinister BDoctor Doom CNorman Osborn DMephisto ✓ Correct! Doctor Doom — Victor von Doom, the Latverian dictator and Reed Richards’s lifelong nemesis, generally considered Marvel’s greatest comics villain. The next Avengers film, originally announced as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, was retitled Avengers: Doomsday after Jonathan Majors was dropped as Kang following his December 2023 assault conviction. Doomsday is scheduled for May 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars to follow in May 2027 — both directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, returning to the MCU after Endgame. The in-universe explanation for RDJ playing Doom rather than Stark hinges on the multiverse: Doom is being positioned as a variant of Stark from another timeline. ✗ Wrong. The answer is Doctor Doom. The film was retitled from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to Avengers: Doomsday (May 2026) after Jonathan Majors was dropped, and the Russos returned to direct. RDJ’s casting as Doom — rather than as Tony Stark — is being explained in-universe via the multiverse: Doom as a Stark variant from another timeline. REVEAL MY RATING → The Stones Are Cast · Final Scorecard Your Avengers Standing 💎 / 8 A worthy Avenger — or dusted in the snap? ⤴ ROUND TWO While Mackie is confirmed to be among Avengers: Doomsday's cast list, his role is not as great as what was expected. The way the Avengers are being handled and led, as well as who else is in the movie, creates great concern about how Marvel Studios and Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo are going to use Sam's Captain America. Thor Seems To Be The Leader In Avengers: Doomsday More Than Sam's Captain America The clearest path to Sam having a major role in Doomsday was expected to come as the leader of the Avengers. He's the one responsible for rebuilding the team after Iron Man and Black Widow's deaths, Steve's disappearance, Hulk and Hawkeye largely retiring, and Thor going back to the cosmos. We even know from Thunderbolts*'s post-credits scene that Sam's Avengers team is active, as they have conflict with the New Avengers for using that name. While Sam may still be the one in charge of his Avengers team, he's not leading the entire ensemble. Doomsday's marketing has positioned Thor as the real leader of the MCU's heroes. The god of thunder is seemingly the one responsible for getting the New Avengers, Sam's Avengers, and Fantastic Four together to discuss how they can stop the incursions. Accompanied by a big speech about the danger they face, Thor is positioned as the one in charge. On the other hand, Sam has only been seen in group shots and hasn't even spoken yet in the marketing. There is no indication that the MCU's current Captain America will be properly utilized, as he seems to be vacating his leadership position to Thor. Perhaps this will be Sam's decision to defer command to an original Avenger, but even in that case, it would be disappointing to see Sam's Captain America not be a leader for the Avengers like Steve always was. There is a dishearteningly accurate representation of how Marvel is handling Sam in Doomsday's trailers. The movie's official first trailer shows Reed Richards stretching his hand to keep Sam back as Yelena Belova moves forward. Rather than being allowed to step into the forefront of an Avengers movie as a leader, Marvel is seemingly holding him back from the role he should have. Sam Wilson's Avengers Team Has Had Hardly Any Focus In The Trailers Making matters worse for Sam, Doomsday's trailers have raised questions about how important his new Avengers team really is to the movie. The footage Marvel has released to this point has given audiences a lot of the X-Men and Fantastic Four, as well as the Wakandans. Thor, as mentioned, has been central to the marketing, but the same is not true of Sam and his team members. The trailers haven't given any sense as to how close-knit a team Sam's Avengers are, nor do we have clarity on who exactly are part of the team. Captain America, Falcon, and Ant-Man all appear to be on it, while Shang-Chi makes sense as another member. But we haven't seen those four characters together in any shot, and it remains unclear if Sam's Avengers roster is only four heroes deep when Doomsday begins. Rather than show this new Avengers team together, Doomsday's trailers have signaled that they will be split up throughout the narrative. Sam and Shang-Chi are part of the group that goes to the X-Men universe, while Falcon stays on Earth with the Fantastic Four and New Avengers. It's unclear where Ant-Man fits in, as he's only been seen embracing Cassie Lang and standing in New Avengers Tower. Steve Rogers' Return Risks Overshadowing Sam Wilson's Captain America Image via Disney The other worrying factor for Sam's Captain America in Doomsday is Steve's return. Marvel Studios spent an entire Disney+ show and a blockbuster movie to transition Sam from Steve's sidekick to someone who fully embraces being Captain America and convince audiences that he was the mantle's future. Doomsday could have continued this momentum by allowing Sam to exist in a world without Steve. Instead, Doomsday is bringing Chris Evans back in a very big way. Marvel has made this clear by having the movie's very first teaser confirm Steve Rogers will return. He was then used as the "reveal" at the end of the official trailer, showing him and Thor reuniting, with Steve still being worthy of wielding Mjolnir. It's substantially more attention than Sam has received, making Steve overshadow him. This is unlikely to just be a marketing stunt, either. The Russos have discussed how important Steve is to the story they are telling in Doomsday, signaling that the movie wouldn't work without him. The same types of teases have not come for Sam, even though the directing duo introduced him to the MCU and positioned him to be Captain America. Evans might not put on the Captain America suit or hold the shield again (Mjolnir is teased to be Steve's primary accessory), but he clearly doesn't need either to steal Mackie's thunder. All indications are that Steve has a much bigger role in Doomsday than Sam. So even if the latter maintains the Captain America title, Sam has once again become a secondary character in a story that revolves around the original Cap. Why There's Still Hope For Captain America In Avengers: Doomsday As concerning as Sam Wilson's role in Avengers: Doomsday looks, there is still one key reason for optimism: Marvel's well-established secrecy. The studio loves holding back in its trailers, especially for movies they know are going to be major hits. To this point, we've only seen a few minutes of what will likely be a nearly 3-hour movie. Given the recognizability of characters like Steve, Thor, and the original X-Men, it makes sense from a marketing perspective for Doomsday to lean heavily on them and Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. There is a real chance that Sam still has a substantial role in the movie than Marvel is letting on, one that lets him shine as the leader of his newly formed Avengers team. The best-case scenario is that Captain America winds up having one of the five most prominent roles in the movie, joining the likes of Steve, Thor, Doom, and Reed. The Russos have an affinity for Sam given their extensive history with the character, so it would be quite fitting that they give him a Captain America-sized role in Avengers: Doomsday and prove to global audiences what he's capable of with the shield. Release Date December 18, 2026 Runtime 165 Minutes Director Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Cast Vanessa Kirby Sue Storm / Invisible Woman Johnny Storm / Human Torch Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ben Grimm / The Thing Writers Stephen McFeely, Michael Waldron, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee Producers Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Kevin Feige Prequel(s) Spider-Man: Brand New Day Sequel(s) Avengers: Secret Wars Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Thor, X-Men