In Captain America: Brave New World, Anthony Mackie returns to his high-flying character Sam Wilson. But he’s no longer the Falcon — this time around, he’s taken up the mantle of Captain America.

The film arrives in theaters Friday. Mackie told ABC News that director Julius Onah had a clear vision of what he wanted to do with Sam’s Falcon wings to differentiate his Cap from Chris Evans‘ portrayal.

“He wanted to make him more of an aerial combat specialist,” Mackie said. “Because he didn’t take the super serum, his fighting style is different, is more brutal, is more aggressive, is more of an attack.”

Mackie says his Cap is also in touch with his emotions.

“Sam Wilson, when we first met him, he was a counselor,” Mackie said. “There was a certain level of humanity and that came along with this character.”

Danny Ramirez plays Joaquin Torres in the film, taking over the title of the Falcon. He said watching Mackie take over the role of Cap helped him step into his own role.

“Starting it that way allowed for my version of Falcon to be more like myself than necessarily trying to emulate exactly what someone else did … Joaquin is an eager, young son of a gun that’s trying to prove himself and trying to impress and kind of prove that he belongs.”

After being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for so long, Mackie says it never gets old.

“I’m so lucky to make a living at what I wanted to do since I was 7 years old. And this movie kind of reintroduced me to that,” Mackie said. “Danny will come to set every day, and he was just like a little jumping bean … his excitement for the role, his excitement for the opportunity, it reignited that in me.” 

Disney is the parent company of Marvel and ABC News.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.