In the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) finally decided he was ready to take over for Steve Rogers as the new Captain America. It’s now been over three years since the Disney+ series ended, and we finally got a glimpse at the continuing adventures of Sam in the first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World.
The teaser is chock full of action, explosions, and new characters without revealing much of the actual plot. While we’re sure to learn more from the next trailer in the coming months, the teaser does divulge some interesting tidbits about the Marvel movie.
Captain America: Brave New World trailer easter eggs
Below, we’ll parse through everything we learned from the new trailer, from character reveals to a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-them surprises.
In the opening moments, Sam jokes with President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) about “the new look.” William Hurt, who passed away in 2022, played Ross in five MCU movies. This isn’t the first time a major character has been recast, either. Marvel also replaced Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle for War Machine.
After President Thaddeus Ross asks Sam about Captain America becoming an official military position once again, we see a few unfamiliar characters flash across the screen. The first, Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), is a high-ranking government official and former Black Widow. Haas was reportedly cast as Israeli superhero Sabra initially, but world events seemingly prompted Marvel to rewrite the character to avoid controversy.
We also see a rifle-wielding Giancarlo Esposito. Marvel has yet to reveal who he has been cast as, but one recent rumor suggests he will play George Washington Bridge. In the comics, G.W. Bridge is a mercenary who eventually joins S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ever since Eternals hit theaters in 2021, Marvel fans have been wondering why the giant, four-eyed Celestial sticking out of the ocean wasn’t a bigger deal in the MCU. It looks like the corpse of the god-like being will finally return in Brave New World, as we get a glimpse of an enormous structure in the ocean early on in the trailer.
If you weren’t sure whether or not you’d need to remember the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, this shot should solve that mystery. Alongside Mackie, we see Danny Ramirez reprising his role as Joaquin Torres (aka new Falcon) and Carl Lumbly as retired super-soldier Isaiah Bradley (who is trying to assassinate the president).
Of course, the actual villain is Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader, played by Tim Blake Nelson. The character was first introduced in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Halfway through the trailer, we get a sneak peek at the back of his green head as he says to someone over the phone: “Global power is shifting. You’re just a pawn.”
Finally, the cat’s out of the bag. At some point in Brave New World, President Ross is going to transform into Red Hulk. Although he looks virtually identical to Bruce Banner’s Hulk (other than the red tint), Red Hulk is capable of absorbing gamma radiation and emitting optic beams from his eyes in the comics. He’ll be quite a handful for Captain America.
