Captain America star Anthony Mackie has implied that he will not have a role in the upcoming Thunderbolts movie.
In an interview with Variety at the D23 Expo, Mackie was asked if the character of Steve Rogers will appear again in the MCU. "I hope so, man. You know, Chris [Evans] is my boy, we all love and enjoy Chris. I'm highly upset that they've put Sebastian [Stan] in a movie with Wyatt [Russell] and left me out," Mackie said. He jokingly continued, "If Sebastian gets Wyatt, I should get Chris."
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Playing the role of Sam Wilson, Mackie took over the mantle of Captain America in the Disney+ series Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). As portrayed by Chris Evans, Steve Rogers last appeared in Avengers: Endgame (2019). The ultimate fate of Rogers in the MCU remains unknown. Still, he memorably passed the iconic shield along to Sam Wilson after returning to the present as an elderly man from a timeline in the past spent with Peggy Carter. Mackie will be placed front and center as the stars and stripes-clad hero in the Julius Onah-directed film Captain America: New World Order, slated for a 2024 release. Considering Sam Wilson's close connections with the characters of Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and John Walker/U.S Agent (Wyatt Russell), there had been speculation that Mackie may be present in Thunderbolts. However, the star's comments at D23 seem to indicate otherwise.
Filmmaker Jake Schreier will direct Thunderbolts as his first entry into the MCU. Eric Pearson will write the script. Pearson previously contributed to projects in the franchise with notable screenwriting credits like Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Black Widow (2021).
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A team comprised of antiheroes and villains, the Thunderbolts have had various iterations in different Marvel Comics storylines over the years. The group's roster in the MCU is confirmed to include Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the aforementioned Bucky Barnes and John Walker, Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Story details for the Thunderbolts film are sparse at this time, but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has teased the unique potential of this crew of notorious characters, saying, "It tells you a lot about the team when beloved Winter Soldier is the most stable among them."
Thunderbolts is scheduled to release in theaters on July 26, 2024.
Source: Variety via Twitter