Anthony Mackie, who has starred in numerous films, finally gets a chance to don a superhero outfit in the upcoming Captain America sequel. Stopping by The HuffPost Live (via ComicBook.com), he was asked how he felt when Marvel reached out to him for the role of The Falcon. “When Marvel gave me the opportunity to bring this character to life, I was so emotional and overjoyed at the opportunity of being a part of not only a franchise like that, but a studio like that,” he said. When asked if he was ever into comics in his youth, Mackie replied simply: “No, I was a baseball kid. I was everything. I was a sports kid. I was never into comic books. I was never that kid.”
Also, Mackie reaffirmed and defended the casting of Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm a.k.a. The Human Torch in Fox's Fantastic Four reboot. “No, no, no, he’s there. Michael B. Jordan is a very good friend of mine. I’ve known him since he was a teenager, and I’m so happy, for more than anybody else for him to be getting the accolades he’s getting, because he deserves it.” Mackie then goes on to speak about how he thinks the audiences should be open-minded when a decision such as said casting comes along. “I think with these type of movies, everything else aside, you need a good actor. Michael B. Jordan is a good actor, black or white. So what you have to realize is, and go back and forth and just say, ‘Superman can’t fly, Batman ain’t real, the Human Torch don’t really set himself on fire and fly around the room, so he can look like whatever they want him to look like.’ You just have to allow yourself to see him that way. And if you can’t do that, that says something about you. As an audience member if you can’t do that, you need to look at yourself, because there’s something going on with you, that you might need some help with.” What do you guys think? Sound off with your comments in the usual place.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier storms into theaters April 4th, 2014 and stars Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Georges St-Pierre, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Emily VanCamp, Maximiliano Hernández with Samuel L. Jackson, and Robert Redford. The film is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo.