Captain America: Brave New World not only serves as a follow-up to Avengers: Endgame and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier but also addresses unresolved plot beats from Eternals and The Incredible Hulk.
It's a unique use of the movie that, for the most part, serves it well. However, this is Marvel Studios and the MCU is a franchise that always has one eye on the future.
With that in mind, you're probably wondering whether Captain America: Brave New World does anything specifically to set the stage for Avengers: Doomsday and the long-rumoured World War Hulk movie.
The answer is yes and no.
A falling out with President Ross puts a swift end to the Commander in Chief's hope Sam Wilson will assemble a team who will report to him. However, Cap later realises that the world does need The Avengers and his first recruit is Joaquin Torres, a.k.a. the new Falcon.
By far the biggest Avengers: Doomsday set-up comes in a post-credits scene featuring The Leader. In that, the villain warns of other worlds and "others" coming to face Earth-616's heroes. You can read an in-depth breakdown here.
As for World War Hulk, Marvel Studios missed a trick to do anything that could lead directly to such a project. Yes, Samuel Sterns figured out a way to turn Ross into a Hulk but there's nothing to suggest he targeted anyone else or that someone out there will make use of his ideas (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law already established that it can be as simple as stealing a Hulk's blood).
There are certainly ways to make it so The Leader is an important part of any World War Hulk movie but he's spent years obsessing over taking his revenge on Ross, not Bruce Banner. At this stage, he's really not a Hulk villain. It's just a shame Amadeus Cho was cut.
So, there you have it. Not every movie needs to be a "trailer" for the next one but if you're an MCU fan, then it's well worth checking Captain America: Brave New World out to at least see some of the groundwork laid for Avengers: Doomsday.
In Captain America: Brave New World, after meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, played by Harrison Ford in his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Sam Wilson finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
The movie stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford. The movie is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers.
"Flawed but functional, Captain America: Brave New World's many problems are largely forgotten any time Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford electrify the screen," we said in our review. "And when Red Hulk shows up, the movie reaches new heights of awesome."
Captain America: Brave New World opens in U.S. theaters on February 14, 2025.