After being fan-cast in several different superhero/villain roles - including Professor Charles Xavier - over the years, we recently got word that Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Boys, The Mandalorian) had joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an undisclosed role.
We did recently get confirmation that Esposito would make his debut in Captain America: Brave New World, but despite set photos giving us a pretty good look at his mysterious character, we're still not sure who he's playing.
Esposito wasn't about to spill the beans while speaking to Deadline on the red carpet of the MaXXXine world premiere, but he did refer to his character as a "badass," and indicated that we will see him get more physically involved in the action than he has in previous projects.
“When you see me in the MCU, you’re going to see a badass and I’m excited for that. Acting is using every part of your body, your emotions, your senses, your feelings to portray something. You haven’t really seen me use my body in a way I’ll be using it. The MCU is exciting. I can’t tell you who I play, but you’re gonna be excited when you see it.”
This isn't really a major surprise after Esposito's character was spotted looking very well-equipped for battle, with three guns, three knives, and an axe. We'd say he is most likely playing some kind of non-super-powered mercenary that's been tasked with taking down Sam Wilson and his allies, but that only slightly narrows down the possibilities.
The first official stills from the movie were released a couple of weeks back, featuring Anthony Mackie as the returning Sam Wilson equipped with Steve Rogers' iconic vibranium shield, and our new Sentinel of Liberty meeting the now President "Thunderbolt" Ross (Harrison Ford), who will task Wilson with reforming The Avengers.
In the footage that screened at CinemaCon last month, Ross welcomes Wilson to the White House to commend him on his past heroism, but chaos soon ensues when music plays and activates some sleeper agent assassins, including Carl Lumbly's Isaiah Bradley, attempt to take out the President.
"It made more sense for it to be more of a grounded espionage action movie as opposed to aliens and airplanes coming through portals and sh*t," Mackie said in a recent interview. "Even though I've been in so many of them and have seen it all now, the opportunity for Sam to really establish himself as a true action star and Avenger comes with this movie."
"This movie is a clear reset," he adds. It really re-establishes the idea of what this universe is and what this universe is going to be. I think with these movies, you're getting a clear, new branding of what Marvel is headed towards the same way they did with Captain America: The Winter Soldier."
Joining Mackie and Ford will be Danny Ramirez as the new Falcon, Shira Haas as Israeli superheroine Sabra, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader.
Specific plot details are still under wraps, but rumor has it the story will see Samuel Sterns revealed as the "secret benefactor" behind the Serpent Society. What this will entail is not clear, but we assume he'll be funding the group and possibly providing them with tech.
Captain America: Brave New World is set to arrive in theaters on February 14, 2025.