Marvel Studios has made some major missteps during the Multiverse Saga; however, with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars fast approaching, we're seeing a major course correction and a shift back to quality over quantity.
Daredevil: Born Again underwent a major creative overhaul mid-shoot and Captain America: Brave New World has also undergone extensive reshoots meant to fix what wasn't working.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, The Leader actor Tim Blake Nelson shared some insights into just how much those have changed what we'll see in theaters next February.
"Well, we’re done. I’ve shot it," he started. "I’ve actually shot it twice because I did it originally a year ago, and then we came back and redid a lot of it at the beginning of it this summer. Every single movie I do hopefully makes me better."
"I’ve probably done about 60 movies in between Hulk and Captain America: Brave New World," Nelson continued, "so there are dozens of increments of improvement."
This lends weight to the rumours that the Serpent Society has been left on the cutting room floor and suggests the changes extended well beyond just action scenes.
While there will be those who spin Nelson's comments as negative, it wasn't that long ago he was heaping praise on both Captain America: Brave New World and Marvel Studios.
"It was a great challenge and I was guided beautifully by Julius Onah, who’s an indie director," he said of the movie. "These are real directors who want to work with real actors and give them opportunities to play outlandish characters. Marvel supports that."
Nelson added, "I couldn’t respect Martin Scorsese more, he’s his own genre, but I disagree with him when he derides Marvel. I come down on the side of Marvel movies absolutely being cinema. They return us to being kids again. When they are really good, and they often are, you lose yourself in them."
"Are they profound? Are they 'Goodfellas' and 'Miller’s Crossing,' are they 'Bicycle Thieves,' 'Schindler’s List' or 'Kieślowski'? No, but they aren’t aspiring to be. They are entertainment and there’s artistry involved in them. That’s my Marvel speech." He'd later call Captain America: Brave New World "a wonderful movie."
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.
Captain America: Brave New World 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.
Captain America: Brave New World opens in U.S. theaters on February 14, 2025.