Following delays caused by last year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Captain America: Brave New World is set to be released in theaters next February.
Sam Wilson is expected to square off with Red Hulk, but somewhere in the background, The Leader is thought to be pulling the strings. Played by Tim Blake Nelson, the villain hasn't been seen in the MCU since 2008's The Incredible Hulk when his transformation was first teased by Marvel Studios.
In a recent interview with Michael Rosenbaum, Nelson addressed his return as Samuel Sterns when he said, "I'm very happy about it. It's a wonderfully directed movie by Julius Onah."
"I can tell you about my character that we did everything we could, and this was entirely supported by Marvel and I'm so grateful to Kevin Feige and Nate Moore for supporting this: they were on board 100% to do the character as practically as possible with an absence of digital stuff."
The actor continued, "I really credit Marvel and also Julius for wanting to make a very much reality-based superhero movie, as oxymoronic as that sounds. In terms of our approach to The Leader, that's really where we went and I was really gratified to do it that way."
This lines up with what Nelson told us earlier this year when he confirmed "[I] worked with the Marvel team and this wonderful makeup artist named David Atherton on The Leader's appearance.
Practical effects could mean the villain doesn't look quite as over-the-top as his comic book counterpart. However, an argument could be made that it doesn't matter if it allows Nelson's performance to shine through.
We'd expected The Leader to factor into She-Hulk: Attorney at Law as the leader of the Intelligencia, only for those theories to go nowhere (which still feels like a missed trick on Marvel Studios' part). In Captain America: Brave New World, expect him to play a key role in transforming President Ross into a rampaging Hulk.
Captain America: Brave New World's cast includes Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Shira Haas, Liv Tyler, Xosha Roquemore, and WWE Superstar Seth Rollins.
Julius Onah helms the movie from a screenplay by Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson, though the director is believed to have also taken a pass at it. Matthew Orton, meanwhile, has written new scenes for the additional photography scheduled to take place this summer.
Captain America: Brave New World is set to arrive in theaters on February 14, 2025.