Captain America: Brave New World’s movie inspirations have been revealed, making the movie even more exciting than it was already. As the firstMarvel movie releasing in 2025,Captain America: Brave New Worldis nearing the final stages of its marketing. Theupcoming MCU movieis being teased by Marvel Studios, as well as those involved in crafting the film itself. From teases of the intriguingstory ofCaptain America: Brave New Worldto the movies that inspired it, the final few months before the MCU project’s release have led to many exciting reveals.
In a recent interview withEmpire,Captain America: Brave New World’s director, Julius Onah, outlined the specific movies he had in mind when crafting the MCU story. Onah also stated that he wants these inspirations to shine through in the final film, rather than be a director who names lots of movies that hold no correspondence withCaptain America: Brave New World:
“I don’t want to be that guy who says, ‘I was inspired by this thing’, and then you watch the movie, and you’re like, ‘What the f*** were you talking about?’ We looked at a number of different films. We had a conversation about The Day Of The Jackal, and the Pakula trilogy of Klute, All The President’s Men and The Parallax View. These are all movies about people on the move, trying to stay one step ahead of an investigation or an adversary.”
While it remains to be seen if Onah’s influences shine through, it is clear the filmmaker had a lot of comparison points when makingCaptain America 4.
What Captain America: Brave New World’s Movie Inspiration Means
The Movie Has A Clear Vision
When concerning what impact Onah’s inspirations will have onCaptain America: Brave New World, they mean that the film had a distinct vision from the beginning. Onah clearly knew what kind of film he wanted to make, citing the inspirations for this story. InCaptain America 4’s case, Onah wanted a film that involved Sam Wilson fighting to stay ahead of a villain, Tim Blake Nelson’s The Leader.
Who Is The Leader? Captain America: Brave New World’s Hidden Villain Explained
The Leader will be flying in the face of convention by debuting as a villain in Captain America: Brave New World and here’s what can be expected.
All of the movies mentioned by Onah are exactly this, but they also mean a lot more than that forCaptain America: Brave New World. Not only do these movies make it clear that Onah had a focused vision from the start, but they are also some of the most acclaimed thrillers in history.Klute, All the President’s Men, andThe Parallax Viewcomprise an unofficial trilogy, with each counting among the best conspiracy thrillers ever made, as isThe Day of the Jackal.Captain America 4being inspired by these films certainly does not harm its chances of being a strong thriller-based superhero movie.
Our Take On Captain America: Brave New World’s Movie Inspiration
Overall, I cannot deny how refreshing it is to hear a Marvel Studios director name-dropping movies of this caliber. A common complaint of the MCU is that the franchise dilutes filmmakers' visions in favor of by-the-numbers installments. Although I do not necessarily agree with this criticism, there have been some cases of filmmakers with distinct styles being somewhat nullified by the MCU.
Movies of this quality being listed asCaptain America: Brave New World’s inspirations do not harm its chances of being an impressive thriller in its own right…
It remains to be seen which side of the pondCaptain America 4lands on, but Onah’s inspirations give me hope that his vision will be translated. As I alluded to, movies of this quality being listed asCaptain America: Brave New World’s inspirations do not harm its chances of being an impressive thriller in its own right. For this reason, my excitement for the MCU’s first film of 2025 has only grown.
Captain America: Brave New World
Cast
Captain America: Brave New World (formerly titledNew World Order)marks Sam Wilson’s first MCU big-screen appearance as Steve Rogers' successor after receiving the suit and shield in Phase 4’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Anthony Mackie returns as the titular Avenger alongside Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Carl Lumby as Isaiah Bradley, and Tim Blake Nelson as The Incredible Hulk’s former ally Samuel Sterns. Harrison Ford makes his MCU debut replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross.After meeting President Thaddeus Ross, Sam is caught in a global crisis. He must expose the mastermind behind a sinister plot before the world descends into turmoil. Captain America: Brave New World marks the big-screen debut of Sam Wilson as Captain America, and Harrison Ford makes his MCU debut, replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross.
