Warning: This article contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.
I’m desperate to see oneMCUhero make an appearance inThunderbolts*afterCaptain America: Brave New World. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson made his theatrical debut as Captain America inBrave New World, and I was happy to see his previous experiences in the MCU and connections to other superheroes play a huge role in the Phase 5 movie’s storyline.Brave New Worldharked back toThe Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil WarandThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, among others, in some huge ways, especially by including one surprising and welcome cameo.
Sam Wilson wasn’t the only returning MCU character inCaptain America: Brave New World, as he was also joined by the likes ofJoaquín Torres, the MCU’s new Falcon, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Isaiah Bradley and Samuel Sterns, the Leader. I found that this provided some brilliant moments of interconnectivity betweenBrave New Worldand the MCU’s history, andan unexpected appearance from Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes made this even more prominent. I loved this moment, and am desperate to see it repeated inMarvel Studios' upcomingThunderbolts*movie.
Sebastian Stan’s Cameo In Captain America: Brave New World Was Brilliant
Image via Marvel Studios
I reckonSam Wilson is primed to return the favor and make a cameo appearance alongside Bucky Barnes in his next MCU appearance, May 2025’sThunderbolts*. 14 years after his debut in 2011’sCaptain America: The First Avenger, Sebastian Stan’sBucky Barnes, the former Winter Soldier, is finally stepping out from Captain America’s shadow inThunderbolts*. While I’m excited to see Bucky stand on his own and form his own team of morally-questionable antiheroes, I still want to see Captain America pop up in the Phase 5 crossover movie.
Sebastian Stan’s cameo as Bucky Barnes inCaptain America: Brave New Worlddeveloped his friendship with Sam Wilson perfectly, and this should still be proven to be solid inThunderbolts*.Marvel Studios has come under fire for not featuring its current cornerstone heroes as regularly as it did during the Infinity Saga, so Anthony Mackie making an appearance inThunderbolts*could begin to quell these criticisms. AfterCaptain America: Brave New Worldteased a major upcoming storyline, too, I reckonThunderbolts*is the perfect place for Marvel to set upAvengers: Doomsdayeven more.
Bucky Barnes’ Captain America: Brave New World Cameo Continued A Crucial MCU Storyline
Sam Wilson & Bucky Barnes Became Very Close In The Falcon & The Winter Soldier
Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes' relationshipwas teased as having a sarcastic and banter-filled dynamic all the way back in 2016’sCaptain America: Civil War. I vividly remember the iconic"can you move your seat up"moment, and I was thrilled to see more of these moments play out in 2021’sThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier.While Sam Wilson was struggling with the idea of becoming Captain America, as Steve Rogers had wished, Bucky Barnes helped him through a tough time, and the pair became much closer, which perfectly set up Bucky’s appearance inBrave New World.
Captain America: Brave New World’s Bucky Update Already Makes His Thunderbolts* Story More Tragic
Captain America: Brave New World provides an update on Bucky Barnes' current setup in the MCU timeline that makes the future seem a touch more grim.
Bucky Barnes’Captain America: Brave New Worldcameo stands out as one of my favorite moments in the movie.It delivered moments of comedy, but also highlighted Bucky’s now-incredibly-strong friendship with Sam Wilson, to the point that Bucky even stated,“I love you, buddy,“to Sam. This was a heartfelt moment that perfectly expanded onThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier’sthemes, and I am desperate to see this friendship grow even stronger if Anthony Mackie makes a cameo appearance inThunderbolts*.
How Captain America’s Thunderbolts* Cameo Can Set Up Avengers: Doomsday
Sam Wilson’s Captain America Can Still Form The New Avengers
While I think it would be great to see Sam Wilson pop up inThunderbolts*to simply reaffirm the strong bond between him and Bucky Barnes, Captain America could have another agenda in the upcoming movie.Captain America: Brave New Worldsaw President Ross ask Sam Wilson to rebuild the Avengers, and while this didn’t come to pass, it seems likely that Sam will still bring the new Avengers team together.Captain America: Brave New World’spost-credits scenemade this even more likely, as the Leader teased huge danger in the MCU’s future.
The cast ofThunderbolts*has already been confirmed to be returning inAvengers: Doomsday, including Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell and Olga Kurylenko.
Since Sam Wilson has seemingly accepted the challenge of rebuilding the Avengers, he’ll surely be on the lookout for superheroes strong enough to join the team.Joaquín Torres' Falcon has already been offered a spot on the team, and I could easily see Sam approaching Bucky Barnes with the prospect of becoming an official Avenger. Captain America could also recruit other members of the titular team inThunderbolts*, perfectly setting the stage for the newAvengers team’s official debut inAvengers: Doomsday.
