Captain America: Brave New World is now in theaters worldwide and has received a mixed reception from fans and critics alike. There is no denying that recent projects within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been struggling in quality, and Sam Wilson’s first major outing as the star-spangled man with a plan could have fared better. Constant reshoots and changes compromised the director’s original vision, and what fans received was something else entirely.
Director Julius Onah revealed that certain characters were removed from the final cut. Unfortunately, this became nothing more than a pipe dream and could have been much better than what was included in the final product.
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Captain America: Brave New World Was Meant to Feature the Illuminati
Changes are inevitable, especially in the film industry, but some changes are too much to bear and can ruin the director’s creative vision. It is no secret that this film has undergone extensive changes during production where certain characters and storylines were cut for reasons unknown. The director revealed in an interview that the Illuminati, a group of superhumans committed to safeguarding the planet, was meant to have a brief cameo.
This didn’t happen, and fans saw a different post-credits scene featuring Sam paying Sterns a visit in the Raft and taunting him with otherworldly threats. This was meant to tease the multiverse unraveling in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, but it felt too forced and didn’t give the viewers anything to work with other than information that was shared years prior.
When asked about his Illuminati lineup, Onah laughed at the topic and refused to give any details about his original vision:
I’m not going to say! I’m not going to say (laughs). Let’s just say things are purposely left vague in that post-credit for a reason.
There is no telling if this version of the group will be from Earth-616 or another multiversal variant similar to what was done in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It is a shame to see an exciting post-credit scene altered.
Other than vague details, the post-credit scene was practically nothing. Earlier projects gave fans a direct tease of the following project, but this wasn’t the case for Brave New World. This is one of the scenes redone during the reshoots alongside the opening battle featuring Sam with his Captain America suit that he received from the Wakandans during the penultimate episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney Plus.
Captain America 4 Was a Victim of Circumstance
While the film strongly established Sam Wilson as Captain America, it did the job by laying the groundwork for what fans can expect in the future, like rebuilding the Avengers in time for the next film. Some fans would argue that Brave New World was a soft sequel to The Incredible Hulk from 2008 since most characters came from that side of the MCU, minus the Hulk himself.
This film became an answer sheet for loose ends, such as the Leader’s whereabouts for the last few years and how the world reacted to the failed emergence from Eternals. Despite the changes, the film did show that Sam Wilson has what it takes to become the new Captain America and lead the franchise into the future.
For more Thumb Wars film coverage, check out our thoughts about who is in charge of the Thunderbolts* and how Captain America: Brave New World ushered the Marvel Cinematic Universe into a new era.
Rouvin Josef Quirimit is a Content Writer, an avid gamer (on his PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch), and film enthusiast. He was fortunate to grow up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was enamored by the storytelling of a shared universe full of heart and spectacle. His love for movies led him to great single-player games and he intends to cover major franchises for years to come!
