This interview has been edited for clarity.
The 35th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and fourth entry in the Captain America film franchise will make the big screen debut of a new Captain America to the world, as well as that of a new, red Hulk, another iconic character from the Marvel Comics, but as sharp-eyed fans have caught on, there another surprise element that will also mark its debut in the long-running Disney franchise – adamantium.
Marvel fans will instantly recognise adamantium as the almost indestructible substance from the comics that first appeared in The Avengers #66 (1969), most famous for being the impervious metal that coats Wolverine’s skeleton and claws and its introduction in the MCU signals something much more. To fans, the element is a sign that the mutant population from the X-Men franchise will finally enter the MCU is a big way and within the MCU, who wouldn’t want control of the most powerful substance known to man?
Unlike vibranium, which has largely remained under Wakanda’s control, adamantium is now up for grabs, and everyone wants a piece of it, especially since it’s just sitting there, in the middle of the sea. In the MCU, the material wasn’t created by accident but mined from the remains of a Celestial mass in the Indian Ocean, a remnant story point of 2021’s Eternals that had, until now, been ignored.
Even as his film is set to bring new characters to the MCU, director Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox, Bad Genius), who also makes his MCU debut with this film, understands the massive weight and responsibility of leading adamantium’s introduction.
“A ‘brave new world’ goes back to the Shakespeare quote. It also goes back to the Alex Aldous Huxley novel,” he says, referencing both the 1611 play The Tempest (Oh wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! Oh brave new world, that has such people in’t.’), and English author Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian novel.
“It’s often about an emerging technology that can have really positive, but also sometimes unknown and scary implications in a world. And adamantium is this really powerful resource that, for anybody who’s a Marvel fan knows, plays an incredible role in the world,” he says in an exclusive interview with Geek Culture.
The metal’s sudden introduction signals not just a scientific breakthrough but also brings forth a geopolitical crisis as world governments see opportunity, militaries see weapons, and new American President, Thaddeus Ross, now played by Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark) after the death of William Hurt (Lost in Space), is eager to control its distribution. And if you read the comics, you will know that Ross is also the alter ego of the Red Hulk.
But red or green, a Hulk is no way to lead and inspire a nation, so Ross is calling forth the services of the embodiment of the American spirit, Captain America, which now sees Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie, Twisted Metal) carrying the shield and fully stepping into the role once held by Steve Rogers. But unlike his predecessor, who operated in a world of clear-cut heroism, Sam finds himself entangled in a far more complicated reality where political tensions are mounting, hidden agendas are at play, and a new, highly valuable element has surfaced.
And the timing of adamantium’s introduction is no coincidence either. With Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) bringing Hugh Jackman’s (X-Men) Wolverine back onto the big screen, many assumed that film would be the gateway for mutants into the MCU, but Captain America: Brave New World is the first mainline MCU film to establish adamantium as a resource, setting up its significance for where the franchise is headed next says Onah.
“It’s the first step for a huge journey coming forward in the MCU, leading towards the next Avengers movies, and of course, adamantium and mutants are going to be a part of that.”
Balancing these larger implications with the immediate story of Sam Wilson’s Captain America is central to Onah’s approach. Following the success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Captain America: Civil War (2016), expectations remain high for a film that can carry the franchise forward, while also carving out a new identity for Sam’s Captain America.
The pressure of that legacy isn’t lost on Onah, but he isn’t trying to replicate what came before. “We got to see and meet Sam Wilson and see how his journey was evolving as the Falcon. Then, of course, in Endgame, we saw Steve Rogers pass the shield to Sam Wilson. So with this movie, I really wanted to honour where the characters were coming from, where the franchise was coming from.”
Rather than revisiting past formulas, Onah looked to classic thrillers for inspiration. “We looked at different influences of movies, specifically from The Parallax View (1974) from the Pakula trilogy. But then we also looked at The Day of the Jackal (1973), and we also looked at Point Blank (2019). [Those were] really, really great movies that were a bit different from what the Russo brothers had looked at.”
“That pressure is a healthy pressure,” Onah continued, “It really challenged us and encouraged me as a director and a filmmaker, to try and make sure that the tone and the style of this film was specific to Sam, and that the emotional journey of this film was specific to Sam and his superpower.”
After all, at the centre of this shifting political ground is Mackie’s Sam Wilson, still finding his footing as Cap. Unlike Steve Rogers, whose legacy was built in an era of clear battle lines, Sam exists in a world where conflicts are murky, and allegiances shift without warning. The film places him in a position where he must constantly justify his place, not just to the public but to those in power. But Onah sees this as an essential part of Sam’s journey.
“Steve Rogers would say, ‘I got it right,’” he says when asked how Steve would feel about Sam’s journey. “He would be so proud of himself.” Steve’s choice to pass the shield to Sam was about selecting someone who understood the world in a way that he never could.
“Steve was a man from another era. A product of World War II America. He was frozen in ice. He came to our present. And so much of the journey of his character was reconciling the past with the present. But in Steve’s infinite wisdom, he said, ‘I should give the shield to a man of the now, somebody who lives and speaks in this world and knows the world that we all live in.’”
That idea, that Captain America should be a reflection of the world as it is, not as it was, is something Onah keeps at the heart of Captain America: Brave New World. “Sam is now a Captain America of the present, and he brings a fresh point of view, a distinct point of view, one that Steve felt was important.”
“And by the end of this film, not only would Steve be proud, we’re all going to be proud of Sam Wilson and have him lead us going forward in the MCU.”
Captain America: Brave New World opens in Singapore cinemas on 13 February.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she’s not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Caleb from Love and Deepspace.
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