Anthony Mackie made his MCU debut a decade ago with the movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). Since then he has appeared as Sam Wilson, the former pilot and trusted friend of Steve Rogers, in different film installments until, in 2021, he teamed up with Bucky Barnes for a solo series - Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
This production saw Wilson and Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan, on a global adventure that tested their skills and concluded with Wilson finally assuming the mantle of Captain America. This also set the stage for the announced Captain America 4, now retitled Captain America: Brave New World.
While the film is a unique opportunity for Mackie as it marks his first solo film, the actor admitted that he regrets not being able to reunite with his co-stars. "I really enjoyed doing The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In fact, I was excited about the idea of doing a second season, just so Sebastian Stan and I could get paid to hang out together. Because it's me and him and Daniel Brühl. It's like the perfect storm of happiness. Anything I can do to hang out with Daniel Brühl makes me very happy," the performer said in an interview with RadioTimes.
"When they decided to go back to the movies, it is what it is, but I don't have my friends anymore, so that kind of tarnishes it a little bit," the actor added. Although Sebastian Stan and Daniel Brühl do not appear in Captain America: Brave New World, the film does feature other cast members from the Disney+ series such as Danny Ramirez and Carl Lumbly who will reprise their roles as Joaquin Torres and Isaiah Bradley, respectively.