To no one’s surprise, Captain America: Brave New World isn’t receiving much love from critics. But we now have confirmation from a crew member of what we already suspected was the root cause of yet another lackluster Marvel production.
It’s become clear that any time reports come out of extensive reshoots on Marvel films, the result is, at best, middling and, at worst, disastrous. So, the fact that Brave New World — a film that was majorly rejected at test screenings, had more than 20 days of added filming, and was forced to change its title due to weird political connotations — is currently sitting on an unimpressive 53% Rotten Tomatoes score isn’t shocking.
Vulture spoke to an anonymous technical crew member who shed light on just how messy the process of making Anthony Mackie’s first solo outing in the MCU was.
Most of the troubles came from the film’s political connotations, with Harrison Ford’s authoritarian U.S. president character Thaddeus Ross turning into Red Hulk, a bulging, red-skinned monster. In the source’s opinion, this was likely the reason audiences responded so badly to the first test screenings.
When the studio had its test in front of an audience, it didn’t respond. Maybe they don’t want to see anything political in an election year? Maybe they were divided on who they were voting for? General Ross reads as an allusion to Trump.”
Then, there was the film’s original subtitle, New World Order. The studio somehow didn’t know it was the name of a popular and widespread antisemitic conspiracy theory about a secret, mostly Jewish global elite pulling the strings on everything we consume, think, and learn.
If one of the film’s main characters alluding to Trump wasn’t enough to send Disney running for cover, then a title that was dangerously adjacent to the then-ongoing Israel-led war in Gaza must have sealed the deal. While all of that was happening, Marvel was also dealing with the backlash from including Israeli actress Shira Haas in the cast. It’s like they were trying to complete some kind of warped, Hollywood-glazed political bingo. And they couldn’t have picked a worse time to push those boundaries.
Next, there was the issue of Harrison Ford, who lived up to its curmudgeon reputation on set, says the crew member. “One of the crankiest performers I ever dealt with … very much a diva,” they describe. An injury resulting from a plane crash naturally made him even less enthused to be in silly motion capture gear: “To me, it seemed like he hated it and didn’t want to do it … Everyone was trying to scramble to make him happy. That made for a very awkward work environment.”
Finally, there was the bloated budget. Described by the cast as a “grounded thriller,” the film is believed to have ultimately cost nearly $300 million after the last-minute reshoots, according to insider Jeff Sneider. For comparison, The Hollywood Reporter had initially reported that it had cost “just” $180 million, which is less than many Marvel offerings.
Entire action sequences had to be remade, characters cut, and Giancarlo Esposito’s supervillain added last minute. “It was on, then it was off, then it was on again. That’s very expensive to do … Entire sequences we shot won’t make it into the film, and that’s very expensive.”
The source, as well as a colleague they quote, describes the experience as “rough” and “the most tense Marvel shoot [they’ve] ever worked on.” If anything, it’s upsetting that this was the card that Mackie was dealt. He’s been dedicated to his character and the franchise from his first appearance in The Winter Soldier, and didn’t deserve his big moment getting spoiled by reckless planning and last-minute patch-ups.
Published: Feb 14, 2025 09:18 am