“Captain America: Brave New World” director Julius Onah gave an interview with Vanity Fair and cooled down controversy over Anthony Mackie‘s viral comments about the film representing America. The actor ignited right-wing outrage last month during a Q&A in which he said that “Captain America represents a lot of different things, and I don’t think the term ‘America’ should be one of those representations.”
“It’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity, and integrity,” Mackie added at the time. “Someone who is trustworthy and dependable.”
Some right-wing pundits felt Mackie was downplaying the patriotism of the superhero, while others thought he was being downright anti-American. The controversy grew loud enough that Mackie took to Instagram a few days later to clarify his remarks.
“Let me be clear about this, I’m a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like Cap is the honor of a lifetime,” Mackie wrote. “I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country. Cap has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to.”
Onah now told Vanity Fair that “things at times get misinterpreted” in response to the controversy that Mackie’s original comment created. The director added: “Speaking for myself, I approached this film with a very specific point of view…the sense of community, which is something I personally have experienced in various ways while living in the US. Another thing that stuck out was the idea of empathy, which in my opinion is Sam Wilson’s superpower. That to me is not just timely but incredibly important.”
Mackie’s original America comment was not entirely different than the position original Captain America actor Chris Evans took before his first Marvel movie opened more than a decade ago. Evans told CBR after his Captain America casting was announced that he was “not trying to get too lost in the American side of it.”
“This isn’t a flag waving movie,” It is red, white and blue, but it just so happens that the character was created in America during war time, when there was a common enemy, even though it is Captain America. I’ve said before in interviews, it feels more like he should just be called Captain Good. [Laughs] You know, he was created at a time when there was this undeniable evil and this guy was kind of created to fight that evil. I think that everyone could agree that Nazis were bad and he, Cap, just so happens to wear the red, white and blue.
Onah also said that Mackie’s character, Sam Wilson, has no doubts about being the new Captain America in the movie after the Disney+ series, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” primarily dealt with Sam’s concerns over picking up the shield.
“That question has been resolved,” Onah said. “Sam is our Captain America now. He’s our hero.”
“Captain America: Brave New World” opens in theaters Feb. 14 from Disney and Marvel Studios.